A Parent-teacher interaction and the development of a child’s sense of community between home and school depend on effective communication.
It’s crucial that you get involved in your child’s education rather than remaining passive and letting the teacher handle everything since you are their best teacher and role model.
It is true that a strong working relationship between the parent and tutor can boost the student’s academic achievement.
The parent is expected by the teacher to make sure that the child completes the assigned homework. Additionally, they anticipate that the parent would sit with their child and review the lessons that were given in numerous lectures at the school. Parents, on the other hand, expect the tutor to swiftly give information on a child’s behavior in school, attendance, and academic success. If both parties clearly articulate their expectations and allocate responsibilities in order to support the child, the student’s learning outcomes and grades can show instant good results.
What would you do if the teacher of your child sent you an email on how well your child is doing in class? You’d have a wonderful surprise.
3 Importance of Parent-Teacher Interaction
1. The General Development of Your Child Advances
A few advantages of parent-teacher interaction for kids are an increase in motivation for learning, more regular attendance, and a more positive attitude about homework and school.
Your child needs to understand how important you, as their parent, find education to be. But be careful that this doesn’t come across as a focus on always coming in first or being at the top of the class.
2. TEACHERS IMPROVE THEIR INSTRUCTION
Teachers can concentrate better on teaching when there is a mutual and positive parent-teacher interaction.
You know what attracts, bores, and motivates your child as a parent. You are aware of your child’s learning preferences and any underlying problems that might be interfering with their academic performance.
By taking the time to speak with instructors, you may better inform them about the requirements and learning environment at home for your child.
Continuous communication with you and your child’s teacher enables them to modify their approach and use the best tactics to meet your child’s requirements and enhance their academic progress.
Participating parents also have a tendency to perceive instructors more favorably, which boosts teacher morale.
3. YOU DISCOVER MORE
Parent-teacher interaction allows you to hear fresh perspectives on teaching and learning methodologies. Your parenting knowledge and abilities will grow as you share resources and swap tales, giving you the assurance to know how to better assist your child’s learning at home.
You get to see a bigger picture of the school’s efforts and grow to appreciate what the staff and teachers are doing as you learn more about the academic program and activities at the school.
Since routines are disrupted and social contacts are suspended during lockdowns, getting along with teachers is even more important. The ability to communicate effectively between home and school is largely because of e-learning technologies.
To ensure that your child’s physical, social-emotional, and cognitive needs are satisfied, look for opportunities for communication on a frequent basis. When all of these requirements are satisfied, the best academic outcomes are achieved.
Types of Challenging Parents
There are two categories of difficult parents:
1. Indifferent
The kind that is uncommon to see. They dos not always appear at parent-teacher conferences either. Through a child’s diary, this type can be communicated with. The child is affected by their parents’ indifference.
2. Controversial.
Extremely uneasy type. Any controversy, they send a letter to the Department of Education requesting that their demands are not met. There are typically a lot of supporters and sympathizers. The teacher in this situation is helpless. The majority is always made up of parents.
Parent-teacher Interaction Conflict Resolution Techniques
A peculiar approach to handling conflict
Most of the time, parents who are combative and aggressive are inferior to their kids, or at the very least, to their status as parents.
Although it is often difficult, they can and should be “switched” into a mode of healthy discussion. Getting something from a parent who doesn’t care is far more challenging and this is not a good sign of a positive parent-teacher interaction.
It’s crucial to keep in mind that inclusion is the conflict’s constructive side.
But at the core of this tension is a normal and admirable desire to keep your child safe. Most of the time, it does not contradict with the teacher’s interests. But conflict still develops.
It frequently occurs that a child of a combative parent is a “special child” who requires particular care because of behavioral issues brought on by organic disorders or other factors.
The persistent need to shield their child from the outer world causes the parents of such a child to feel chronic stress.
How to Improve Parent-Teacher Interaction; Parent’s Part
These suggestions will foster Parent-teacher interaction:
1. What is their preferred method of communication?
The workload and timetable for teachers are extremely demanding. Teachers are typically highly busy during drop-off and pick-up periods.
To determine which method of communication is most effective for your child’s teacher, it is wise to have this conversation at the beginning of the school year. Does he or she prefer to communicated through the means provided by the school? Email? Is she open to text communication? Or is making a planned phone call the better option?
Keep in mind that teachers have a lot of parents to talk to and other pupils to supervise. It might not be the most effective method to phone or email your child’s teacher frequently. If you have any non-urgent questions, gather them all together and plan a call to talk about them.
2. Prepare yourself before parent-teacher conferences.
Parent-teacher conferences are a fantastic way to speak with your child’s teacher and learn how the student is progressing. They are also a fantastic method to talk about any issues or queries you may have about your child.
