Ways to work with families

• Give opportunities for parents to come in and 'teach' a skill. I remember working in a fishing village and one of the parents came to the school and taught the boys how to create and mend fishing nets so that those who were involved in the business with their parents would be more equipped to contribute meaningfully.
• Promoting cultural days where families can showcase their cultural practices, including food, music, etc. This reinforces the practice and ideology of unity and togetherness, especially in a multi-ethnic society like ours in Trinidad and Tobago. I have also contributed to seeing it done where the house/colour system in the school focused on major ethnic groups and everyone had to be involved in creating a display of each group.  It involved learning about the particular group even though you were not a member of that ethnic group. 
• Often, students behave one way at home, and another at school. Liaising with parents about some of the things that there children engage in at home or enjoy doing that may not be available at the school. For example, some students like dancing or rapping.  This can be incorporated in the teaching/learning process where the students may be encouraged t create a rap to learn the parts of speech, or ordinal numbers; or they may come up with dance steps to teach the primary and secondary colours. 
• Letting parents know that they are an integral part of the school and keeping them abreast of their children's successes and challenges contribute to a more inclusive atmosphere.