The Teachers RoleEverybody Wins.docx

The Teachers RoleEverybody Wins.docx

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TheTeachersRoleEverybodyWins

TheTeacher'sRoleinHome/SchoolCommunication:

EverybodyWins

By:

RickLavoie（2008）

Forthepast50years,countlessmediaoutlets,governmentalagenciesandprivatefoundationshavebeenstudyingandsurveyingAmericansschools.Thisintensescrutinyhasbeenconductedinordertoanalyzeand,hopefully,improvepubliceducationintheUnitedStates.

Generally,thisresearchfocusesonfailingandstrugglingschoolsinanattempttodiscoverwhattheseprogramsaredoingwrong.However,researchershavetakenadifferentapproachinrecentyears;Ratherthanstudyingwhatfailingschoolshavedonewrong,theynowfocustheirscrutinyonwhatsuccessfulschoolsaredoingright.Implicitinthisapproach,ofcourse,istheopportunityforinferiorschoolstoreplicatethe"bestpractices"oftheeffectiveprograms.Makessense.

Instudyafterstudy,itisfoundthatsuccessful,responsiveandproductiveschoolsshareonecommontrait:

Theysolicit,encourage,facilitateandpromoteparentalcommunication

Intheseschools…

∙Parentsarenotignored…theyareinvited.

∙Parentsarenotavoided…theyareconsulted.

∙Parentsarenotdiscouragedfromcomplaining…theyareencouragedtocommunicate.

Effective,consistentandproactiveteacher/parentcommunicationisarelativelynewphenomenoninourschools.Inpreviousgenerations,thewatchwordwas"nonewsisgoodnews"andparentsheardfromteachersonlywhenacrisiswasoccurringorthechildwasstrugglingmightily.School/homecontactswerestiltedandconsistedofartificialritualsofParentNightsandannualten-minutesit-downswiththechild'selementaryteacher.Oncethechildreachedhighschool,communicationbetweenthehomeandtheclassroombecamevirtuallynon-existent.Allparties（theparent,theteacherandthestudent）feltthattheprogramandtheprogressofthehighschoolstudentwassimplynoneoftheparent'sbusiness.

Timestheyareachanging!

Inmostcommunitiestoday,ongoinghome/schoolcommunicationisexpected（anddemanded!

）byparents.Theyviewthemselvesas"consumersofeducationalservices"andtheyanticipatethattheywillbekeptinformedofthechild'sprogressandperformance.Further,theyexpectthattheirinputandopinionswillbeheardandrespondedtobytheeducator.

ThisphenomenonisnewtoRegularEducation,buthome/schoolcommunicationhasbeenastapleinSpecialEducationfordecades.Thoseofuswhodealwithdisabledkidsknowthatthechild'ssuccessandprogressisheavilydependentuponthequalityandfrequencyofthiscommunication.Ourcolleaguesandfriendsintheregularclassroomhavemuchtolearnfromus.

Asateacher,youcanviewthisincreasedcommunicationasathreatorasanopportunity.Unfortunately,manyteachersare"putoff"byhome/schoolcommunication.Aspecialeducationteacherrecentlytoldmethatparentalinteractionis"…theworstpartofmyjob."Lastyear,anationalnewsmagazinefeaturedacoverarticlewiththetitle,"WhyAmerica'sTeachersHateParents."

Ihavebeencommunicatingandcorrespondingwithparentsforoverthirty-fiveyearsasateacherandschooladministrator.Admittedly,itcanbechallenging,timeconsumingandfrustrating…butitiswellworththeeffort.

ResearchconductedandcompiledbytheNationalAssociationofSchoolPsychologistsindicatesthateffective,responsive,well-plannedhome/schoolcommunicationhasthefollowingresultsinschools:

∙Improvedtestscores

∙Improvedgrades

∙Morepositivestudentattitudes

∙Fewerspecialeducationreferrals

∙Lowerdropoutrates

∙Lesshighriskbehavior

∙Higherstaffmorale

∙Enhancedrelationshipsbetweenschoolandcommunity

∙Increasedparentalsupportforschool'sinitiativesandprograms

∙Increaseddonationsofgoods,materialsandservicestotheschool

∙Improvedparentalopinionofandregardfortheschool

Everybodywins!

Buttherearepitfallsfortheteacherwhoisattemptingtoincreasetheintensityandfrequencyofhercontactwithparents.

WhatfollowsisalistofDo'sandDon'tsthattheteachermayfindhelpful.

Docreateapartnershipwithparents

Apartnershipimpliesthatallpartiesworktogether—asequals—withspecificrightsandresponsibilitiestowardacommongoal.Eachpartycontributeshisownspecificskillsandknowledgetowardmeetingtheobjectives.

Unfortunately,muchhome/schoolcommunicationisone-sidedandschool-directed.Informationisshared…butpowerisnotshared.Thisapproachisnotconducivetocreatingagenuinepartnership.

Thegreatmajorityofhome/schoolcrises（andlawsuits!

）areadirectresultofpoorcommunication.

Dobepositive

Inmostfamilies,aphonecallornotefromateacherautomaticallyindicatesbadnewsrelatedtothechild'sbehaviororperformance.Youcanpreventthisfromoccurringbymaking"sunshinecalls"onoccasion.Simplydroptheparentanoteorgivethemacallwhenachildpleases（orsurprises!

