Parent-teacher meetings are essential for sharing inputs about students and making collaborative efforts for their development and behaviour modification where needed. No teacher can work alone with a child and expect to get successful results without the co operation of his/her parents. Therefore, let us go over some strategies that will help us reach out to parents and win their support in helping the student.
·
Create a welcoming environment and
greet the parents respectfully. Provide a glass of water and a cup of tea .Be
mindful of not acting superior or authoritative to parents who come from humble
backgrounds. Ensure privacy for discussion. Do not discuss individual student
problems in front of others. It is embarrassing for both the student and the
parents.
·
You are likely to meet a majority of
parents who are semi-educated and from lower socio-economic strata, with
limited exposure and awareness. It is a challenging task for a teacher to explain
issues to them in a simple and comprehensible manner. Be patient and explain
basic details of an issue to ensure that they understand what you are talking
about.
·
Be well versed with the issues you
need to discuss about the student and note them down beforehand. Be mindful
about taking up persistently occurring and serious issues about a student’s
performance or behaviour only. Do not make a long list of all petty issues; it
will result in blurring the major ones and make you look vindictive.
·
Try and start with positive comments about
the child before you come to the problems. It will make the parent feel that
you have an objective approach and are not trying to defame their ward. Ask
them about their child’s behaviour, needs and strengths and listen carefully.
Get to know about the family environment and problems which may be affecting
the student’s performance and behaviour in school. Explain your expectations of
the parents’ role in tacking problems. Be polite and all times and avoid
accusing the parents.
·
Avoid being judgemental about the
parents or talking down to them. They may be ignorant and less educated than
you, but deserve respect.
·
Convey clear goals. Be specific about
what you and the family will do to help the student and how you will
communicate with each other. Create an action plan for improvement as well as a
timeline. Winding up a meeting with complaints about the child but no action
plan will be non-productive.
·
One meeting is never enough if you
aim at bringing quantifiable changes in a student. Continue with follow up
meetings and remember to convey appreciation and motivation for every
improvement made by the student.
·
Remain ethical. Some mistakes to
avoid:
Do not speak negatively about the school administrators or other
teachers. Do not complain about the school and its policies.
Do not compare two students or
discuss another student’s behaviour, family or performance.
Avoid blaming parents for a child’s performance or behaviour.
Do not make fun of any student or his/her family.
·
End on a positive note. Even if a
parent is unreasonable and difficult to convince, do not allow the conversation
to turn into a bitter argument.
·
Some parents will tend to offer small
favours to you, as had been the tradition in the rural education system. Be
very clear about a firm no so as not to compromise your stature and respect as
a teacher.
