Parents Should Become partner of their Children instead of a prosecutor

Parents, you know, it’s OK for your child to get in trouble sometimes. It builds character and teaches life lessons. As teachers, we are vexed by those parents who stand in the way of those lessons; we call them helicopter parents because they want to swoop in and save their child every time something goes wrong. If we give a child a 79 on a project, then that is what the child deserves. Don’t set up a time to meet with me to negotiate extra credit for an 80. It’s a 79, regardless of whether you think it should be a B+.

This one may be hard to accept, but you shouldn’t assume that because your child makes straight A’s that he/she is getting a good education. The truth is, a lot of times it’s the bad teachers who give the easiest grades, because they know by giving good grades everyone will leave them alone. Parents will say, “My child has a great teacher! He made all A’s this year!”

Take a step back and get a good look at the landscape. Before you challenge those low grades you feel the teacher has “given” your child, you might need to realize your child “earned” those grades and that the teacher you are complaining about is actually the one that is providing the best education.

And please, be a partner instead of a prosecutor. I had a child cheat on a test, and his parents threatened to call a lawyer because I was labeling him a criminal. I know that sounds crazy, but principals all across the country are telling me that more and more lawyers are accompanying parents for school meetings dealing with their children.

Teacher Vs Parents

There are individuals who, throughout the day, experience extreme levels of pressure in their Stress Tank, but manage to keep their tank from exploding until the school day is over and they get home.

It’s also common for these individuals to have strong reactions during the day that go unnoticed by teachers and peers. For example, it might look like they are listening and paying attention when, in fact, they have completely shut down their system. Or they might lock themselves in the bathroom during recess – just to get away for a while – without anyone noticing.

For these individuals, a long day, full of demands and expectations, can cost a lot of energy and often comes with a price. It can be compared with how most of us would feel after the first day at a new job. Can you imagine feeling like that every day?

Furthermore, the communication between parents and teachers can become problematic and challenging when they see two different pictures of how things are going.

Examples of how the condition can cause problems at school.

1. John is working in his reading workbook. The directions to one item say to draw a line to the red ball. The other ball is brown. Both colors look alike to John, so he guesses. The teacher reminds him not to be careless.
2. A teacher is writing vocabulary words on a green chalk board with yellow chalk in mid-afternoon. There is a glare on the board from unshaded windows. Peter is sitting so that the glare diminishes the figure-ground contrast. The teacher wonders why he is copying from a neighbor’s paper.
3. Tommy ordinarily seems to enjoy reading aloud. Today, however, he doesn’t volunteer and balks when the teacher calls on him to read. The poem in the reader is printed in blue on a purple background.
4. Susan, a bright and articulate youngster, was asked to go to the front of the class and read from the blue green book on the teachers’ desk. She went to the front of the class and just stood there looking at the pile of different colored books. Not knowing which one to pickup, she started to cry.
5. T.J. was very out going in pre-school & kindergarten. He loved to wave his arms and volunteer to answer questions the teacher asked. The only time he did not volunteer answers was when it came to learning or identifying his colors. A lot of the colors looked the same to him. They just had different names.
6. The kindergarten teacher notices the kids during art class teasing Jimmy. The other kids think it is funny that Jimmy’s stick people have green faces.
7. The kids at school told the teacher Jeff was cheating during kick ball. They said he would break the rules by kicking the ball when it was out of bounds. They accusingly stated the boundary lines on the green grass were clearly marked with orange chalk. Jeff, rather than admitting he could not see the boundary line, simply quit playing with the other kids during recess.

Good Parents Are Experts on Their Children, but They Keep an Open Mind to Learning More About Their Child From Educators.

Farber knows from experience that no parent likes to hear their child is having trouble. “I’ve been in a position too many times where I had to tell a parent harsh news, such as, your child is autistic.” But the reaction of the parent is just as important as the teacher’s observations. What you as a parent do with the information will affect how your child is treated.

When a teacher tells you of concerning behavior in your child that you haven’t witnessed, be prepared to ask for proof. Farber suggests, “Ask for practical, concrete data and specifics. You also want information about this over a course of time. And, as a parent, you want to be able to observe the behavior too. I ask parents to come in and observe–where the parents can see the kid but the kid can’t see the parents. At some schools, there’s not a way for parents to observe except in the classroom being seen by their child.If that’s not an option, perhaps invite another professional in child development to observe. It would be well worth the money to have them come in and observe and form their own opinion. You’re collecting data, that’s more information, and information about your child is always valuable.”

Teacher vs. Parent: Who Knows Your Child’s Needs Best?

Over the course of your child’s elementary education, you’ll have teachers you like and those you won’t. Just like your child, you’ll prefer some of his educators over others.

