Being a teacher means that you have to deal with parents quite a lot in your line of work, this means that when it comes to a child’s education, you need to be able to support children’s wellbeing in school as well as understand parents perspectives on their child’s education.
You may be the expert in your field, but when it comes to parent-teacher communication you have to be able to allow an open and honest conversation that benefits them as well as you.
Effective communication with parents as well as respectful communication is always going to be an important goal when it comes to discussing their children’s learning as well as any difficult or sensitive issues that could be affecting a child’s progress.
Today, we will discuss some tips on how to communicate effectively with parents as well as show why parental involvement is important.
Why is Effective Communication With Parents Essential?
When you were a child yourself, did you go to parent and teacher evenings/school events to discuss your school work and discuss your behavior in class?
You may not have been paying much attention, but these are important times for both the parents and the teachers.
Trust and understanding are built when effective communication is used, and when the two come together it can help the child’s learning and provide them with the necessary support and tools to aid them throughout their years in school.
You can forge positive partnerships with parents, and encourage parents to take their own interest in their child’s learning and offer them your help during school time.
Always Show Respect
As mentioned before, you may be the expert in your field with years of teaching under your belt, but these parents know their children and they deal with them day in and day out, so you have to respect parents input and try and see what they are saying from their side to work out a positive end goal.
As a teacher, you should be respecting –
- Religious and cultural background
- Parenting arrangements – blended families, single parents, LGBTQIA+ parents, and working parents
- Gender diversity
- Pronouns
- Language
- Challenges in the home
If you show respect and help parents feel safe to talk to you, then you can promote an environment that will help children thrive.
How to Communicate With Parents Effectively
You can see why effective communication is essential between parents and teachers, so now you need to know how to put this into action when you are dealing with parents.
Doing this correctly can help you raise concerns with parents and address concerns without there being any serious pushback or issues as you have shown them that you are willing to listen and understand from their point of view too.
Practice Active Listening
Listening before you respond is a part of effective communication. With listening you can learn more about your students as well as the parents which can help you put a picture together of what situation they are in and how they are being affected.
You can hear the parent’s perspective of their own children which can help you determine what is happening at home that is fueling the children’s responses in the classroom.
Some Ways That You Can Show Active Listening
When you are talking to parents, show them that you are listening by nodding your head and making the right noises. If you sit there in silence they are not going to know if you have actually listened to them which can make them feel like talking to you is a lost cause.
Even if you do not agree with what they are saying, you have to put yourself in their shoes and see why they may be saying what they are.
Let them finish speaking and do not interrupt them, even if you have something to say hold it in until they are finished, and if you are worried you’ll forget it, write it down so you can bring it back up with them, this will show that you are taking an interest.
Once they have finished talking, ask them some questions to better understand what they mean instead of opting for questions that will only prompt a yes or no.
Ask them for details of what they are worried about or how they think their child is acting.
Take a Problem-Solving Approach With Parents
If you have had to contact parents in the past about their child’s behavior which has meant that they need to come in, then you need to show them that you want to solve this issue properly and that you are not just raising it for them to deal with at home.
You need to work together to attack the issue from all angles, so that means you can do this in a proactive and effective manner.
- Identify the problem at hand.
- Give parents accurate information on what has happened.
- Talk over some solutions.
- Decide jointly on what should be done and how it can be implemented.
- Put it into action.
- Keep them updated on your end either by booking another meeting or through digital communication.
Doing this will be able to help greatly and stop challenging behaviour from escalating and causing further problems in class and around the school.
Be Positive and Friendly Around Them
You may be dealing with kids on a big scale for 6-8 hours a day (sometimes more with after-school clubs), but they have them from the moment they wake up and at weekends. They also have jobs and their own issues which they may not have much support with.
When you deal with them you need to show that you are on their side and you want to positively work with them so that they don’t have to worry about their kids being in school and having difficulties.
Don’t blame them for their child’s behavior, it could come from anywhere and just because they act that way does not mean it is due to the parent.
Talk About Your Concerns Respectively
If their child is showing a lot of troubling behavior, you need to address this in a respectful manner without laying blame at their feet.
If it is an issue that has only happened once, then you may not need to tell the parents, but, if it starts to happen consistently, then you will need to inform them as it could be disrupting or upsetting the other children in the class.
Prepare to have difficult discussions that may touch on some sore areas, this is bound to happen and you do need to talk about it if you think it could be the cause. Ask them what they think about the issue and why they think their child is acting that way in school.
Focus on Strategies
Talk with them about strategies on how this can be dealt with at home and in class. Ask them for their input and let them know that you want them to be a part of what happens with their child on school grounds as you don’t want them to think you are stepping out of line by taking the reigns.
Let Them Know When Something Good Happens
If their child has been great in class either with their work or helping other students, then it is a good idea to let parents know so that they are getting good feedback as well.
Parents are on edge when they get called into the school to discuss their child’s behavior, so letting them know about the good things that their child has done can help them feel better about the situation and stop them from feeling worried.
Your Expectations Need to be Realistic
You can’t expect every child to have the same output, so your expectations for each child under your care need to be realistic to match their strengths.
Talk with parents about what you expect and then discuss with them what they specifically expect from their children as well so you can both meet in the middle.
Conclusion
Now that you know how to communicate effectively with parents, this should stand you in better stead when you need to discuss with them their child’s education and behavior.
It is not easy being a teacher, but as long as you are doing everything you can to show up for your students and include parents as much as possible, you will have an impact in the classroom and on individuals.