Rahima Ali Mukta writes for DOT :
“If you aren’t in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?”- T.S. Eliot
Relationship-building efforts extend beyond your students. In my last write up I have discussed building relationship with students, today I am going to talk about Parent-Teacher relationship. There’s no question that parental involvement in a student’s education has positive effects. As teachers, we know parents matter. Many teachers, especially those with a fixed mindset, might write off some parents as disinterested or placing a low value on education simply because they missed a parent-teacher conference. At the same time teachers are reporting an increase in unsupportive and disinterested parents. In other words, teachers are saying parents don’t want information, and parents are saying teachers won’t give it to them. So, how can we rectify this obvious disconnect? A teacher with a growth mindset makes efforts to get parents interested in their student’s educational journey. He or she knows that all parents and guardians have the potential and capacity to positively affect a student’s educational outcomes, and seeks to find ways to make it happen, no matter how limited the circumstances may seem. And studies suggest it’s easier than you’d imagine.
Effective communication with parents doesn’t have to be a protracted, face-to-face conference in order to make a difference. In our school we actually sent short text messages to parents just once per week, and it had a significant effect on the achievement of the at-risk students.
It’s not necessary to shower the parents with praise if their child, just letting them know where their student can improve actually garnered better results. I personally follow the strategy which is to “Sandwich” growth messages in between compliments. Consider setting up a growth-oriented communication system at the beginning o the school year.
As a teacher, part of our job is to coach parents. Most parents don’t have an education degree; they need guidance on how to help their children. This doesn’t mean that you have to spend exhaustive hours e-mailing, meeting with and talking to parents. Rather let your expectations for parent involvement be known at the beginning of the year. Let them know how you plan to involve them in their child’s education, and give them explicit instruction on ways they can be a positive part of the process.
It’s important to instill self-efficiency in children early on. They should understand the perils associated with an over-reliance on praise and perfection. As Dweck writes in Mindset, “If parents want to give their children a gift, the best thing they can do is to teach their children to love challenges, be intrigued by mistakes, enjoy effort, and keep on learning.”
Rahima Ali Mukta is a Faculty & Award Coordinator,Duke of Edinburgh. American Standard International School