2 The Reardon Family Interview and Summary I had the pleasure of interviewing a family who is friends with my cousin and his family. It was good because we were friends of friends so it wasnt too awkward. There was a slight drawback because the mother was hesitant in sharing too many personal details. However, the interview was not formal, so I think this aided in her comfort levels. To begin, I would like to say that the names I am using are not the mother and daughters real names; they are names I made up. I told them I would do this to protect their confidentiality. I interviewed a single mother named Rachel Reardon and her nine-year-old daughter Alicia. Factors that Influence this Familys Experience The characteristics and the family dynamics of the Reardons have had a great impact on their experience with school. Rachel is a single mother, Caucasian, very low SES, and is a recovering drug addict. She tells me she tries her best, but seems to fall back to the many road bumps in her way, preventing her to do her best. Alicia is biracial, her father is African American, and attends partial special education courses and partial general education classes. When she is in classes she doesnt enjoy there are several behavioral issues, mainly acting out. Her father is absent so she lacks a constant male influence in her life and another person to help her with school. At this point her mom doesnt think there is any discrimination going on at school, because Alicia has a close relationship with her teachers and enjoys being social with her classmates. All of these characteristics have had a direct influence on their experience with school staff and the school in general. A huge hiccup for this mother is finding transportation and time for meeting with Alicias school counselor or special education teachers. When they do have contact Rachel is grateful for their support but she said she feels insecure talking with the school staff (R. Reardon, personal communication, April 29 th , 2012). She never graduated from REARDON INTERVIEW
3 high school and her lack of education has resulted in her feeling inferior when talking with school staff. Familys Beliefs and Values about Education Even though her lack of education has increased her insecurities and self-doubts it has ultimately pushed her desire for her daughter to succeed. When asking what her values of education were she quickly responded, So important necessary for everything. For a good life and to do well. Thats why Alicia has to do it. (R. Reardon, personal communication, April 24 th , 2012). Sometimes Rachel struggles with communicating with the school counselor, especially when talking about her daughters individual education plan (IEP), but her greatest desire is for her daughter to do well and graduate. Alicia is only in third grade and has a long way to go but Rachel is committed in supporting her. Interviewing Rachel about her beliefs about school was fun and inspiring. At nine she is still young enough to share cute stories and show her optimism, making her families road bumps seem nonexistent. Even though she doesnt perform at grade level she loves school! She loves anything that has to do with art, English, or being able to express yourself. Alicia works very closely with her special education teachers and says that she loves them and feels connected to them. She told me that the first couple of minutes in her homeroom class she gets to write or draw in a journal, which is her favorite part of the day. All of her beliefs and values about school seem to be very positive and hopeful, but there are many underlying road bumps. I hope that as she gets older she continues to enjoy school and doesnt let those bumps get in the way. Helpful Educational Practices Both Alicia and Rachel had suggestions on how to make school better, more welcoming, and helpful. Alicia mentioned that she would like to join theatre and maybe the choir. Rachel REARDON INTERVIEW
4 was pleased with this because she is worried about Alicias behavioral issues and thinks this will provide some structure. Rachel had several suggestions that would make her feel more welcome such as including her in the decision process concerning her daughters IEP, having the school psychologist explain more clearly what items in the IEP mean, and perhaps social gatherings that all families can attend. She mainly wants to feel more involved, but is limited due to transportation and her own self doubts. In an ideal world she would feel supported and welcomed in the school at all times. These are the items that could be done to help the family feel more welcome but there are also several strategies that have worked. For the Reardon family specifically, the counselors and special education teachers eagerness to talk to the family has felt very welcoming. Rachel knows they are supporting her daughter and want to communicate frequently about her learning development, but many times she cant make it to the school, cant answer e-mails because they dont have a family computer, or cant talk on the phone because of limited minutes. To help this family even more I would suggest sending papers home with Alicia in hopes that they make it there, using the time Rachel is at the school to the fullest, and home visits when there is extreme urgency to talk. FSC Collaboration, the Four As The culturally responsive article by King and Goodwin (2002) suggests that the schools take an inventory about parents concerns, perspectives, and ideas. This would be a nice way to approach all families and get to know their parent group better. Based off the results, the action of planning a series of parent-teacher seminars would take place. This would let families know that they are heard and that the school is working to help their needs, so that the family-school environment can improve and that family-school collaboration can increase. This would create a REARDON INTERVIEW
5 warm and positive atmosphere for all included. Hopefully the attitudes of parents and school staff change, from misguided to working as a team. The article on Parents Perspectives of Welcoming School Environment note that the extent to which parents perceive school as welcoming or unwelcoming, has been shown to effect how involved families are with their childrens schooling (Zorka, Godber, Hurley, & Christenson, 2002, p. 1). These efforts on the schools part can go a long way and make families like the Reardons feel more comfortable in the school. Again, in an ideal world, Rachel would love to feel supported at all times in the school setting. With this support she would feel more comfortable and motivated to take more time away from her other duties to go to her daughters school and play an active role in Alicias learning. REARDON INTERVIEW
6 Reference King, S. H. & Goodwin, A. L. (2002). Culturally responsive parental involvement: Concrete understandings and basic strategies. United States of America: American Association for Colleges of Teacher Education. Zorka, H., Godber, Y., Hurley, C., & Christenson, S. L. (2002). Poster: Parent perspectives of welcoming school environments. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota.