Judgment Doesn\u27t Heal the Hurting

Judgment interferes with the development of all relationships. For students and families who have experienced trauma, judgment can be particularly devastating as it may further damage the survivor’s already compromised sense of safety, trust, and belonging. As educators, we must develop non-judgmental attitudes toward students and families, yet sometimes our lack of self-awareness and problematic ideological positions lead us to judge. In this essay, I describe my personal journey with families and the ideological shift I experienced as I became more self-aware and attentive to others’ stories. It is my hope that my experiences will challenge other educators to engage in critical self-reflection, to bear witness to the stories of children and families who have experienced trauma, and to move beyond judgment

The Perceived Influence of Divergent Parent and Teacher Perceptions of Student Abilities on Students and the Establishment of Effective Family-School Partnerships

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the essence of parent, teacher, and student experiences when parent and teacher perceptions of student abilities diverge; of particular importance was the perceived influence of these divergent accounts on students and the establishment of effective family-school partnerships. This purpose was achieved through a qualitative investigation of parent, teacher, and student experiences when parent and teacher perceptions of student abilities diverge. Analysis of data collected from 10 in-depth interviews with students, parents, and teachers revealed five themes and one subtheme related to discrepant parent and teacher perceptions of student abilities. These themes included: family-school partnership qualities, impressionability of student attitudes, failure to resolve conflicts, challenging parents, and lack of teacher training. Communication was included as a subtheme of family-school partnership qualities. Exploration of these themes described the overall essence of participant experiences. Participants identified family-school partnership qualities that are consistent with those presented in the literature, but they lacked agreement on the qualities of family-school partnerships considered most important. Participants also desired improved communication between parents and teachers, and they recognized several aspects of communication that could improve family-school partnerships. Participants identified the impressionability of student attitudes and the failure to resolve conflicts as perceived outcomes of the conflict. Additionally, participants believed that demanding and disengaged parents presented additional challenges to partnership development, and teacher participants reported that they were not adequately trained to foster family-school partnerships. The experiences of parents, teachers, and students in this study provided insights that could help educators and parents build family-school partnerships that withstand conflict

Relative Age in Kindergarten: From the Perspective of Teachers

Relative age effects are the outcomes that are manifested when older and younger students are compared in an environment such as a classroom. Research has shown that older students have higher student achievement than younger students (Datar, 2006; Lin et al., 2009; Oshima & Domaleski, 2006; Yesil-Dagli, 2006). This case study grouped students by their birthdays to form kindergarten classes where the average range of ages were within a four month span. Focus groups were used to determine the effects of this practice from the teachers’ perspectives. Some teachers thought that grouping kindergarteners by birthday improved teacher-student relationships, allowed for better student instruction and reduced negative student behaviors. However, other teachers felt burdened by groups of the youngest students and lamented not having older students to teach and model for their younger peers. The teachers in this study thought that the youngest students in a cohort were less prepared for school and required more of their time and instruction than the oldest students