Parental Trust
From the desk of Carol C…
Years ago when I was still a young teacher and TB tests were required before you could teach every year, I paid my doctor a visit. Routine except this time my blood pressure was up. When my doctor commented on it and asked why it might be higher than normal, I gave her the usual answer (because I’m in your office) and added, “Well parent/teacher conferences are tomorrow. They always make me nervous.” She stepped back, took a long look at my face, and replied, “You think you’re nervous? You ought to be in the parent’s seat.”
“Good grief,” I thought. “What do you parents want?” As time went on I realized what most parents want to hear are things that will build their confidence and trust in us. After all we’re with their children a great deal of each day. I’ve found parents need to be reassured that we will:
Care about and value all students as individuals. To do this we need to really listen to and learn about each child. We need to smile, find small things to praise them about, and laugh at their silliness (within reason).
Communicate regularly. We can create weekly emails or web pages which highlight what we studied and learned during the previous week. Listing the topics which will be introduced in the coming weeks helps parents see what’s ahead for their children.
Challenge our students. We can offer different levels of learning activities and pull small groups based on need. (This had the added benefit of getting to know my students better as learners and as individuals.) Parents want to know regardless of their children’s ability levels they will continue to learn because of high teacher expectations.
Support them. Along with challenging our students we have to be there to give help when needed. We can’t expect big strides in learning without scaffolding their thinking. Without support all students’ academic growth will be stunted.
Encourage them. We need them to see they are capable of learning and achieving. While we can’t expect every student to achieve at the same level, but we can celebrate the strides each makes because without a belief in themselves their chances of success are diminished.
Parents need to have the confidence that their children will be well cared for socially, emotionally, and academically. It is up to us to instill this confidence. Through our actions each day in the classroom we are able to help parents see their children are loved, appreciated, and pushed academically. Just what every parent wants!