Effective parent-teacher communication is essential for our kid’s education. Today’s kids have a long way to go and a short time to do it in; so they will need lots of help from us. Parents are a child’s first teachers. They’re only babies for a short time, before to our astonishment they’re out of pre-school and starting kindergarten. Kindergarten, wow! It seems like they were just born yesterday.

Now, their formal education starts and professional educators begin teaching our kids academics. A good teacher-parent-child-relationship is crucial. This relationship goes a long way toward ensuring our children get the most out of their school days. Treat this relationship with respect and all our kids will benefit from it.

The Parent-Teacher Relationship

If you want your child to get the most out of the upcoming school year, good parent-teacher communication is required. When problems arise and believe me, they will. Instead of immediately confronting the teacher, take your time, and double-check the facts before you talk to them. You want to create a problem-solving rapport with them. When you meet with them, your goal is to untangle problems together. Communication on both sides is essential. Talking and staying in touch with your kid’s teachers is the best way parents can help teachers.

Communication is key to making any relationship work. It’s the foundation on which all relationships are built; this includes the parent-teacher relationship. Parents need information about how their child is progressing in school and how to reinforce the teacher’s classroom instructions at home. Teachers need to know that you as a parent, are there to help.

Stay Positive

Stay positive, when you see something the teacher is doing that’s helping your kid; let them know you’re grateful, be sure to compliment them. Incidentally, It’s natural for your child to like some teachers more than others, and the same goes for you, this usually has nothing to do with their skill as a teacher so don’t make things personal. Your child’s teacher and you both want the same thing, that’s for your child to make academic progress, this takes both of you working together as a team.

“I’m very careful to pick my battles and be firm when necessary but without ever making it personal. No one wants to do a bad job, and very few teachers are truly mean-hearted. If a teacher appears overworked, I ask how we can do it together.”  Martha Randolph Carr

Equally important, never talk negatively about your kid’s teacher in front of your child. Have you ever seen a bridge going nowhere? Talking bad about the teacher doesn’t help anything and if you don’t respect your child’s teacher how can you expect them to.

Good Two-Way Communication

Teachers have a hard job; they don’t get paid any more for the extra work they do to help our kids. They don’t get so much as a small Christmas bonus for the extra time, money and materials they use. Sometimes they may have up to 30 kids in their classroom, so communicating with them may be a challenge at times. The following six steps have always helped me communicate effectively with my child’s teachers, try them out they work great.

1. To find out the best way and best time to contact a teacher, ask them. Make sure you attend back to school night and any parent teacher conferences that come up. Here’s how you can make the most out of parent-teacher conferences.
2. Be on time for any meetings. A teacher’s time is valuable. When teacher-parent conferences roll around, they must schedule conferences one after another. If you have scheduled a meeting with your kid’s teacher, being late gives the impression you’re not serious. Remember, you only see your child’s teacher a few times a year.
3. Make sure the teacher has several ways to contact you; your cell, work, and home phone numbers. Also, make sure you exchange email addresses if possible. Email is fast becoming the go-to method of staying in touch with our children’s teachers. When emailing a teacher keep it brief and don’t cc the principle unless they were involved in the issue that you are emailing about.
4. Volunteer to chaperone on field trips. Help out with any activities that need extra adult supervision. Teachers can always use some help around the classroom, filing papers or sharpening pencils, just ask I’m sure they will appreciate the offer.
5. One of the hallmarks of excellent parent-teacher communication is you should never hesitate to reach out to your child’s teacher. Knowing more about your son or daughter will aid the teacher in connecting with them and help them to personalize their instruction.
6. Keep your sense of humour; a good laugh can work wonders sometimes, and it’s a good way to break the ice. Don’t forget that a child also needs to learn about intangible things like self-confidence, morals, love, decency and how to get along with others. One of the best lessons I’ve ever taught my kids is not to depend on others for their happiness. Some things can’t be taught in school.

Educational Websites That Help Kids Learn

Just in case you missed them, check out two of my prior posts that contain ten extraordinary websites that help kids with schoolwork. I personally looked at each one and did some minor testing. They are excellent, educational websites, well worth the time it will take to examine them and see if you can use them. Here they are.

5 Free Educational Websites For Kids, You Need Now

And

5 More Free Educational Websites For Kids, You Need Now

Have a great week! God be with you until we meet again.

Copyright: / 123RF Stock Photo