But in this triangle relationship between parents, children, and teachers, both parents and teachers hopefully have the same ultimate goal in mind—the wellbeing of the child. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. Beginning at the preschool level, parents need to know what to expect from teachers in order to facilitate the most positive experience for their children.

Glam.com spoke with Dawn Farber, the current Director of Early Education at Beit Ha Yeladim Preschool in Santa Barbara, California and a former behavior specialist for the Santa Barbara Department of Education, to get her insight. Farber revealed 5 key considerations for parent/teacher harmony and a successful school experience for your child.

Why are teachers as important as parents?

Because they spend so much time with the students. They are a huge part of children’s lives. They are so influential in the development of knowledge and personality and confidence and social skills.

If you are reading this right now, chances are it is because a teacher taught you how to read- that’s a pretty special and important thing.

Teachers are guides and role models. They are a source of encouragement and pull you in to line when its needed. All these things are also done by a parent. So it seems that in many ways the roles are similar. Now days more than ever teachers are also responsible for basic things that parents SHOULD be responsible for- for example manners, tieing shoe laces, social skills, honesty. Especially in the very early years of school.

Teachers are vital- without them the parents would have nobody to blame when their kids are naughty and would have nobody to teach those same kids how to add.

Preventing and Resolving Parent-Teacher Differences

Parents and teachers share responsibility for creating a working relationship that fosters children’s learning. This digest examines the cultural context for parent-teacher relationships, suggests some general strategies for creating a climate in which misunderstandings and disagreements between parents and teachers can be minimized through communication, and discusses some general principles for parents and teachers in dealing with misunderstandings or disagreements as they arise.
It is important for teachers and parents to remember that they know the child in different contexts, and that each may be unaware of what the child is like in the other context. It is also useful to keep in mind generally that different people often have distinct but disparate perspectives on the same issue.
Many parents may be surprised to learn that teachers, especially new teachers, are sometimes equally anxious about encounters with parents.

Tips for communicating with parents

1. Be certain that anything you distribute to parents in writing is accurately and professionally done.
2. Keep your own record of everything you put on paper to parents or school personnel. The easiest thing is to keep a copy.
3. For notes, permission slips, reports, requests, and explanations of school activities, use a form of reproduction that is easy to read (watch out for worn out originals and bad copy equipment!).
4. Avoid grammar or spelling errors.
5. Write clearly and concisely so parents will understand your message. Be accurate on times, dates, and locations.
6. Avoid education jargon.
7. Type your message neatly or write it clearly in longhand.
8. Send your communication home far enough in advance so that parents can act if you expect a response.
9. Ask a colleague to read your communication before it goes home to see if it can be improved.
10. Give a copy to your administrator.
11. Set up a system for getting responses back on items like field trip permission slips.

Source: www.vtnea.org

Tips for Teachers to Work With Parents

• Contact parents early on and before a problem occurs, particularly when there’s good news to report;
• Consider writing a weekly newsletter or report on classroom learning and activities;
• Invite parents to come into the classroom and assign them tasks if they are willing;
• Involve them in reading groups and remedial assistance when possible, being aware that all parents may not read or write English;
• Let parents know how they can reinforce classroom learning at home; consider asking them to sign a contract requiring them to make children complete homework and other home learning activities;
• Visit families in their homes if possible to see firsthand how well learning is supported there;
• Address parents’ concerns head on. If you are taking a pedagogical approach that raises questions, work to show parents the benefits of your methods and explain your reasoning to them; and
• Hold a parent meeting the first month of the school year in which you talk about your expectations for student achievement and behavior, leave time for questions, and if you don’t know the answer promise to call soon with one.
   

Basic concept behind Early childhood education

Early childhood education covers the education of a child from the period from birth to eight years of age.”Early childhood education and care” or “Early care and education” often act as interchangeable terms with early childhood education. It emphasizes the focus of academically, socially, emotionally, and physically preparing a child during this age range and the focus of protecting and caring for the child in the absence of his/her primary caregiver.

There are different developmental domains of children which all relate to each other:
 
    # Physical development
    # Perception and sensory development
    # Communication and language development
    # Emotional Development
    # Social Development .

Parent involvement should be the heart of the program. Preschool children must be provided with early literacy, awareness and intervention in order to perform better during the later years. This will lead the to success once they enter schools,and put them on the right track by being well prepared with the right and appropriate equipment.

The current educational practices of testing children for kindergarten entry and placement, raising the entrance age to kindergarten, adding an extra “transitional” year between kindergarten and first grade, and retaining children in preschool, kindergarten, or first grade are attempts to obtain an older, more capable cohort of children at each grade level. These educational strategies suggest that current curriculum expectations do not match the developmental level of the children for whom the grade is intended.