Parents' Participation
I have to admit I didn't do much work during this week because the technology coordinator I contacted with just had a baby. I don't want to bother him at this moment, mayme next week will be better. I will read through all the plan and stuff he gave me and have a informal phone interview to discuss the questions I make.
Back to the topic. How much participation could parents involve in technology education? In minimum, parents should be gatekeepers of information resources especially in the elementary and middle school levels. Unfortunately, some parents can't even make it! In the school I taught in Taiwan, a big portion of parents are vendors of a famous night markets near our school. They work from noon till midnight and can't look after their children anyway. Lots students eat take-out dinner everyday and stay alone at home after school. I'm not surprised if those students stick with video game or porno websites.
Indeed, parents also need to educate. If I go back to teach in the future, the first important thing I want to communicate with students' parents will be related to the technology issue. After all, family is the first classroom. We take care of students for eight hours, other 16 hours they stay at home.