The Family and the School: Utilizing Human Resources to Promote Learning

There is a continuing challenge in our complex society to bridge the gaps that exist between various subsystems. Only by overcoming segmentation can common problems be mutually addressed and the full resources of each subsystem be utilized in finding viable solutions. The project described here brings together members of the family with public school professional staff and a consultant from a family therapy unit. Each system learns from and about the others in an open, sharing environment. The processes of family therapy are utilized with the goals of reversing maladaptive school behavior of children and facilitating constructive interactions both between the family and the school and among school personnel.
The uniqueness in this effort lies in the treatment of the staff of a school as a live, dynamic, interacting system having some of the characteristics of a family. The need for mutual respect on the part of consultant and school personnel is documented. Defining and observing boundaries, clarifying roles and creating a non-critical atmosphere provide the security that permits and encourages individuals to share relevant material within agreed-upon parameters.
Changes in traditional practices have been achieved. School psychologists have taken on new roles while principals and staffs have learned new techniques and skills for relating to each other and for approaching family-based school learning problems. The non-blaming approach recognizes the child as a member of both a family and school organization. Bringing the family and the school together for dialogue and planning unburdens the child as a conveyor of information and values between the two systems. Thus far, there have been substantial benefits from the project to the schools, to the families, and to the body of professional knowledge from which we all learn and grow.     

Précis of Insensitive Semantics

Insensitive Semantics (I) has three components: It defends a positive theory; it presents a methodology for how to distinguish semantic context sensitivity from other kinds of context sensitivity; and finally, it includes chapters critical of other contributors on these issues. In this Précis, we outline each component, but before doing so a few brief 'big picture' remarks about the positions defended in is are in order:     

THE USE OF SELF-ASSESSMENTS IN EXAMINING

Self-assessments combined with other evidences such as achievements and test scores lead to increased accuracy and fairness in examining. The use of self-ratings to evaluate an applicant requires adjustment for degree of understanding of the element to be rated and for applicant's subjective base for rating. However, raw ratings may be used for psychometric analysis. Since minorities are usually represented in significant numbers among applicants but not in employed groups, this kind of analysis appears promising for studies designed to reduce adverse impact of tests and other measuring devices. An initial exploratory example of such analysis is described in detail.