This week
we heard from some parents of students in the C.F. School system. The biggest thing that the parents wanted
from a teacher was communication and not just the negative things but the positive
things as well. As a parent, myself I totally
agree. Outside parent a teacher meeting
that happens only once a year at my kids’ school, and report cards, the only
time I get any feedback is if it is negative.
As a parent,
I always wonder what is happening in the classroom. This is a large chunk of time that I am an
outsider in my child’s life. I have to
rely on their telling me things and looking over their papers to get an idea of
what is happening. If my children’s
teachers contacted me even just twice a year with a phone call to tell me how
they are doing and stressed the positive things I would feel better as apparent
and I would be able to encourage the things they do well at home so that they
could do even better in school.
When I am a
teacher, I will certainly remember this panel discussion and I hope that I will
remember how important it is to communicate with a parent. I want to be the type of teacher that encourages
my students to do well and lets the parents know what the student’s strengths
are. I don’t want to be the teacher that
doesn’t talk to parents or only contacts them when there is a problem.
Elizabeth, I think it's really great to hear that you were able to agree with what the parents were saying as a parent yourself. To have the chance to both see teachers through a parents eyes and be the teacher yourself, I'd think that would cause you to try and be the sort of teacher you'd hope your children have!
ReplyDeleteI agree with the idea that teachers should communicate with parents not only for the negative, but also for the positive. Since you are a parent, it is nice that you are able to see this from the perspective of both a parent and an educator. I am not a parent, but I can see this from the students point of view. My teachers never called my parents since I always did my work, but looking back I realize that it would have been helpful for both my self-confidence, and my relationship with my teachers. Communicating with parents daily is not something I thought of before as part of the job, but after hearing the parent panel, I think it makes perfect sense and it is something I would love to apply to my practice as a teacher.
ReplyDeleteHearing the parents stress that they would really like to hear if their children are doing well in class and not just if they are slacking off or doing bad was really eye opening to me. It's something as little as a phone call that can make a huge difference in a parent's eyes. Thinking back to my years in school I don't remember a teacher ever contacting my parents to tell them how I was doing in school. However, I don't think they would have minded hearing I was doing well or if I had forgotten to do a couple of homework assignments unexpectedly. I think it is very important for parents to be aware of how their children are doing and that we all should do this in our future teaching career.
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