Abstract
Communication is of essence between the parents and the teachers to ensure the student or pupils overall achievement of academic growth and general development of the student. It is therefore essential for every educator to communicate with the parents appropriately about the conduct of the student, as well as other issues to do with the student welfare.
Many dramatic scenarios have been reported occurring between parents and teachers. Sometimes parents and teachers do not communicate appropriately because of many reasons among them, parents being too over protective of their children and other times miss understanding or misinterpreting the teachers intention.
It has previously been documented that proper communication regarding children issues helps in the healthy growth of children. Both the teachers and the students thought it necessary for participation to be present in the education system. This means that all stakeholders must communicate readily and willingly for the education process to be effective. This paper will deal with identifying the importance of communication in the education system, how this communication occurs, that is, the various means of communication, the different scenarios in the system of communication between parents and teachers as well as the causes of poor communication between parents and teachers. This paper will provide recommendations and possible solutions to the problem of poor communication. It aims at providing evidence on how miscommunication can occur in the classroom setting and how they affect the general education scenario.
Background of the problem
It is of great essence to carry out a study that demonstrates how proper communication between parents and teachers positively affects communication. There has to be something known as schooling collaboration whereby the schools communicates with all the necessary stakeholders in order for the proper running of the school system. Parents influence the choice of schools while schools may at times affect parent decisions. When the school is based on proper communication guidelines, all the school activities will properly be run and all concerned parties will be aware of all the activities that the teachers and administrators undertake which will in turn reduce unnecessary conflict. The entire society and the surrounding environment ought to work together to ensure the general development of the all-round health of the student. This theory entails how the relationship between parents and teachers affects the overall development of the student. It also seeks to justify how the Childs environment affects the growth of that child.
When there are incidences of poor communication or miscommunication between parents and teachers a lot if things may result, among them, parents getting things wrong or misunderstanding the teacher’s intentions. There was a particular incidence where a fifth grade teacher, with the aim of trying to teach her students responsibility, requested them to bring a pencil to school every day. A particular student failed to do so, on a daily basis so the teacher kept reminding her and even sent a note to her mother telling her of the same. The mother of the girl was infuriated and brought two hundred pencils o school the following day and threw them at the teacher, which was so unnecessary. She also texted and told her daughter that she supported her against the teacher. This was so unnecessary and could have been avoided if there was proper communication between the teacher and the parent to identify the reason why the teacher had told the students to carry books and pencils.
The parent was therefore rude and arrogant and reacted in an unnecessary way that was much uncalled for. She had it in her head that the teacher kept reminding her daughter to bring a pencil to school because the teacher was probably unable to provide a pencil to her child. What she did was not respectable and she created a negative mentality about the teacher to her daughter. She also advised her daughter that she did not even have to be responsible, as the teacher had said which was completely misadvised.
This problem is of great weight in this particular scenario in communication. It made the situation worse and did a lot more than create a wedge in the relationship particular between the teacher and the girl’s parent. Because of the mother's extreme defensiveness, an important opportunity to teach the child was hence lost. Instead of learning how to be responsible, this child learned that she did not necessarily have to be responsible and live according to the same rules as her other peers. Therefore, the very essential concept of personal accountability was hence not of essence to her mother. This parent has therefore left the fifth grade child with the general impression that the teacher is not a respectable or valid authority figure. This in turn leads to both the mother and the child trumping the teacher.
The parent gave the impression too her child that anger and sarcasm were allowed and they are part of good effective communication. Finally, the parent is teaching her child to disrespect the set up authority and this may most probably come back to wreak havoc in her life later. Cooperation between educators, that is, parents and educators is very essential in modeling and setting up the appropriate communication and techniques. This is the best and most appropriate atmosphere for those children who wish to learn and those will tend to have the greatest and instant outcome.
The teachers also miscommunicates for example in an instance of the case study where a gifted specialist, in a conference between the parent of the particular gifted child/student and the regular classroom educator. A teacher was documented to say to a parent that the day when the parent’s child fails to come to class, the day experienced is far much better. Knowing this particular child, the statement delivered was certainly true. What was so wrong about his kind of communication was the fact that the attitude was so negative. It was meant/ bound to affect the child negatively. The parent had been put on the defensive by that negative statement by the teacher.
