Resources
How
Winning Teachers Use Communication
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Even teachers
with the strongest classroom skills can fall short without
strong communication wiht parents. Here are some ideas to share
to strengthen teacher communication:
Let parents
and students know how you prepared for your teaching
assignment and what you are doing to stay current in your area
of expertise. Display your diploma. Be a model for life-long
learning. And, make sure you know your stuff.
Help
students and parents know you as a professional... and as a
person. Of course parents and students want to know your
qualifications, but they are also looking for something they can
relate to - something that makes you just like them. Tell
students and parents about yourself the first day of school (or
sooner, if possible).
Show parents
the agenda. Parents want to know your goals for the year,
the subject matter you'll cover and your instructional
timeline. Give them an overview at the beginning of th eyear
and provide them with specific updates at least monthly.
Clearly
communicate what you expect . . . from both students and
parents. If you expect students to ask questions and
participate in classroom dialogue, tell them. The same is true
for parents. They need to know if you want parent involvement
and what form it should take. They need to know if you want
parent involvement and what form it should take. They need to
know if it's okay to call you and the best time to phone. Open
a dialogue with students and parents and you'll get more support
than you expect.
Report
progress twice as often as you think you should. Students
want more frequent feedback on how they're doing in class.
Parents may be even more demanding. The Internet has hooked
people on instance access. They expect teachers to use it to
keep them posted.
Increasingly,
the say that they'd like to see the lesson plan for the coming
week over the weekend, and be able to access a report of their
child's progress on the following Friday. Some parents even
want access to information about their child's progress on a
daily basis.
Coach your
class - one student at a time. Many students and parents
say that teachers rarely make comments about student work or
give suggestions for improvement. Make sure you do this.
Students want to know how well they're doing how they might do
better. Their parents want to know, too.
Celebrate
each child's success. Everybody wants to be recognized for
something. Teachers know the research on self-esteem,
motivation and satisfaction. Recognition is at the heart of
it. And they know that even a little individual attention is a
good thing.
Don't get
silly about homework and class projects. Students have a
life beyond school. They shouldn't spend every night toiling at
homework assignments or projects. Parents have a life too.
Most of them would rather not spend their evenings helping their
children with school work. Infringe on family time carefully.
...............................................................
Source: Adapted from Ten Tips from the People on How to
Be a Winning Teacher, by Bill Banach, APR, Banach, Banach &
Cassidy; 586/784-9888;
www.banach.com.
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