Questions:
The assessment folio has two parts:
• A newsletter
• Reflection
1. Create a succinct and informative newsletter for parents.
2. Write a reflection covering the following points:
• How can teachers use newsletters to encourage parental involvement?
• What kind of language style did you use to make families feel welcome?
• Why it is important to work in partnership with parents/families to support children’s language and literacy learning?
• What strategies do teachers use to value the child’s home language/s and cultural backgrounds?
From the perspective of educational systems, Reggio Emilia a north Italian town has an established reputation worldwide for keeping a forward thought process towards initial education of children in their early childhood. Reggio Approach functions with inherent factors which are inclusive of a child’s image, the preschool establishment expressive arts, progettazione, communities and relationships between parents and schools, environment and teachers. All these factors are considered essential because of their general inter-relation.
Child’s Image: The image of a child under Reggio Emilia approach model is not that of an empty glass eagerly waiting for being completely filled with information. Rather the belief of educators of Reggio approach lies in the child’s image filled with positivity, strength and limitless potential. According to them, a child has all fundamental rights to realize and analyze their individual potentials.
Expressive art: holds an important place in the approach of Reggio and is known as a learning vehicle. Expressive art Is inclusive of activities related with drawing on daily basis in order to making the early childhood children express themselves through art. Various expressive activities are used for motivating children and these are inclusive of sculptures, dramas, plays, puppet play, painting, dance and even music.
Progettazione: The term is understood often to imply emergent curriculum or curriculum centered on children. Teachers under this approach learn by observing the mood of children, by listening to them in a careful manner and by giving value to the children’s thought so that interest can be generated in them. The word implies children to be protagonists of students.
Teachers play an important role under Reggio Emilia approach model especially because they are responsible for managing the relationship between learning and teaching known as progettazione and based on that teachers adopt speculative principles and learning strategies that will help students to grow individually and consistently:
Learning Strategy 1: Teachers acknowledge children to be individuals and helps them in creating trust with the teachers so that learning can take place in a fruitful manner. By this students become more supportive and the teachers keep motivating them to enjoy on their journey to learn. From time to time, students are monitored by giving them projects based on environment or individual assessment so that the teacher knows the children are grasping what they are taught in a proper manner. Open ended questions are also part of this strategy because teachers by this strategy can help teachers monitor the progress of the students.
Learning Strategy 2: Teachers always document everything that they teach to the children and this is why programs inspired by Reggio Emilia approach are always documented as they serve various functions and are essential tools. According to Gandini, 1996, routinely teachers are meant to take notes and photos along with making tape records of discussions and play of children in the class. The children’s projects being documented are properly also arranged with the use of transcript conversations with the students.
Learning Strategies 3: Expressive Arts is another strategy under the approach of Reggio Emilia which helps students to establish their selves through art and become more expressive when they grow up.
Educators under Reggio Emilia approach describe their technique to be a collaboration of relationship pedagogy and the whole foundation of this model is to develop relationships by explaining conceptions and experiencing them. Through Reggio Emilia approach parents and teachers in a collaborated manner work towards accomplishing the goal of children progress and through this relationship the growth of the students can be monitored in collaboration.
The most distinctive characteristic of Reggio Model is the participation of parents and communities. The core significance to the school life has been highlighted in the Right Charter inclusive of a part on parent’s rights illustrating that parent’s active participation makes students more adhere to their learning principles and are able to perfectly grow through the same approach.
Parents through this approach and their communities can see their children prosper through collectivism and co-operation. Such an educational approach is not only important from the perspective of education systems but the fact that it establishes relationships is a proof of parental responsibility in early childhood years of their children when educating them.
Encouraging parents involvement through Newsletter
The significant role of parent’s in initial childhood education has delivered increasing recognition in various countries since several years. Most schools have encouraged parents for being involved in life at school in various ways (Moss et al 2002). Fundraising and children accompanied by parents on trips from school were initial techniques that had a narrow scope of really encouraging the involvement of parents throughout early childhood consistently. Newsletters have been highly successful in bringing parents closer to their children’s school life. I think, newsletters are the traditional medium by which parents are able to analyze, see for their own selves and effectively understand the educational system their child is studying at, in their early childhood years. Moreover, parents through the medium of newsletters are ensured of the following:
The use of language is important when communicating with children as well with their parents. Parents are warm towards their children and their attitude aggravates if the use of language is even slightly disoriented (Moss et al 2002). Therefore, the language used was very soft, it was warm and completely positive so as to motivate the parents in taking part and forming a bond under the education model recommended highly through the newsletter.
The relationship which is shared between schools and parents is an important one. Parents need to be encouraged for becoming involved with activities in classroom but this is not enough as parents need to be explained the value of becoming partners in the learning process of their child. If parental involvement in the hours of classroom is encouraged then it certainly disturbs the learning of children (Moss et al 1996). With equal partnership of parents in the matters of school, without their physical involvement itself everything about the progress of the student is directly explained in the form of assessment sheets. By enhancing their partnership, information is delivered to the parents by asking them sensitive questions on the school events. It is complicated for the parents to be completely partnered with school without them having adequate information about what goes on the thought process and learning process of children. Also, true partnership encourages personal contact which makes the parents know that the teachers with whom their children spend most of the hours with are efficient.
There are various factors in the school that impact the culturally diverse student’s success inclusive of the atmosphere of school and complete belief on diversity, community involvement and curriculum which are culturally responsive. Of the many factors individual relationship and academic relationship of the students with their teachers is of extreme important because without this, there is hardly any subjective outcome that can be enabled through subsequent usage. The relationship which is shared between schools and parents is an important on (Penn et al 1997). Parents need to be encouraged for becoming involved with activities in classroom but this is not enough as parents need to be explained the value of becoming partners in the learning process of their child.
In addition, the strategies that the teachers use are mostly related to their behavior illustrating that a teachers behavior needs to be positive and inclusive when teaching a large number of students with different cultures and languages. If not all but there should be some knowledge in the teacher about those language specific words with some of the languages of the students studying in the classroom. This would in turn illustrate that the teacher has an inclusive attitude and through such similar enlightenments the teacher is able to offer the students with a place where everything is equal. Building a relationship with every child in the school is also very crucial. Focusing on the way in which learning for students is taking place and students are observed for identifying their orientations of task leads towards advancements in learning and understanding (Rinaldi 2006). There are various issues that the teacher can face in multi lingual and culturally diverse such as, students facing problem communicating and understanding but with matching attitudes and matching behaviors, teachers will be able to establish profound relationships in the classroom which consequently cultivate productivity. Students learn only when they experience positivity but this positivity is not possible in a socially excluded environment of school.
References
Moss, P., and Petrie, P., From Children’s Services to Children’s Spaces: Public Policy, Children and Childhood, Routledge, 2002
Moss, P., and Penn, H., Transforming Nursery Education, Paul Chapman Publishing, 1996.
Penn, H., Comparing Nurseries: Staff and Children in Italy, Spain and the UK, Paul Chapman Publishing, 1997.
Project Zero and Reggio Children, Making Learning Visible: Children as Individual and Group Learners, Reggio Children, 2001
Rinaldi, C., In Dialogue with Reggio Emilia: Listening, Researching and Learning, Routledge, 2006
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