Although almost all teachers are also parents, they are also human beings and they may sometimes err in the diplomacy functions. Teachers who are known to use diplomacy are more likely to find the parents who will be constant partners in the growth and working to assist the child. The teacher who brings about conflict with the particular parent will result to a long lasting and constant adversarial relationship since when they are provoked, the mother lions have been prone to defend their cubs at all instances. All negative comments about their particular child may feel to most parents as if the teacher in question is just saying the comment not just about the child, but also about the Childs parent as well. Teachers should structure their criticisms positively to avoid any strong or negative comments by the teacher which will be heard or seen by a parent as, saying that the child as well as the parent are not as good enough as the others.
In this specific instance, the teacher is letting out his/ her own frustrations to the Childs parent, instead of keeping the discussion completely professional. The teacher should therefore try to describe the problem in question, as exhibited and shown by the child. This should hence be done in the appropriate terms, which convey to the child’s parent that they are on a similar team to assist the student. It may however, not seem like that is what the teacher is trying to do. Most teachers are known to want that which is best for all their students, although they might have left their specific diplomatic voice at home. Parents are therefore, not mind readers and should be convinced that the teacher has their particular child's best interest at heart before they are even open to listen to a list of teachers comments, most preferably presented tactfully.
Parents should have the mentality that, the parent or the child in question will benefit if they have an adversarial relationship with the stakeholders, that is the teacher and parent. There are commonly four components to the situation: the child, the parents to the child, the teacher, as well as the problem. Then crate a line in the sand to know where everybody stands. Next, the teacher should mentally relocate the problem to a side of the line and then take the student as well as parents to the other side of this line together with the teacher. At this particular point, the teams are stacked up according to whether it is the individual, the students or parents are against the problems.
The person in charge should explain to all those involved the way the individual is working together as one team in order to solve the problem that has been experienced and that it will take multiple efforts from every person to become a success. Ensuring that the parent and the child are on the team facilitates greater likelihood of achieving success more probable. It helps to take of most of the pressure on one person and it ensures that both the parents and the child are fully aware of their responsibility. They also have to contribute to an outcome that is successful. This is hence, a very powerful model, which helps teachers to keep the required focus on heading the team and fostering good cooperation to aid in reducing or eliminating possible conflicts.
Parents can however, if they feel that there is a gap in the personality or conflict, which is harmful to the child, they may need to arrange a meeting and talk to the principal or the head of the institution about changing the child to a different class. Otherwise, the teacher ought to be given the benefit of doubt. The parent should assume that the teachers have the student’s welfare at heart, which is almost more often than not, correct. In order to facilitate good communication between parents and teachers, all stakeholders should eliminate any form of defensiveness. Put defensiveness away from these conversations and enquire from yourself one very important question about what one-person thinks, and how many other people think regarding the child or issue in question. Once the issue with the child in question has been identified, the parent is therefore, in a better position to deal so effectively with it, together with the teacher.
Research shows that those children do so well in school when their parents talk a lot with their teachers and become more involved in the school and its activities. There are a couple of ways in which parents and the teachers can communicate with one another, instead of relying on the set aside parent-teacher conferences and meetings. Close communications among the child’s parents and the teachers may also assist the student. Parents known to participate in various school activities and events will hence have increased opportunities to communicate with the respective teachers.
References
Jay, M (2006). Tips for a Better Parent-School Relationship. Washington Post, Oct 17, 2006
Keltner, M., Hammond School City, I. N., South Bend Community School Corp, I. N., & et al. (1990). Building School Home Partnerships: A Handbook for Educators
Swick, K. J., Humanics Associates, A. G. A., & et al. (1979). Building Successful Parent-Teacher Partnerships.
Tobolka, D. (2006). Connecting Teachers and Parents Through the Internet. [Article]. Tech Directions, 66(5), 24.
Erlanger, W., Virgen-Heim, V., Bryde, B. (2001). Connecting Parents and Teachers using MUVE. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development 1998 Yearbook: Learning and Technology, pp. 3-27
