PLC members are welcome to borrow any or all of this extremely professionally written letter home when kids don’t quite grasp the sit up and pay attention part of how we run our classrooms. It’s from Grant Boulanger. And you are welcome to do some early Christmas shopping from Grant’s pottery business. You should have seen Carol Gaab in Chicago stocking up on some beautiful hand made bowls. Grant is a man of many talents, clearly – he teaches with great style, if you were lucky enough to see him at work in the Chicago War Room, he writes great letters home, and he makes great pottery. Go get some here:
https://www.facebook.com/boulangerpottery
Here is the letter you really shouldn’t put off writing anymore:
Hello, Mrs. Parent,
I’d like to check in regarding Angelina Jolie’s performance in Spanish class. We spoke on 9/11 about Angelina Jolie not meeting class expectations and I emailed a positive follow up on 9/12. She had a great day.
It is clear that Angelina Jolie is very capable. However, currently she is among the poorest performing students in her Spanish class. There really is no need for that. I’d like to work together to apply some pressure so that changes.
Please know that I sent home a progress report on Friday, Sep. 19. She was to have it signed and return it to me Monday Sept. 21. I asked again yesterday and offered to redo it if necessary. She didn’t request it.
Due to the nature of a language acquisition course, Angelina Jolie is expected to be an active participant in class. I expect her to be dedicating her energy to understanding the Spanish she’s reading or hearing. I expect her focus her attention on our text or conversation. I expect her to respond to my questions and statements. I expect her to observe my facial expressions, gestures and laser pointer when I’m delivering spoken messages so she can benefit from the many ways I’m conveying meaning to her and the class. This type of communication – interpersonal communication – accounts for 65% of Angelina Jolie’s grade, which is currently a D.
Currently, I have no evidence that Angelina Jolie is doing any of these things satisfactorily. She slouches in her chair, looks at the floor, does not respond to questions or statements except when asked directly, makes no effort to engage in Spanish unless reminded directly and only asks for clarification about something she doesn’t understand when asked directly to provide the meaning of the word or phrase.
I give frequent, daily reminders about my expectations and about the skills necessary for successful interpersonal communication. While I avoid calling her out by name in class, I can only assume that she is intentionally ignoring these expectations.
Angelina Jolie’s long-term achievement is intimately tied to how well she engages in class on a daily basis. Just like a band member can’t pass band without playing her instrument, Angelina Jolie won’t be able to pass Spanish without interacting in the language. It’s important to me that I have your support in helping Angelina Jolie know and understand expectations. If she doesn’t understand why they are what they are, I would be happy to sit down with you both and help her understand. There really is no reason why she shouldn’t be performing well, that I can tell.
I look forward to working with you to help Angelina Jolie achieve all that she can achieve this year. Thank you for your support and I look forward to hearing back from you.
Sincerely,