The learning fields are more equal than in the past.
In the past your accessibility to good tools was greatly limited by your environment, but today technology is changing all that.
So as I consider student data today, and think about the fact that students who give learning the time, often succeed, I wonder how can I encourage those students and families who don't give learning the time to make use of the available resources and give learning more time and attention.
Know that as I write, I have not been the perfect parent in that regard. It's challenging to make the time to support children with homework when your child finds the work laborious and when you have a busy house with lots of activities and demands.
Back to the dilemma: How can I encourage students and families to devote more time to learning?
First, during the school day, I'll continue to encourage optimal learning to learn mindsets and behaviors. I'll do this with activities, videos, conversations, and signage. I will also plan some small group and one-to-one coaching in this regard with students who I think will profit from that kind of attention.
Next, I'll keep in touch with families letting them know about their child's homework stats and in-class efforts. I'll avail myself to families so that we can work together to develop optimal home-school study routines and efforts.
After that, I'll continue to share the data with students--data about time on task and learning successes.
Finally, I'll keep an open dialogue going with questions such as how can I help you, what do you need to succeed, and why is this important to learn.
Equity with learning means making the tools available to all learners and coaching those students towards using the tools with strength and commitment. It will be a dance which means just right encouragement and lots of coaching.
