For reports and homework assignments, I use cartoon rubber stamps that say, “Brrrrr-
iliant,” “Terrific!” “You will make a world of difference,” “Needs Work—Please Fix,” “Keep
Trying,” and “Please See Me.” The absolute best reports receive a turtle sticker.
Although the stickers and stamps may be a little silly, students do appreciate getting posi-
tive feedback. The stickers and stamps also become part of our class’s special rituals.
Contact With Parents
I make home visits for a number of reasons. A student is sick or in the hospital and misses a
lot of work and time, there was a family tragedy, or I am having trouble connecting with a
student and I think personal attention will help. On occasion, I ride my bicycle or walk
around the community meeting students and family members. Once, I was riding my bicycle
home from school on a lovely fall day when I bumped into a student who had cut my class. I
said, “What gives? I want you in class.” The next day, not only was the student present, but
everyone in class had heard the legendary story about how I had tracked him down in the
neighborhood and made him go to school.
I find that phone calls to parents at home or work, especially when a student has a history
of trouble in school, are really impersonal and often unwelcome. They say to a parent,
“Something is wrong with your kid. They need to be punished.” Although parents should
know what is going on and be a partner in the education of their children, the reality is that
once a student is a teenager, problems at home are not so different from problems at school,
and parents have limited coercive power. An option is to try calling home when you have
good news to share. It is guaranteed to put parents in a more cooperative frame of mind and
to win you friends among your students.
At a minimum, I try to open any home contact or open-school visit with a positive state-
ment. “I like your son.” “Your daughter has done good work.” “Your child has a lot of poten-
tial.” If possible, I prefer three-way conversations, at home, over the phone, or in school, so
students know I am not just “dumping” on them, and so I can ask them how they see the situ-
ation.
Before open school night I organize a special project in class and videotape students at
work, presenting or performing. I play the tapes for parents while they are waiting for con-
ferences. The tapes are tangible examples of what their son or daughter has achieved. And if
their child is missing from the tape, it is evidence that something is wrong.
SECTION C: BECOMING A TEACHER 5:
WHAT DOES COMMUNITY BUILDING LOOK LIKE?
I Struggle for My Students, Not Against Themby Rachel Gaglione
Rachel Gaglione believes that her experiences growing up have been fundamental in shaping her
work as a teacher. She was a smart student but did not like school and often cut classes. She
dropped out of a regular high school in ninth grade because she felt that the rules were too con-
stricting and the teachers did not really care about her. Eventually, Rachel entered and graduated
from an alternative program. Today, she believes that part of her problem was tension at home.
Both of her parents were police officers, and job-related stress was a source of conflict between
them and between her and her parents.
COMMUNITY 157