To make the most of your scheduled time with your child’s teacher, choose what you would like to talk about. Ask for suggestions on how you may help at home to support any learning that is occurring in the classroom when talking about learning challenges you are concerned about.
Ask whether you may reschedule through an online meeting if you can’t make the interview. This means that talking to your child’s teacher doesn’t just mean showing up to parent-teacher conferences.
3. Small movements do matter
Email, helping out in the classroom, or adding notes to a homework book are just a few other methods to communicate and establish a strong two-way parent-teacher interaction.
Why not send personalized thank-you notes to teachers to recognize their efforts and encourage them? You might also mention specific encouraging things your child has said about them to you at home.
4. Extra Advice for Parents
What resources from the internet does the instructor use in the classroom? Are there any resources or features in these programs that you can access?
For instance, if your child’s school utilizes an online learning platform, log in to the student’s dashboard using your child’s details. This enables you to keep tabs on your child’s development and identify any areas in which they are excelling as well as those in which they can benefit from some further assistance.
In order to help your child reach their greatest potential, keep in mind that a three-way interaction exists between you, your child, and their teachers.
How to Improve a Parent-Teacher Interaction; Teacher’s Part
How can a teacher effectively structure conversations with parents?
Keep your mouth shut. Listen to everything that is said to you in silence and with a smile. Do not take these statements to heart; instead, pay attention, occasionally nod, and question. Your posture should be “open”; avoid crossing your arms, and maintain eye contact. This will make the parent’s statements easier for you to understand, and once the parent talks, you’ll both feel better.
Let him or her know that you are normally on the side of the parent and child and that you wish them well as you express your understanding and regret for the circumstances. If you are accountable for something, acknowledge and apologize aloud. If you believe the demands and assertions are unjustified, wait until the parent has calmed down before ending the conversation. Alternatively, offer to meet with the parent at a later date and time that works better for both of you, maybe in the principal’s or teachers’ room.
Frequently Asked Questions on Parent-Teacher Interaction
What are the Important Behaviours for a Positive Parent-teacher Interaction?
1. Be Friendly.
Particularly when it comes to parent-teacher communication in elementary school, a little kindness goes a long way. Be friendly, pleasant, and encouraging whether you're speaking in person, over text, or via email. When you see your parents face to face, smile, shake hands, and look them in the eye.
2. Be Positive.
Positivity is the foundation of effective parent-teacher communication. Start off your conversation with a student's parent or guardian by complimenting him or her. A little positivity goes a long way, just like friendliness.
3. Encourage a feeling of trust.
Trust is the first step in building a relationship with parents. Parents must have faith in their children's teacher. Reassure parents that all of your conversations are private and that you only have your pupils' best interests in mind as an elementary school teacher when you speak with them.
4. Be in touch frequently.
Be sure to communicate frequently as well! Simply not communicating enough or only reaching out when there is an issue is a mistake that both primary and secondary school instructors make. Regular communication will prevent your parents from being on high alert whenever they hear from you.
What causes Discrepancies between Parents and Teachers?
The most common causes of parent-teacher confrontations are (a) control difficulties, (b) differences in values, (c) and/or (d) differing perspectives of the student. And there's a lot of overlap between the three.
How can I Contact my Student’s Parents/ Child’s Teacher?
Personal contact appears to be the most successful type of communication and may be among the most comfortable, including conferences, home visits, phone calls, curriculum nights or open houses. However, as society has changed, creating good school-home communication has become more difficult. It is impossible to rely on a single channel of communication to deliver a message to every family due to the significant variability across families. But here are some medium of reaching out:
1. Newsletters for parents
2. Every year open houses
3. Education nights
4. House calls (where applicable)
5. Making calls
6. School year calendars
7 Local newspapers' inserts
8. Yearly holidays for grandparents or "special persons"
9. At PTA meetings, the spokesperson for the Board of Education or the communications officer
10. Hotlines for homework
11. Yearly field days
12. Announcements and flyers in neighborhood stores, clinics, churches, mosques, temples, or other public meeting places
13. Website of the institution
14. Seminars for parents.
What are the Guidelines for Phoning Parents?
You can use the following recommendations as you get ready:
1. Identify yourself
2. Inform the parents of their child's studies.
3. Organize an open house or other school events and invite the parents.
4 Comment on the development of their child. Tell them about their child's accomplishments (e.g., "Student of the Week")
5. Share anecdotes or strengths their child has with them.
Conclusion
As a parent, always keep in mind that while the teacher is in charge at school, you are in charge of the circumstance. And as a teacher, take control of the issue, develop the ability to ignore annoying nagging, and such situations won’t ever make you feel bad.
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