Each year, parents entrust their children into the hands of their teachers for the greater part of each school day. Children will begin to develop relationships with their teachers from the first day and these relationships will grow as the year progresses.
“As parents, it is essential that we, too, begin developing a healthy relationship with our children’s teachers,” says Cindy Glass, Director and Co-founder of Step Up Education Centres. “Studies have shown that children whose teachers and parents enjoyed solid, trusting, synergetic relationships were significantly more likely to make positive progress throughout the year.”
She gives the following tips for creating and sustaining a healthy relationship with your child’s teacher:
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Communication is key: Take a moment to meet your child’s teacher. This is, of course, more easily done in the lower grades as, most often, a younger child will have one “main” teacher. It will be much easier to meet and connect with your older child’s teachers if you make the effort to attend teacher-parent information evenings.
Teachers will use these meetings to explain their expectations of learners and their parents. Information that will affect the learning of your child needs to be communicated as soon as these arise.
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See yourself in partnership with the teacher in your child’s learning: You and your child’s teacher have a common goal — the personal and academic development of your child. Keep an open mind and always remember that the best interest of your child needs to be the core focus of any conversation.
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Remember, your child’s teacher is as human as you are: Mistakes are possible and things may go wrong from time to time. Misunderstandings and challenges can severely damage a teacher-parent relationship if not handled swiftly and correctly.
Negative teacher-bashing comments are a sure way to build walls instead of keeping the lines of communication open. Focus instead on finding positive, amicable solutions as a partnership with a common goal.
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Get involved in school activities: This may not always be possible for working parents, but there may be the rare occasion that an opportunity presents itself for being actively present.
“Creating strong inter-personal relationships can take time,” Glass points out.
