Episode 5: The Home-School Link

1. The Learner‟s Development
& Environment
Episode 5: The Home-School Link
Name of FS Student: Ma. Cristina D. Panganoran
Course & Year: BSE-2 English
Resource Teacher: Mrs. April Joy Mallari
___________________
Instructor: Mrs. Gloria A. Silva
Cooperating School: Holy Cross College (High School Department)
Date of Submission: February 23, 2011
Date Submitted: February 23, 2011

2. Name of Learner: Arwin A. Mallari Age: 13 yrs. old
Date of Birth: November 10, 1997 Gender: Male
st
Year Level: 1 year high school
Date of Home Visit: February 21, 2011
School: Holy Cross College (High School Department)
Mallari Family Profile:
Number of Siblings: 4
Birth Order: 3rd eldest
Mother‟s Name: Mrs. Winnie Maria M. Mallari
Age: 43 years old
Educational Attainment: College Degree (BEED Course)
Occupation: Teacher
Father‟s Name: Mr. Ariel M. Mallari
Age: 44 years old
Educational Attainment: College Undergraduate
Occupation: None
Narrative Report
Arwin‟s house is located in Sta. Maria, Sta. Ana, Pampanga. I visited their lovely home
Monday afternoon and I was so glad that Arwin‟s family was very accommodating. Their house
is simple but beautiful. It is cozy and organized. They have 2 bathrooms and share 1 bedroom, a
kitchen and dining area is available, the living room is also used as their study area, they
sometimes use the terrace to do other study activities. Their study area is well ventilated and has
adequate lighting and space.
In their house the parents always require a condition before their children can do things
for pleasure. For example, the children should have their homework done before they can play
or watch television and they should also finish their assigned chores before going out with
friends or going over their friends‟ place. The children have a curfew to follow in the house.
They have to be home in time for dinner but there are also special cases when they are allowed
to stay out late if there is adult supervision.
Arwin‟s parents say that he is helpful especially in cleaning around the house because his
friends come over their place quite often. I‟ve learned that even though he is scolded he never
talks back to his parents. I‟ve learned that he needs to be constantly reminded to do his
homework.
Arwin‟s teacher claims that he is quiet and is not very good in expressing his thoughts or
ideas. Though he does not make a lot of absences, having a good attendance record is only a
part of the over-all performance. According to the teacher he does not fail any subjects but can
do much better to improve his grades. The teacher can only give him options and tips so the rest
lies in the student if he will take the opportunity to show progress or not.
Arwin is turning 14 this coming November 10, 2011. He is healthy and is very interested
in sports. He has a lot of friends and respects his classmates and teachers. He is not really the
type of person to be expressive when it comes to how he feels. He is one of the slow learners in
class and is weak in English but strong in Physical Education. Arwin‟s physical, social and
emotional development is normal for his age but his cognitive development needs to improve
more by increasing his study hours and self-discipline.

3. Analysis:
1. From your home visit and interview, what do you think is the style of parenting
experienced by the learner? Explain your answer.
The parents do not claim to be strict all the time but only sometimes. I found out that they
only have a few rules when it comes to studying, one rule I noted down was, “Do your
homework or project before anything else.” The parents are involved in their child‟s school life
because children need lots of people to be concerned about their future.
Arwin‟s father said they do not want to be too strict because Arwin might rebel if they do
so. The main difficulty they have is that Arwin is a quiet boy. He does not speak out even if the
parents try to talk to him. It‟s good not to talk back to parents but Arwin is just too quiet, it is
hard to know how he feels and what he is thinking unless his parents really try to get through to
him. I can totally relate to what his father is trying to say because when my brother was in high
school he is also too quiet until he learned to open up to us.
I agree in the kind of parenting that is in balanced condition between strict and lenient
because the thinking of the youth nowadays is very different from the past. Most of our youth
have become unruly and liberated which is very disturbing. To achieve change, his parents must
find time to participate in Arwin‟s education while the school must provide the support
necessary for the parents to be involved but Arwin needs to do extra effort too. In Arwin‟s age
he is not yet serious in his studies as most students are. All we can do is hope that he realizes
that he should be serious when it comes to his studies.
The learner experienced being scolded but at the same time his parents do not overdo it to
avoid the child from being emotionally stressed. Due to recent events, the parents help him
study now, unlike before when they were just reminding him to do his homework. They can
also be involved with Arwin‟s learning experience by encouraging him to read and also
explaining the importance of developing his academic values.
2. Relating your data with what you learned in child development, what family factors do
you think contribute to the development and over-all adjustment of the learner in school?
Last semester we studied about Erikson‟s “Psychosocial Theory of Development. This
includes “Stage 5: Ego Identity versus Role Confusion”. In this stage, family closeness is very
crucial to the development of the learner‟s psychosocial development. Presently Arwin is in a
period of puberty which falls under this stage.
It is the time of confusion and rebellion. This may be the instance when most students
have a hard time adjusting with what is going on with the physical changes happening in their
body plus adjusting with the transition from elementary to high school setting. The parents and
teachers have the responsibility to explain such events in a learner‟s life and that high school
life is different from elementary and that change in the body during their age is natural.
Aside from family closeness, proper nutrition is also important to maintain the health of
the child. Healthy food equals a healthy body and a healthy body must have a healthy mind too.
Parents that provide moral support and shows approachable impression to their children will
also help a lot in the child‟s adjustment period. I mentioned moral support because it has impact
to the very first stage in Erikson‟s theory which is called “Trust versus Mistrust” since these
stages unfold what a person becomes later in his life. All these stages play a great role in
Arwin‟s personality at the moment. How he was handled when he was younger has an effect in
how he adjusts in his school setting today.

