Research shows that students best learn through 1:1 interaction with others. This may be their peers – which isn’t necessarily a good thing as we are warned that ‘bad company corrupts good character.’
So as a teacher of several decades of experience I would like to share the best way to establish a good and effective home : school connection with your child’s teacher(s)
Confrontation is NEVER productive!
As a teacher on just a few occasions I have been told quite bluntly by parents, angry at their child’s lack of academic progress, “You are the teacher so why aren’t you teaching my child?”
invariably the student, their child, when brought to my mind has been one who has been non-attentive in class, consistently fails to hand in assignments and generally has been quite indifferent to their time in school.
One of the strategies used amongst teachers is that if they have a ‘difficult’ student in class they will ask for specific feedback (known as a ‘Round Robin’ request) from the student’s other teachers to ascertain is the ‘dysfunctional behavior’ just in their class or is it a common feature in every class the student takes. The counselor to which the student has been assigned will usually set up a meeting of all the teachers of that student and formulate a ‘recovery strategy’ frequently then asking the parent to attend.
Although this may sometimes work, I have to say that often it is too late to affect a significant increase in a student’s success, but merely prevents further non-compliant engagement.
In my view it is far better for a parent to take pre-emptive action and establish a school : home connection at the earliest opportunity.
“Walking a mile in their moccasins…”
To achieve this, all parents, in my view, need to be aware of the teacher’s perspective of his/her class and the expectations they are under.
Teachers are aware of how student’s best learn, yet frequently they are not provided the circumstances where they can implement their skills.
Increased class sizes (often due to the school districts’ financial status) can mean diminished 1:1 time with students. Limited time in class due to the bell schedule can seriously impact the style of lessons they can deliver; this is particularly so in subjects requiring hands-on tasks such as those in Science lessons. (This would mean, for example, that instead of a relatively brief exposure to a science experiment, the occasion becomes drawn out over several classes thereby losing much of its teaching impact.)
Teachers are also aware that, despite the strong implication to the contrary, all students are NOT the same and when students enter the classroom often can carry not only a different predisposition to learning but also a lot of ’emotional baggage’ based on their homelife or previous experiences (bullying) within schools.
Teamwork makes the Dream… work!
Despite these limitations most teachers try their very best to fulfil their passion to impart their knowledge and wisdom to each of their students to the best of their ability.
Students who know that their parents and their teachers are communicating tend to self-regulate their behavior in class more so who consider that there is NO communication, and therefore little to no accountability.
Teachers who are specifically aware of a parent’s positive interest in their child’s progress in classes, when appropriate, go to extra lengths to ensure that student is availing themselves of the best from that class. Conversely, they are more quickly inclined to communicate to the parent if anything is amiss and consult with other colleagues if that student’s participation in class diminishes.
Be pre-emptive…. Don’t delay!
This all adds up to the fact that good parent : school connections are SO very important in the life of any child. at ANY time.
Most who teach do not enter the profession with the goal to make money, but to make something far more impactful and that is a positive contribution to the young lives that face them in the classroom.
Just as students appreciate recognition of their good efforts in their subject areas, so teachers really appreciate parental acknowledgement of their efforts to provide the best educational experience to their child.
Most teachers (if not all), as a consequence will have a willingness to ensure to the best of their teaching ability that the parent has made the effort to support the educational progress of their child as it is possible for them to provide.
This means that attendance at parent : teacher conferences is important as well establishing a clear and open channel of communication by phone or email and the expressed willingness to work cooperatively with each other to achieve the same goals.
For both those parents and teachers who wish to explore developing meaningful connections with their children, I commend you to the following: https://amzn.to/3uUca65
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