Jennifer Aceves
TCH_LRN 310
Portfolio B
March 14, 2020
1. Describe your plan for establishing and maintaining communication with
families
I will make sure that there are multiple ways to communicate with families,
whether that is the opportunity to meet and communicate in person to being able to
communicate through technology. As far as in person communication I will also give
multiply options for parents, doesn’t necessarily have to be confined to the classroom
but can meet somewhere that is ideal to the parents and myself. For example, if the
parents cannot make it to the school, home visits are an effective way to communicate
with parents as well.
Technology based communication has many options to communicate with
parents. This type of communication can consist of, but is not limited to: a class
website, emails, texts, video conferences. Although these are great ways to keep in
touch and communicate with one another there can be many challenges that come
with this if some parents do not know how to use these methods.
I would be putting these communication strategies in place at the beginning of the
school year. I will give them all the options I have mentioned and have them choose. I
would not do this right away but I would give myself about 2 weeks then I would
communicate with the parents. The reason for this is because I would want to get to
know their child as well; this would allow me to share positive comments about their
child. Hopefully this would help them gain confidence to ask questions later in the
school year.
Being able to have a two-way communication will strengthen the relationship
between the parents and students as well as teacher and students. If the teacher and
parents have an open communication this will help the student because the parents
and teacher will be on the same page and will be able to exchange information with
one another to help strengthen their understanding on where the child stands and what
the child excels or needs help with.
I will be proactive with letting parents know about any concerns I may have about
their child. That way, we can all work together to come up with a solution, like I have
mentioned before. I will also be documenting the communication efforts to keep track
of what works best for each family or what didn’t work.
2. Write a letter introducing yourself
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Hello, my name is Jennifer Aceves and I am very happy to have your child in my
second grade classroom this year. I’d like to begin by telling you a little bit about
myself. I graduated from Washington State University with a degree in
Elementary Education with an endorsement in English Language Learners (ELL).
This is my first year teaching and I can’t wait to start the year with your child.
We have a great year ahead of us. We will be going over a lot of concepts, and we
will also be having some fun along the way! Second grade is an exciting year
filled with a lot of learning as well as a new year for students to become more
independent. Students will build upon their first grade concepts as well as
reinforce those concepts they learned previously. Throughout this year students
will begin to read and write more.
It is also very important for you and your child to be informed of my classroom
management so that we all know what is expected. I will attach a copy of the
classroom expectations along with other important information. Please take
some time to read through the papers with your child to become familiar with
the information and sign and return the last page by the end of this week.
Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this packet. I look forward to
getting to know you and getting to work with you and your child throughout the
school year. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.
Phone Number: (***)***-****
E-mail: *******@gmail.com
Sincerely,
Jennifer Aceves
2nd Grade Teacher
3. Finally, our text identifies three communication skills addressing student
conflict directly.
The skill I am most comfortable utilizing is empathetic responding because I feel
that I am more caring and understanding then not. Empathic responding is when
someone listens carefully and responds empathetically. This shows students that as
a teacher they are aware of the student’s perspective as well as willing to seek
explanations of it when it is necessary. Empathetic responding also helps open up
communication between the student and the teacher. This will help resolve any
problems in a mutual way. Teachers are supposed to respond in a way that helps
students deal with any emotions or discomforts they may have. I feel that as a
teacher I would be more empathetic because most of my teacher would be this way
towards me since I was an ELL student. Having said this I am the type to sit down
and listen carefully then respond without trying to hurt any ones feelings or making
it worst, especially with younger students. I also make sure that when students are
having a problem and come to me for help I will make sure that my body language is
positive and make sure to make eye contact, this is for reassure students that I am
paying attention and care about what they have to say.
The skill I feel like I need to develop is problem solving. Problem solving is a
process used to deal with and resolve conflicts (Evertson & Emmer, 2017). If there
were any conflicts that arise in the classroom the teacher would need to manage the
conflict constructively so that learning as well as teaching can continue in a
supportive classroom environment. The reason I feel like I need to develop this skill
is because I am not very good at committing. I feel that if students don’t agree I give
in to quickly just to make them happy and then nothing get solved. I would have to
follow the steps that are given, which are: 1) identifying the problem, 2) discussing
alternative solutions, and 3) obtaining a commitment to try one of them (Evertson &
Emmer, 2017). Aside from committing, sometimes this route doesn’t work and other
routed have to be established and I feel like I would have difficulty with this since I
have mentioned that I don’t want to make students feel worse.
Resources
Evertson, C. M., & Emmer, E. T. (2017). Classroom management for elementary
teachers. Boston: Pearson.
