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Welcome to the Project!
Greetings, friends. This will be the hub for our discussion in EDU 740. I'd like to take this opportunity to say what an honor and a privilege is it to b... awww, who am I kidding? I got stuck running this little show, so now you've got to put up with my sardonic humor between classes! For each section, remember that we need symptoms, a diagnosis, and suggested treatments. The diagnosis should pretty much be the title of the thread, but feel free to create sub-categories or spin-off questions if the mood hits you. The symptoms and treatments will be the bulk of the project.
Now get out there and start blogging!
Now get out there and start blogging!
How do you effectively communicate to parents that their child desperately needs stability and consistency at home when a parent continually complains that their child's grades are falling?
ReplyDeleteI'm getting my dessert!! However, I do not have an answer here - only an opinion...I do not think a teacher can tell a parent or guardian what a child needs at home. Making suggestions for concrete things to do at home to help the child may be a better way to communicate rather than broad needs such as stability and consistency.
ReplyDeleteEstablishing rapport with our students’ parents is so important. I try to encourage parents by asking questions or suggesting strategies such as “What do think about trying..” “Have you thought about..” Conferencing and frequent phone calls to report good behaviors as well as bad behaviors help build trust with parents. I think it is equally important to know when parents are just not capable of providing the structure or assistance their children need. Then I try to compensate for home difficulties by providing extra help sessions before or after school or during recess to give students the time or the assistance they require to complete homework assignments.
ReplyDeleteIt's very good to let the parents know what positive things you see in their child before anything controversial comes up. I collect e-mail of all my parents (if there is one) and then write individually when their kid does soemthing of which they should be proud. Brag about the lLittle things, not major accomplishments. Just let 'em know how their kid took turns on the playground or helped another with an assignment, or cleaned up after someone else left a mess earlier.
ReplyDeleteIf you let them see that you notice the good, they are more receptive if you hae something not so nice to tell them. You could suggest that the parent set a time each day to review classwork. It's really not my place to tell parents how to raise their kid, so I just have to work extra hard in the classroom and hope it helps.
I have found in my teaching career the older I get the more confident I am in giving advice to parents. A lot of them really respect your opinion and want guidance from you.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Nan. Parents need to hear something good before you to tell them something that needs improvement. They need to feel that you are really concerned about their child.Once you have convinced them that you care, they will generally support whatever you are doing.
ReplyDeleteOur principal strongly encourages every teacher to make positive phone calls home to each student's parents during the first week or two of school. She wants us to do this early, so that we have already had that POSITIVE conversation before we have to make a phone call home to discuss a NEGATIVE behavior.
ReplyDeleteI agree Anne with an E. The older I get the more confident I am when talking with parents. I think it helps to have experience in this. It was one of the hardest things I had to learn.
ReplyDeleteYou cannot fix what happens in a child's home. I agree that it is very important to establish a rapport with the parents. When meeting with the parent it is good to write a plan of action to help the student with falling grades. You can list the strategies that you will try at school, and then ask the parent to try some strategies at home. Making the parent feel as if they are involved in the decision making will go a long way.
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