）youwithpositivebehaviororprogress.

Mrs.Robbins,

IwantedtoletyouknowhowdelightedIwaswithJeffy'sbehaviortodayattheFirePreventionAssembly.Hewasattentiveandresponsivetoourguestspeakerandevenaskedafewquestionandsharedsomeinformationabouthisuncle,thefirefighter.

Youwouldhavebeenverypleased.Icertainlywas!

Waytogo,Jeffy!

Best,

Mrs.Crimmings

Thesebrief,positivecommuniquéswilldoagreatdealtoimprovingyourrelationshipwiththeparent.Youalsoenhanceyourcredibilitywiththeparentforthosetimesthatyoumustcommunicatenegativeinformation.

Dousethe"communicationsandwich"

Alwaysbeginandendyourcommuniqué（verbalorwritten）inapositiveway.Theproblemordifficultyshouldbecoveredinthemiddle.

Mrs.Ernest,

Asyouknow,Jakehasbeenworkingdiligentlytoimprovehisspellingskillsandevenaskedforsomeextradrillactivitiesyesterday.Hopefully,hewillhavemasteredtheremainingtargetedsightwordsbytheendoftheterm.

However,theteacheraideandIhavebeenconcernedwithanoticeablebackslideinhismathhomeworkperformancelately.Hehasmissed8ofthelast12assignmentsandtheworkthathedidsubmitwerenotveryneatorcomplete.Perhapsheisfindingthelongdivisionunittobedifficultandwewillprovidehimwithsomeextraassistanceinclass.

Wewouldappreciateitifyouwouldremindhimoftheimportanceofhomework…particularlyinareashefindsdifficult.Thatdailyreviewandreinforcementwillenablehimtomemorizeandmasterthevariousprocesses.AsupportivereminderfromMomalwaysseemstohelp!

Thanksagainforyourhelpwithourcannedfooddrive.Yourextraeffortenabledustosurpassourgoal.

Best,

SallyMcNally

Doremember…

Beforetheycarehowmuchyouknow,theygottaknowhowmuchyoucare!

Parentswanttofeelthatyouknowtheirchildandenjoyhiscompany.Forachildwhostrugglesinschool,thisrelationshipmaybethemostimportantingredientinhissuccess.

Everyparenthasattendedthenever-ending,tediousclassroommeetingwithateacherwhodronesonaboutthecurriculumexpectationsandtheeducationalobjectives…butsaysnothingthatindicatesanyknowledgeof（orinterestin）thechildasaindividual.

Alwaysbeginyourcommunicationwithaquickanecdotethatreflectsyourknowledgeofthechildasanindividual:

Hello,Mrs.Granger.IloveSarah'snewcoat.Thecollarissouniqueandthecolorlooksterrificonher.Iwanttofindonelikeittosendtomynieceforherbirthday!

Goodmorning,Mrs.Starkey.Jasoniscertainlyexcitedaboutthepennantdrive,isn'the?

Hetoldmethatyourhusbandistakinghimtothegameovertheweekend.Luckyboy!

Hello,Mr.Drexel.Gwentoldtheclassaboutthenewpuppies.Sheissoexcited.Ilovethenamesthatyouchose.

Again,bypersonalizingthecommunicationabit,yousendaverycomfortingandreassuringmessagetotheparent.

Don'tusejargonwhencommunicatingwithparents

Everyoccupationorprofessionhasitsownuniquevocabularythatisdesignedtofacilitatecommunicationbetweenandamongitsmembers.Butthisterminologybecomesanobstacletoeffectivecommunicationwhenusedwithindividualsoutsidetheprofession.

Thefieldofeducationcertainlyhasanimpressivelistofever-changingtechnicalterms…butsodoeseveryotherprofession.Youmaydazzleaparentwhoisaplumber,veterinarianoraccountantbyusingtermslike"cognitivelyamplicatedmatrix"or"criterionreferenceassessment"…buttheparentcouldalsooverwhelmyouwithsometermsfromhisprofessionalcollection.

Someteachersunintentionally（orintentionally?

）confuseparentsbyusingoverlytechnicallanguage.Don't.Ifyoumustuseatechnicalterm,defineit!

Thatsaid,alsobeveryawareofnot"talkingdown'toparents.ManyMomsandDadsareverywellversedineducationalissues,particularlyregardingtheirownchild.Beflexibleinyourparentcommunicationbymodifyingyourlanguagetomatchtheknowledgebaseoftheparent.

Doencouragedialogue

Whenyousendanotehomewiththechild,putaspaceattheendfortheparent'ssignaturetoindicatethatshereceivedit.Butalsoputasmallspacefortheparenttomakeacomment.

Dostart（andcontinue）amonthlyorbi-weeklyclassroomnewsletterforparents

Initially,thesemayseemoverlytimeconsuming…butitiswellworthyourtimeandeffort.Ultimately,itwillsavetheteacherconsiderabletimebecauseitprevents32phonecallsaskingwhattimetheMondayfieldtriptothezoowillreturnorthedateoftheclasspicture!

Dosendweeklyworkfoldershome

Teacherswhoconsistentlycompileworkfoldersandsendthemhome（viathestudent）eachFriday,reportasignificantimprovementinhome/schoolcommunicationandcooperation.Manyfamiliesusethefoldersas