Education? Elementary, my dear Watson.

              Imagine you are in a room filled with twenty second graders.  They look up at you with admiration and expectation in their eyes.  You look back with seeing in each child his potential to become someone who will change the community, other’s lives and the future.  You look back with hope and love and even a little fear.  How can one individual know enough to inspire each one of these twenty expecting souls?  It seems impossible, but I can reassure you that is possible because you are exactly the individual who has enough love to help these children.  While practice and study are important, there are some other insights that I have learned from my own experience, study and through the experiences of other professionals in this field. 

                In my life I have had teachers that have inspired me to the point where I thought I could do anything and be anything and I have had teachers that make me feel like lying in bed all day and never going back to school again.  You may ask yourself what it was that made such a strong difference in my feelings and the answer is simple – communication.  If a teacher does not effectively communicate with students, parents and faculty, then there can be dire consequences.  But if a teacher effectively communicates, then he will be successful in inspiring and motivating students.  Through knowing how to address certain audiences, understanding the various form of communication that a teacher uses, and forming one’s own philosophy about education and communication, a teacher can be the catalyst for a love of learning in children’s lives.

Keys to Communication

An elementary teacher has the privilege to communicate on many levels.  A teacher is given instructions and guidelines from political leaders and administrators, must communicate the needs of individual students, discuss the best ways to teach the necessary curriculum, help children to understand basic concepts and assist parents in the teaching of their children.  Believe it or not persuasion has everything to do with teaching.  Most communication is done face to face but emails can be passed on and phone calls to parents are common.

A teacher must be able to analyze his audience and adapt to effectively communicate.  When speaking in the community or with administrators the needs of the children should be the focus and how to improve on what is already being done in the classroom.  Colloquial language should be avoided.  When communicating with a child the teacher must take great care in teaching in a way that is comprehensible to every child in the classroom.  The children’s interests and backgrounds should be taken into consideration to provide better understanding.  When communicating with parents the teacher must show love for their child and his specific needs.  One must show sincere concern for each child and his home life. 

Most communication in the field of education is deliberative or in other words that usually there is a goal of changing something in education and promoting action.  This is seen in community forums with the politics of education, in teams of teachers for the best way to teach and even in parent-teacher conferences to encourage the progress of the student.  Teachers want to encourage children to progress, want to change how the community views education, and want to inspire parents to help their children better learn. 

Political and Community Speaking

A few examples of communication with different audiences in mind will be given to provide further understanding into this skill that is so important in order to help these children who depend so much on you.  First an example will be given of how a teacher could appropriately address an audience at a community forum to encourage members of the community to donate since classroom sizes are so high and it is becoming more difficult to attend to the needs of each individual child. 

Speaking in a community forum a teacher or group of teachers may try to address the need for smaller class sizes to benefit the learning of the individual students and help funding for this to occur. A teacher could say something of the following:

"We are here to discuss the future of our children, our community and our country.  Have you ever been in a large group and something had been discussed that you didn't quite understand but because of the size of the group you felt your voice had been lost?  Children today are getting lost in these large class sizes.  They are entering a different community with different rules and often they get lost and left behind.  Isn't this contradictory with the No Child Left Behind Policy?  Your children and community need your help.  It is possible to make a difference in our community by donating and helping to fund the schools so that class sizes can be smaller and your children can have their voice heard and their needs met.  This is how real learning will occur.  The benefits are enormous for not only your family, but also our community and country.  Please stop and think of the future and make a difference today."

How was this address different than talking with a student or one on one with a parent?  When trying to persuade others to see the necessity of helping these children, a teacher needs to help those listening to feel for each child as the teacher feels and to show how unrealistic learning can be in the current situations.  It is important to connect to your audience by talking about how these children are the future of the community.  Those listening need to feel that acting on this will make a difference in their lives, because when it all comes down to it, humans as a race are egotistical. 

