It's one thing for students in Jackie McGinnis's class to discuss how to teach children with cognitive impairments. It's another for those same students to learn firsthand what parents of such children face on an everyday basis.
But that's exactly what McGinnis, an assistant professor of special education, made her students do as she and her fellow colleagues implemented some of the teachings of Joyce Epstein into their classrooms.
Epstein, a research professor of sociology at Johns Hopkins University and director of that institution's Center on School, Family and Community Partnerships, is serving as the John W. Porter Chair in Urban Education for the second consecutive year. The chair is named in honor of the former EMU president and it is the first endowed chair in the College of Education.
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FOR FAMILIES: Joyce Epstein, a
research professor of sociology
at Johns Hopkins University and
director of that institution's
Center on School, Family and
Community Partnerships, is
serving a second consecutive
year as the John W. Porter
Chair in Urban Education.
|
"After the first year, the Porter Chair committee invited me to return to continue the start-up activities that occurred in the first year," Epstein said. "I was happy to do so, as I find the EMU faculty open to new ideas and very interested in preparing graduates to be the best educators they can be."
Epstein hosted an "Infusion Institute on School and Family Partnerships" Feb. 18 where McGinnis and other EMU education professors shared their experiences including schools, families and communities into their teaching.
The purpose of the institute was to help EMU faculty in the College of Education to consider advances in research, policy and practice on family and community involvement, and weave new and useful information into courses that prepare future teachers and administrators, Epstein said.
"I insist that my students step outside the classroom and understand the system that parents with cognitive-impaired children deal with," McGinnis said. "I want them to get out there and find out the residential options available for cognitive-impaired students."
McGinnis said her students located community agencies that work with children and persons with cognitive impairments and interviewed staff there. Students learned the mission of these agencies and procedures for parents to secure services. Her students also went to companies, such as T.J. Maxx, that employ persons with cognitive impairments, and even attended a dance at the Ark in Ann Arbor where persons with cognitive impairments could meet.
"Know your families. Know your students," Epstein said. "This shows how you can go from pre-service work (in teaching) to preparing students for the in-service side."
Epstein is considered a leading author on the effects of school, classroom, family and peer environments on student learning and development, with a special focus on school and family connections. Her latest book, "School, Family and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action," guides school districts and states to develop and maintain programs of partnership.
So often, future teachers and educators are prepared as to how to teach students in the classroom. But few teachers or administrators are prepared to work with families and communities as partners in childrens' education, Epstein said.
"We know that many teachers are petrified of parents. Teachers have to understand how to work with parents, not just deal with parents. We have to change," Epstein said.
Christine Karshin, assistant professor of health education in EMU's School of Health Promotion and Human Performance, had her students develop a program called "Family Matters: A Guide to Healthy Body Image." The students were from her one-credit course, "School, Family, and Community Partnerships in Health Education."
The program helps future teachers provide healthy choices for their students and families. One group of students developed a health fair and created an event booklet for parents, identifying the elements of the fair. Another group focused on the benefits of physical fitness while another focused on healthy eating patterns and positive body image.
"I was thoroughly impressed with the ideas the students came up with," Karshin said. "There are a lot of parallels between the model she's (Epstein) using and our profession."
