Several years ago, I taught in a Texas high school that had the most negative and destructive atmosphere I have ever experienced. The year before I began teaching in the school, a black/white race fight had erupted over an interracial couple. The result was police in the hallways for several months. As I began teaching in this troubled school, I found that the only contact I had with parents was when their children faced severe discipline issues. Furthermore, regularly scheduled open houses were attended by only a handful of parents in a high school of over 1600 students.
My goal became to find a way to talk with parents when their children were successful rather than when they faced serious discipline issues. My first objective was to make certain my instructional strategies engaged the students. One thing I had learned about classroom management was to avoid dead time. I started class on the first day of school with or without textbooks. My first five days of class included high-interest topics in American History. At the end of the first five days, I gave a test, and many of the students did very well.
This background leads to the focus of my story—Tressa. A paper trail of discipline referral forms followed Tressa. Any rule that could be broken, she broke it. For example, over the public address intercom the principal told students they could not walk around the school barefoot. They must put on their shoes. So, what does Tressa do? She comes down the hall barefoot with her shoes over her shoulder.
However, after her first five days in my class, she made 100 on the test. I never told the students that I would call their parents if they had a high score on the first test—not cool with many high school students. I called Tressa’s mother and when she answered the phone, I said, “I am Mr. Simpson, your daughter’s teacher in American History. I just gave my first test, and Tressa scored 100. You have a very smart daughter. You push at home and I will pull at school, and she will have a good year in American History.”
There was dead silence on the other end of the phone line. I did not know if Tressa’s mother had passed out, died, or had a stroke! After a few moments she said, “You are the first teacher to ever call me and tell me anything my daughter has done that is right.” Do you want to know how many discipline issues I had with Tressa during that term in my class? Zero!
What can you have students do in your classroom that will give you the opportunity to call, email, or send a positive note to the parents of your students? Take a little time at the beginning of the school year to make these positive contacts with the parents, and I believe you will see a positive difference in your students’ attitude toward classroom assignments and their classroom behavior.
Bless you my children,
Terry L. Simpson