4. 3. Does the communication between the home and the school have an effect on the
learner? If yes, what are these effects?
It is very true that communication between the home and the school has great effect not
just on the learner but the school and parents also benefit from this. Student benefits, first of all
effective communication in Home-School link will result to higher grades and test scores. Since
the parents are always aware and updated they can monitor their child and better attendance and
more homework done we‟ll definitely be observed. Fewer placements in special education
because teachers and parents are not sitting down but are actively involved with the child‟s
schooling. These close monitoring will result to more positive attitudes and behavior.
Next is the benefit that schools will get. Schools that work well with families have
improved teacher morale, higher ratings of teachers by parents and more support from families
because parents feel that their child is important in that school and that the institution they
chose for their students is the right one. Parents only want the best for their child that‟s why
home-school link is very important. This way, the school also gets recognized and gain better
reputations in the community.
When parents are active in communicating with the school, they develop more
confidence in that particular institution. Parents that interact and work with the teachers are
perceived as people with great parenting skills and concern this will get the teachers to have
higher expectations of their children too. As a result, parents develop more confidence not only
about helping their children learn at home, but about themselves as parents. Furthermore, when
parents become involved in their children's education, they often become closer with their
children and they make their child feel extra special.
Reflections:
1. Reflect on your own development as a child. What kind of parenting did you
experience? How did it affect you?
Back when I was a child, my parents were not strict. They just let me play all I want. My
auntie was the strict one, she made me take naps in the afternoon because she told me that
sleeping in the afternoon makes a child tall but it turned out to be a lie. My parents and aunt
were really loving and caring and I loved all the attention. I honestly don‟t remember instances
during my elementary years if I reviewed for any quiz or major exams. I only remember the
inter-school quizzes and how my teachers help me review.
The point is I must be having so much fun in school because I don‟t remember it being
stressful. I don‟t remember having a hard time with any of my lessons. Maybe it‟s due to the
fact that I‟m just a child without a care in the world who managed to graduate as the
valedictorian in San Lorenzo Elementary School.
When I reached high school my mother had high expectations of me because I topped the
entrance exam in St. Joseph‟s Academy, too high that I even got jealous when I see her so
happy to see my brother‟s 75 mark and when it comes to my 85 mark she seemed disappointed.
I started to get new friends and got involved with other extracurricular activities that I took my
grades for granted. I used to be in section „A‟ then got demoted to section „B‟ during my
second year high school.
What I‟m trying to say is that every child is different, some work great under pressure
and some don‟t. Maybe I was not being forced to study when I was still in Elementary and
when I reached high school, I had a hard time to adjust to the new setting or maybe I got
exhausted of high expectations and needed encouragement from my parents which I did not
get. As I‟ve said in my previous write-ups, too much of something is bad. Everything, even
seriousness has to be moderate. Not too much and not too little.
I‟m not saying my parents didn‟t do a good job; some of the blame was on me too.
Parenting not only affects a person‟s personality it also affects a person‟s way of thinking and

5. learning. My parents are great because they let me grow up to be a good person and made me
realize that education is important that is why they expected more of me because they know
my capacity from my brother‟s ability and it was my fault to compare.
Some students may misunderstand the strictness of their parents but they just have to
understand that parents only want the best for their child. It‟s a good thing that I have gained
more knowledge to understand my mother‟s actions before. And now that I know, I love them
even more.
2. As a future teacher, how will you establish good school-home collaboration? How can
you work well with the parents? How can you help them? How can they help you?
I will offer the parents a welcoming atmosphere, conversation, and school information.
The ongoing and cooperative physical presence of family members in schools really
contributes a lot in the learner‟s development. If I could, I would propose a room that can be
ready and equipped with a variety of materials to help parents such as, adult-sized table and
chairs, a telephone, coffee pot, hot plate, and occasional snacks. It‟s like a parent center where
volunteer parents can help the school and other parents convey any information regarding
school activities.
I will also try to do a “Home Visitor Program”. This program is to visit homes to help
families understand what they can do to maintain their children's success in school. As a home
visitor, I can also provide information about reading programs, school activities, curriculum,
expectations, child rearing, and summer classes to those students who are behind. I can also
serve as a contact to get across parent concerns back to the school. This would work great
when the student is having problems.
I would propose a team of faculty members who can study ways to develop their own
methods of involving parents. These teachers can decide to meet at least monthly to do
background reading in parent participation, have seminars or training about parenting issues
and how it affects our jobs as teachers. These dedicated teachers can also carry out interviews
with other faculty members about attitudes toward parent involvement, discuss the success of
past efforts to involve parents, and design projects to increase teacher-parent collaboration.
Teachers do not only communicate with parents when the child is not doing well or got in
trouble but also about the student‟s progress or improvement in performance.
These projects can involve conducting effective conferences. These conferences can have
topics about helping parents understand class goals, strategies, and methods of assessment.
It is extremely important for educators to know how to involve parents in the curriculum. In a
Mathematics class, for example, the teacher might ask students to learn more about how their
family decided on the most important purchases at home, also known as budgeting. Parents can
discuss such assignments with their children, making the discussion much richer and the
academic material more relevant to the students because it involves real life situations.
Parents can greatly help me with knowing the child‟s likes and dislikes. They can give
me tips about their child‟s behavior to avoid uncomfortable situations. Parents are a great help
in extended practice. Homework and projects are easily monitored when the parents are active
in helping their child do them. Parents who are greatly involved can encourage the child to
keep a good record of attendance in school. The collaboration between parents and teachers
will boost the student‟s achievement and encourage enhanced support between home and
school. Together these efforts will result to a home-school link that helps children become
successful in school and in their future.