A Path to Follow: Learning to Listen to Parents

The diverse and difficult needs of today's children far outstrip the ability of any one institution to meet them.

Yet one of the richest resources for understanding a child's early learning experiences--parents--is quite often the most frequently overlooked.

A Path to Follow suggests that parent "stories" can be a highly effective, collaborative tool for accessing knowledge that may not be obvious but obviously would be of benefit.

As a child's first and most important teacher, a parent can give "us the keys to unlock a vault of social, emotional, and educational variables." The secondary benefit to the story approach, of course, is the empowerment that parents feel when they are given the chance to participate in a personally meaningful way--one that respects their viewpoint.

As parents and schools continue to wrestle with prodigious challenges, stories remain a nonthreatening and practical vehicle for collaboration.