THE CONVERSATION
This article was originally published on The Conversation, an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. Disclosure information is available on the original site.Author: Tanitiã Munroe, PhD candidate and researcher, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto
This is about more than just their sense of self. In classrooms, they seek to foster a sense of belonging and acceptance within their school and community, and learn how to negotiate their place in society.Article content When schools, families, and communities work together as partners, students benefit. The benefits include safer school environments, strengthening parenting skills, encouraging community service, improving academic skills and achieving other desired goals that benefit students.As the late cultural theorist and educator bell hooks tells us:
By taking time to learn about the students in classrooms, teachers gain a greater sense of students’ strengths and areas of need. It also means identifying any barriers that may hinder learning and participation. Their contributions not only build school capacity but respond to the needs of students — especially families of Black, Indigenous and racialized students. Schools can do this by establishing rapport, integrating families’ interests into the classroom and the curriculum and then taking action with them to solve problems together.
How might schools make “parent council meetings” more accessible and inclusive? Start with a name change to make these more inclusive to represent the wider spectrum of families and kinship in real-world communities.