Name:_________________

November 10, 2020

ED 210 Class Notes: Preparing for Parent Presentations

Warm-Up Question: Is the following statement true or false? Explain.

Shame is a necessary condition of violence? (Note: x is a necessary condition of y if y cannot
exist without x; for example, hydrogen is a necessary condition of water because water cannot
exist without hydrogen).

Section I: Preparing for and Executing Parent Presentations (Major Steps):

1) Thursday’s class will be dedicated to (1) creating and emailing Dr. Fantuzzo and your
“parent(s)” a Zoom invitation for your scheduled presentation (which will be in a 20 min
time slot during class time on 11/17) and (2) practicing your presentation (over Zoom)
with a group of peers.

2) Between Thursday and Tuesday, you should practice your presentation.

3) Tuesday (11/17) you should show up early for your presentation and “let in” your
guests.

4) You should RECORD the meeting using Zoom (when you leave the meeting the
recording will become available to you).

5) Next, you will deliver a 8-10 min. presentation on your “Philosophy of Classroom
Management” and entertain -8-10 mins. of follow-up questions from the “concerned”
parents.

6) After the meeting, you will upload your recording to your performance folder and
complete the rubric and self-assessment. This should be completed by or before
Wednesday 11/18 @ 8:00 PM.

Section II: Small Group Work: How Should We Prepare for “Concerned Parents”?

Direction: Take 15-20 mins. to review the types of concerned parents with your small group.
-Which 2-3 types of parents will be the most difficult to respond to during the meeting?
-Discuss strategies you gleaned from Love and Logic ch. 10 for responding to these concerned
parents.
(Note that this list is the same one I shared with the parent volunteers.)
Types of Concerned Parents (E-learning Edition): Sample Comments/Questions

The idea here is not to caricature parents; the ultimate aim is to recognize and appreciate that
most parental concerns spring from a place of care for their children.

Pseudo-expert Parents: These parents have done several internet searches

about teaching and are quick to lecture teachers on appropriate teaching/e-learning techniques.
Without being aware of what they don't know, they offer suggestions and prescribe techniques.
They (knowingly or unknowingly) undermine teachers' authority.

Sample Comments/Questions (with all of these comments, feel free to improvise as you go):

"Have you seen Sir Ken Robinson's youtube video on creativity? No? What are
they teaching you here? You have to watch it. You'll really understand how to teach after you
do."

"I read an article about strategies for e-learning yesterday and nothing you said was
mentioned."

"I had the best teacher in high school, Ms. Jenkins. She didn't do any of the stuff you're talking
about and was just great. I learned about keeping kids in line just from watching her. You
should ask Valparaiso University to take an e-learning class where you just watch Ms. Jenkins."

Suspicious Parents: These parents have had negative experiences in school and

with teachers and administrators. Teachers, in their eyes, are guilty until proven innocent. They
challenge teachers' capacity to sustain warmth.

Sample Comments/Questions:

"How can I trust you?"

"You say all this nice stuff, but where's the action? How are you going to help me in this
situation? 

"You say...but I think you really mean <insert uncharitable remark>.

Elitist Parents: These parents are elitist because they think their children are superior to other
children. They assume their child will be given special treatment; they worry about any
obstacles to their child's grand and inevitable success. These parents challenge the teacher's
authority.

Sample Comments:

"My son does not need classroom management techniques. He knew how to behave as a first
grader. What he needs is a system that will get the troublemakers from distracting him so that
he can continue to advance." 

"What are you going to do to motivate an excellent student like my daughter?"

"I plan to hire a tutor over the summer to make up for lost time. Do you really think my child is
being pushed during her e-learning? 

Hurting Parents: These parents are going through a difficult time (which is likely the case for all
of us these days)! They are processing things in their personal life or in their relationship with
their child. They are more focused on this issue and expressing it, than on listening to anything
else. They request (explicitly or implicitly) that teachers cross professional boundaries.

"It's been really hard recently. I am struggling to stay motivated at home. How can my kid work
if I am not motivated to work? 

"Would you be willing to come to my house on the weekend to help out with e-learning?" 

"You say you care, but would you still care about me if you knew that...?"

Distracted Parents: These parents do not have patience or time. They sigh and seem to not be
paying attention. They are not present (even in a virtual environment). 

Sample Comments / Actions

<Pulls out the phone and asks a question while texting>

<Begins reading the newspaper while the candidate is speaking> 

"Wow, I completely lost track of what you were saying. What were you talking about again?"

You as a legitimately concerned "parent": It's possible that something presented will rub you

the wrong way or need clarification (for good reason). Although you may choose to play one of
the types above, you are also free to express your legitimate concerns (i.e., as a "parent") after
watching the video. In the past, this has been the most fruitful type of parent for candidates to
encounter. So, feel free to just be yourself!  

Section 3: Dr. Fantuzzo’s general strategy for responding to concerned parents (take notes
below):

Nonexample 1: Notice how the student quickly seeks to defend himself vs. understand the
concern.

Example 2:
As you are watching, take notes on how the candidate responds to parental concerns.
(Extended) Example 3: This example is identical in format to your presentations. As you are
watching consider the strengths and weaknesses of the candidate’s presentation and response to
parental concerns. Be prepared to discuss how the presentation could be improved.

Looking Ahead:

Thursday’s Assignment: Upload your Presentation Notes to your practice folder by 11 AM.
Your notes can take the form of a ppt. (which you’ll use during the presentation) OR a completed
“Guide for Presentation Notes” (provided on p. 3 of the FA20 Philosophy of Classroom
Management and Parent Presentation assignment, which is posted in the “Learning Modules
Section” on Blackboard).

Thursday’s class will meet over Zoom: For the first 15-20 mins. we’ll meet in our regular
Zoom room and begin by creating Zoom invites for our parent volunteers. (I’ll provide an email
template; this shouldn’t take very long.) For the remainder of class, you will practice your
presentations in the following groups. If there is an asterisk next to your name it means that you
will be creating a Zoom meeting for your small group on 11/12 from 3:30-4:20 PM. As the host,
this will enable you to share the meeting with the co-host (your other groupmates) during their
presentations.

Blue Jays  Cardinals Hooded Oriels   Owls Red-winged

Blackbirds

(1) Lilia* (1) Teresa* (1) Hannah* (1) Carter* (1) Jamie*
(2) Trey (2) Eden (2) Catherine (2) Gabrielle (2)Mikayla  
(3) Jared (3) Tracy (3) Rhianna (3) Ricky (3) David
(4) Valorie (4) Maeve (4) Nicholas