Years ago, when I was a classroom teacher, I had the opportunity to beta test a parent engagement app. This was not high on my interest or priority list because I had established ways to effectively engage with families.
What I noticed during this testing period was that I was distracted, not present with the children, and stressed when I didn’t take endless photos to share. I often found myself sharing watered-down versions of my observations or rushing to just share anything so that at least I used the app. Needless to say, once the testing period was over, I was so relieved. I’ve never used one of those apps since then.
I know that there are many of the parent engagement apps for programs to choose from nowadays. I won’t mention their names because, frankly, I don’t believe that they help build relationships with parents. I understand in theory they were built to easily share a variety of information with families.
Unfortunately, I think it’s turned into a system where teachers feel like they have to share every detail of a child’s day, which means they are not able to be fully present with the child. I’ve had teachers share with me that if they don’t post things throughout the day, parents will become concerned and complain. I can tell you that if my child was in a classroom where a teacher had to be on a device all day, I would be more concerned with the lack of face-to-face interactions and not the lack of using the device.
I really do understand that programs are looking for ways to connect with parents, have open lines of communication, and build trust. I get that all of this comes from a good place; I just believe that it feeds into the machine of distance over presence and monitoring over trusted relationships.
I certainly don’t long for the “good old days,” but I do believe that my teaching peers and I, who have been in this profession for a long time, had much better relationships with the families because we had so many face-to-face interactions and discussions.
I don’t think we have to get rid of the apps, but if we use them, we should do it in a meaningful way. They are great as a reminder system, sharing general school information, tracking milestones, and logging caregiving in infant classrooms.
Our overuse of devices is harmful to all of our physical, mental, and emotional health. This school year, see if you can find a way to use the engagement apps in moderation. Challenge yourself to have more face-to-face interactions with the families. Show them how invested you are in their child and their families. Put down the device and pull up a chair. Be present and enjoy your time with the children in your care.
