Re: Dealing with Parents and Families

Dear Amy,


                     Dealing with parents and helping parents with their concerns and issues about the education of their child are everyday occurrences that you, as their teacher must be prepared for. When dealing with parents, you will have to find a diplomatic and tactful solution to any situation that might come up (Greenwood & Hickman, 1991). We at Project BEAM acknowledge that there is no shortage of advice in books and on the internet about how to deal effectively with parents. Our goal is to provide you as a teacher with valuable teaching tools and strategies on how to build a successful, enjoyable and satisfying teacher parent relationship. The following offers some of the best ideas that we have learnt during our time in the classroom. They come from a variety of sources including personal experiences so make of them what you will

 The first step in creating a working relationship that fosters learning is to understand that you as a teacher and the parents of your students know them in different contexts, and that each may be unaware of what the child is like in other contexts (Katz, 1995). For many parents, a fundamental part of the parenting role is to be their child’s advocate with the teacher and the school (Katz, 1995). This may seem to be the case with Sally’s mother insisting that she is gifted. Other parents, however, may be reluctant to express their concerns due to cultural beliefs related to the authoritative position of the teacher whilst others do not know how to express concern or believe that their questions and criticisms may put their child at a disadvantage (Katz, 1995). 

In terms of Sally, it may be useful to set up a parent teacher interview or a simple phone call home to discuss Sally’s attributes and talents. Bear in mind that as a graduate teacher you must demonstrate the capacity to communicate effectively with your parents as well as an understanding of the importance of effective home-school links and processes for reporting student progress to parents and caregivers as stated in 7.1.1 and 7.1.2 in the NSW Professional Teaching Standards (2004). Parents are interested in what their child is doing and their progress (Greenwood & Hickman, 1991). Keeping Sally’s mother informed about what you plan to do with Sally and the other students will strengthen your teacher parent relationship as you both work side by side to achieve the best possible outcome for Sally. Whether it is in regards to providing Sally with higher order thinking tasks if she is gifted and talented. Trust us; Sally’s mother will appreciate it.  For more information on students who are gifted and talented please read our letter titled gifted and talented students. 

Effective parent teacher communication, parent teacher connection and parent teacher relationships are critical elements in a student's development (Greenwood & Hickman, 1991). For this to occur it all starts with open and ongoing communication. This is reflected in 7.1.3 of the NSW Professional Teaching Standards (2004) in that as a graduate teacher you must demonstrate the importance of involving parents and caregivers in the educative process.  Here are several strategies that you can use to establish a climate conducive to open communication:

-          Introduce yourself - make sure the initial contact with parents is a positive one and not negative at all.
-          Let parents know how and when they can contact the school and the teacher.
-          Practice an open-door, open-mind policy.
-          Send newsletters and notes to inform parents of what is going on within the school and your own classroom.
-          Formal (interviews, reports etc) and informal (smile, greetings) ways of communication.
-          Elicit expressions of parents’ concerns and interests in preparation for parent teacher conferences/interviews/phone calls. In conjunction with this, we have found that phone calls or notes home out of the blue telling a parent of something good their child has done will go a long way toward building a good relationship between you and the parents.
-          Involve parents in classroom activities and if they do thank them as they will be far more likely to help out in the future.

The above list is not by any means exhaustive but should efficient enough in getting you started in communicating effectively with your students’ parents and caregivers. Teachers and parents share the responsibility for the education of children. Preventing and resolving the differences that may arise between parents, teachers, and children with constructive communication, respect, grace, and good humour can help make school a pleasant place (Doner, 1996). We wish you all the best for your future interactions with your students’ parents and families.  Remember, parents can and will be your most powerful and valuable allies.

Yours Sincerely,                                

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Project BEAM