The article I read, "Home Visits: How Do They Affect Teachers' Beliefts about Teaching and Diversity?" was written by Miranda Linn and Alan B. Bates and it reflected on the impact of 6 Head Start educators and the two home visits they participated in. The first visit took place about 6 weeks into the school year and the second visit at the end of the semester. Participants had to journal about their visits and what they learned from the visit. The visits helped educators to bring diversity into the classroom and what traits their students have picked up from their parents or other family members. It also helped educators understand their students' background and to get a perspective of the makeup of families in our society.
I did choose this article because of my own personal experience with home visits and how I believe they are important part of an early childhood educator's classroom. I also know that we have much diversity in our school and it would help us to understand what some families are made up of and what is going on. At the end of the article there was a series of questions to ask at a home visit and I thought these were very thought-provoking and would provide excellent background information.
Reference:
Linn,M., Bates, A.B.(2010). "Home Visits: How Do They Affect Teachers' Beliefts about Teaching and Diversity?" Early Childhood Educ J (2010) 38:179-185 DOI 10.1007/s10643-010-0393-1
I think home visits are a great idea. I think when we visit families on their turf, they are more comfortable and more willing to share information. Our Pre-k teachers complete home visits and they then pass along the information that is needed to the kindergarten teacher when the time comes to transition. Also the information they've gleaned from the home visits helps all parties when an issue arises.
ReplyDeleteHi Lori!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post about the effects of home visits. The information that you provided has given me some new insights about what to expect, what to say to parents, and what to observe in the child's home environment when I conduct my 1st home visit in the early childhood field.
Lori,
ReplyDeleteI was a Head Start teach for 8 years. Unfortunately, for 5 of those years I taught in a full-day program in which our "home visits" were conducted at the center because of family schedules. I truly enjoyed the years I was able to conduct home visits in its truest sense. Though the families were typically apprehensive of us coming into their homes, I learned so much more about the child, family and culture.
Thanks for sharing!