Parent - Teacher Communication

Now we will examine the communication between a teacher and a student that was struggling in her classroom as this teacher has a meeting with this student’s mother.  Mrs. Reggiani is a first grade teacher and has the privilege to help children become literate in reading and writing.  She lives in an area in the United States where there are many Spanish speakers and has some students in her class that are struggling because they are learning basic academics in a second language.  Because of this she has to communicate with the parents and guardians of students to help these children progress in their education.  She has attempted multiple times to communicate over the telephone without much success.  Mrs. Reggiani has scheduled to meet with the mother of one Spanish speaking student in her class, Maria who is from Chile.

She dresses in dress pants and a blouse but nothing too overdone as to appear more personable.  Before the meeting she has made a list of words in Spanish that she thinks will apply to their conversation.  Maria comes with her mother to help translate if needed.  Maria and her mother sit down with Mrs. Reggiani and she introduces herself.  She smiles and hugs Maria’s mother as is custom in Chile.  Mrs. Reggiani uses lots of gestures and pays attention to Maria’s mother when she speaks to help her to feel more comfortable.  The style is low as Mrs. Reggiani is trying to communicate Maria’s need in the classroom and show that she truly cares about her education and their family.  The delivery is clear and she enunciates as she speaks and speaks slowly.  Mrs. Reggiani frequently pauses to ask if she has been understood and listens as Maria’s mother explains what she has understood.  Some comparison is used to help her understand better but Mrs. Reggiani mostly avoids figurative language so as to avoid confusion.  She uses cause and effect to explain how the support of Maria’s family will help her in her academics.  They decide to meet regularly to increase Maria’s progression in the classroom.  Mrs. Reggiani was successful through her low and friendly style showing concern for Maria and respect for her family while explaining the situation clearly and with the help of her preparation in understanding better Maria’s cultural background.

We can see that this conversation between Maria’s mother and Mrs. Reggiani is very different than that of the teacher addressing the community forum.  But if you use the skill discussed earlier and focus on really connecting to those that you communicate with, then you won’t have to worry.  Remember that above anything else your focus should be on the needs of your students.  If you really care about your students, then communication will be done with love and will be effective.

Lessons from the Past

We can learn a lot from the past in how teachers have communicated and how that communication has changed recently.  Then it is each teacher’s responsibility to make a decision in what has been done previously and if that will be applied in the classroom. 

Ancient History

In ancient Greece, children started their elementary education around seven years of age.  It was divided between formal and informal education.  Formal education was for those families who had the money to pay for a pedagogue, or a private instructor, to teach their children.  The pedagogue would teach in the family’s home and would teach basic skills like reading, writing, and basic morals (Sienkewicz).  We can see that although our education system has evolved it is quite similar to this.  Here the communication was tailored more to the individual student and there was more time for each student to work with the teacher.

Recent History

There have been recent changes in the world that have affected the education system.  I talked to Lucelia Albernaz, a retired Elementary School principal, to learn more about these changes.  She said that the major factor in the recent history of education has been the technological development that has occurred.  I remember going to the computer lab during the school week in Elementary School and having to practice typing.  Now technology has become an even bigger part in the education of our children.  It is how grades are given, communication between the teacher and parent is done and now there are even classes that are flipped or use blended learning where the students watch video lectures at home and then problems and homework is done in the classroom with the help and guidance of the teacher.  This helps children to work at their own pace and to have more individualized time with the teacher in the classroom.  Writing is now done through technology so there is no more use for a stylus and wax board.  There has been a recent change from chalk boards to white boards and now to over-head projectors.  

So with all these changes is our children’s education improving?  It is up to you to make the decision of what type of communication is best for you and your students.  They need you and depend on you.  If one applies these principles, then children will have wonderful experiences in the classroom and teachers will feel more accomplished and happy in their work with these children.  The future leaders of the world can be in your classroom and through your effective communication you will change lives and the future.

Works Cited

Albernaz, Lucelia, Personal Interview, December 3, 2014.

Ed. Sienkewicz, “Education and Training,” Ancient Greece (New Jersey: Salem Press, Inc., 2007), 245.