Parental Involvement

From the RSS feeds you set up in class, select 2 quality feeds that relate to:
• the importance of parental involvement in eduation
• communication tools that educators can use with parents/guardians
• what/why/how/where/when of communication between educators and parents/guardians

Discuss your opinion on how you could use this information in your K-12 art classroom.

http://englishcompanion.ning.com/profiles/blogs/three-basic-steps-towards

I think this link explains effectively the importance of parental involvement in their children's lives. It is ultimately the parent's job to become and stay involved. Typically, children will not reach out and this is why it is essential for parents to be aware of their responsibilites and the positive outcome their involvement can have.
It is also important for educators to establish a firm line of communication with parents to keep parents informed about their childrens success, problems, obstacles, etc. I believe important tools to be used can be weekly newsletters, email, phone, more time and effort. This of course may not necessarily be practical for some teachers, but if the students best interest is truely in hand, it should not matter the time and effort put forth, because that will only result in positive outcomes.


http://www.arttherapyblog.com/videos/movie-highlights-kids-with-disabilities-and-art-therapy/
This site doesn't specifically point out the relationship between educators and parents but to look deeper into the meaning behind this idea, it is relevant that the effort and compassion put towards something can have amazing outcomes. This one individual teacher made a huge impact on these childrens lives, and I think this is a prime example of the positive results involvement can have on a child and this can be multiplied when both educators and parents both alike are contributing. Art Therapy can not only be conducted in a school setting but at home as well, and parents can become part of their childrens success. Art can be a wonderful outlet for unsettling emotions and children with disabilities can use this as their own personal outlet.

I personally would love to work with children with disabilities. Using art as a communication tool can be very successful when used correctly. I hope someday to use those tools in my classroom while also making a great effort to keep parents informed and involved in their children's lives.