Improving Communication with Your Child's Teacher

Dear Parent:

Mike told the class that you have accumulated a large amount of dust behind your washer and dryer. It appears to be a fixation with him.

Dear Teacher:

I hope you will excuse Mike for noticing dust in unreachable places. Mike says you need to clean out your desk drawers.

Dear Parent:

Cynthia seems to have a punctuality problem. Yesterday, she was seven minutes late for class.

Dear Teacher:

Please excuse Cynthia’s tardiness. She was born that way. She made me wait for nine months, fourteen days, and seventeen hours for her to be born and you’re complaining about a measly seven minutes?

These examples of notes passed back and forth between a parent and teacher represent the problems they both face when communicating. What is the value of communicating with your child’s teacher?

According to Christine Baron, author of What did you learn in school today? observed: “Teachers serve as role models. If fact, they may spend more hours a day with your child than you do! It’s important to see who they are.”

Here are some suggestions to help you improve communication with your child’s teacher:

First, respect your child’s teacher. Dr. Sylvia Rumm, director of the Family Achievement Center observed: “Any negative discussion about teachers has to affect children’s ability to learn. There is tons of research showing that if parents are supportive of school, it will make a difference. If kids don’t have a real sense that parents respect teachers, then they will think they know better than the teachers.”

Second, attend the parent-teacher conference. The parent-teacher conference is an opportunity for parents to learn about their child’s school progress, discuss their child’s strengths, learn about the curriculum and home policies, and get specific suggestions to improve weak academic areas. Lee Canter, author of The Parent Conference Book offers the following conference guidelines:

*Don’t make small talk. Use every moment of the time with your child’s teacher to discuss the students’ progress.

*Don’t do all the talking. Listen closely to the teacher’s concerns and ideas.

*Make detailed notes of what was discussed.

*Ask the teacher for examples of the child’s work to look over.

*Request information about upcoming projects and events.

*If more time is needed, schedule another conference.

Third, parent involvement increases the quality of communication. Teachers are more receptive to parents who actively participate in their children’s school. Parents can benefit by taking on site classes, attending school events, and serving as a parent volunteer.

Reed Markham teaches in the World Languages and Speech Department

at Daytona State College