At the School Improvement Meeting in early October 2008, the parents and teachers attending were asked to jot down on post-it notes their responses to the following questions:
What does “alternative” at Hawthorne mean to you?
How do I contribute to “alternativeness” at Hawthorne?
The following are the responses that were written that day. These notes were written quickly off the top of people’s heads, but they seemed like a good way to start a discussion on the topic of what it means to us as parents and teachers to be part of an alternative school community. Why did we choose an alternative school? How do we want it to be different from a regular school? So please add your comment below, and let’s share our thoughts on the very important topic of who we are and what we do!
What does “alternative” at Hawthorne mean to you?
- It means I have a say in my child’s education and am a part of the Hawthorne community.
- Community; French instruction; parental involvement; openness and equity in instruction and philosophy
- Bilingual
- Community; parent involvement – working with others to achieve what we feel is important for our children; openness with teachers;
- Parents, teachers and admin working together to facilitate empowering education for our students
- Open-ness, responsiveness, flexibility regarding parent/teacher/student role; avenues for innovation; opportunities for working as a team of staff/students/parents on matters relating to school day, community, education.
- So far…1. social justice focus 2. non-competitive 3. daily P.E. 4. beaucoup do parent involvement 5. enrichment in the arts etc. 6. parent involvement in School Improvement planning
- Not accepting the status quo; working with the school and community to enrich the education of the children
- Parent involvement in various levels of decision making, curriculum implementation; contributors to overall community of school
How do I contribute to “alternativeness” at Hawthorne?
- Working with teachers in the classroom to include issues that are important to my family
- Being a good parent – not a nuisance to teachers
- I bring in human issues that relate to social justice through the Social Studies program, i.e. sweatshops and child labour in connection with Canada and its Trading Partners
- I think of “we”; I work on my teaching practice to ensure it is inclusive, equitable, and social-justice-oriented; school is the community, community is the school
- I welcome parents into my class and invite them to be part of their child’s education. Building a sense of community in my classroom.