Ask a Teacher of the Year
Top teachers part of virtual town hall meetings for parents
How am I going to navigate an entire school year at home during a pandemic?
What if we cannot keep up with the work?
What subjects are most important?
Ask A Teacher.
They are the experts when it comes to education and will be available to give parents resources and reassurance during a series of virtual town hall meetings presented by Delta Dental of Michigan, Ohio and Indiana and the Michigan Teacher of the Year Network (MTOYN).
“Ask a Teacher: Conversations With Teachers of the Year” will be hour-long town hall style talks where parents can ask questions. Ask a Teacher will be livestreamed Aug. 25, Sept. 2, and Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. on Facebook and Zoom.
“Our MTOY Network is dedicated to delivering solid, supportive information and guidance that will offer parents comfort, control and a vision during these chaotic and unsettling times,” said June Teisan, who was voted Michigan Teacher of the Year in 2008. “Amid the ‘Zoom and gloom’ there’s a lot of hope and opportunity. Our goal is to help parents find their path forward.”
Rick Joseph of Birmingham, a middle school teacher from Birmingham and 2016 MTOY said he has heard from a lot of parents reaching out with questions about what we would do if we were in their shoes.
“We have tried our best to help parents understand that every child is unique and different, and as a result would likely react differently and have different needs, one from the other,” said Joseph, who is known as a fierce advocate for children. “We have encouraged parents to make the best decisions they possibly can that meet the needs of their children and while at the same time realizing that there are some decisions at the school district level that may not go their way. That’s the nature of being in a community.” with along These to during with supporting issues other the will topics meetings children be dealt related with role special modeling, needs, accessing effective community resources and monitoring academic performance.
Parents who join the conversation will have access to a panel of teachers, who have not only been hailed as the best by their peers but are parents themselves. “As the four of us are all educators and parents ourselves, we understand the stresses that exist during this time of virtual, hybrid, and face-to-face learning. We want to be honest, direct and ultimately helpful by addressing issues openly and as specifically as possible,” Joseph said. “The Ask a Teacher Town Halls are designed to give parents and caregivers first and foremost a little peace of mind.
In addition to Joseph and Teisan, who was also inducted into the National Teacher Hall of Fame in 2016, other members of the panel will include:
• Matinga Ragatz, 2011 MTOY; she is currently an instructional innovation specialist with extensive online learning experience; she is an inductee in the National Teacher Hall of Fame and is featured on Michigan Radio’s feature Stateside.
• Melody Arabo, 2015 MTOY; she is an elementary teacher and the author
of a children’s book about bullying, she has served on the Michigan Special Education Reform Task Force and is active in Chaldean education initiatives.
The series will be moderated by Margaret Trimer, Delta Dental’s VP of Strategic Partnerships. Trimer’s career includes six years as an education reporter at the Detroit Free Press, 10 years as Communications Director for the Michigan Education Association (MEA), the state’s largest teachers union, and another decade building and running University Prep Science & Math (UPSM), a high performing charter school district in Detroit.
“Our employees are anxious about educating their children during these unprecedented times,” Trimer said. “Our customers and families in the communities where we do business are also facing issues and anxieties. That’s why we are tapping the best educators we can find to offer neutral, objective guidance and support.”
Among the most difficult hurdles facing families returning to school is the need to establish a schedule that works for everyone and sticking to it Joseph said.
“This can be vexing, especially if there are issues with child care. At the same time, sometimes schedules need to be adjusted and amended to meet the needs of individuals and the entire family. Schedules and routines that are new require a lot of energy to implement and sustain, especially when students and their families get tired and irritated.”
Teachers also understand that there will be times when other circumstances at home make it difficult to get the work done. In this case teachers advise parents to focus on certain areas of the curriculum.
“Certainly reading is a foundational activity that all students should engage in for 30 minutes on a daily basis outside of whatever academic lessons are occurring,” Joseph said. “This includes the use of audiobooks, which have become a very powerful tool for both fiction and nonfiction reading. A daily reading habit is absolutely essential for students’ success both in school and in life.”
Math is also foundational.
“The opportunity for students to see patterns in different mathematical examples and then apply that thinking to other math and non-math settings is critical,” Joseph said. “Reading and math are bedrocks of our academic experiences and should be prioritized.”
However, it’s also important for parents and caregivers in a virtual school environment to be mindful of those subjects that their students love - from art and music to science to physical education.
“All of us have our favorites, and those are to be cultivated,” Joseph said. “The opportunity for a student to feel part of their own learning is absolutely critical to their motivation and ownership of the learning process, especially in these coronavirus times. Parents and family members who figure out ways to balance required coursework with opportunities that are of significant interest to their students will find education during the time of the coronavirus far more enjoyable for everyone in the family.” Lastly, be patient.
“It is one of the most important considerations for parents who are supporting their children in a virtual environment,” Joseph said. “Also, the realization that online learning is not as efficient as in-person learning, so students may require more frequent check-in’s so they are productive, focused and accountable. Parents should always reach out to their child’s teacher for specific support.”