How Teachers Can Make a Difference

Welcome to In Support of Families! This is Emmalou Penrod and today I want to talk about how teachers can initiate an effective partnership with parents. I taught in the public-school setting for 16 years and I found that most parents want to be involved in their children’s education. Children develop autonomy as they grow and the level of parental involvement changes as well. However, when I taught high school, I found that parents still desire to be involved in supporting their child’s success. They want to know how their child is doing and how they can support them in completing graduation requirements. They want to be notified if their child is not attending class or not turning in assignments.
If teachers take the attitude that students succeed if they want to, then when students fail their class they can console themselves with the thought that it wasn’t their fault. They taught the material, the student just chose not to complete the assignments. Nothing changes, they can continue to collect their paycheck and move on feeling they have done all that is required of them. Most teachers enter the profession because they want to make a difference in the lives of their students. They may become discouraged as the years go by and they see that not all students learn quickly and easily. It becomes more challenging to maintain their original zeal for teaching after they have been through many challenges, and it may become much more tempting to work with the students who excel naturally and ignore the ones who struggle and even cause problems. It is much easier to find fault with others rather than ourselves. However, if teachers understand that students succeed when they can, they will want to identify what is blocking that success. Does the student feel safe in the classroom environment? Do they have a learning disability? Are they able to hear the instructions? Can they process the information that is presented? Do they understand the steps? Are they distracted by unmet needs? This mind set allows for growth and improvement; it makes it possible for all students to succeed. When this is the approach teachers take, parents are a valuable ally in problem-solving to determine what obstacles are preventing the student from attending class or completing assignments.
Parents know the student on a much deeper level than anyone else. They can provide valuable information on how their child learns, what motivates them, and how to meet their emotional needs so they are ready to learn. Parents can also follow through on making sure homework is completed and returned to school. When I reached out to parents as a teacher asking for their support, they were happy to oblige. We could discuss the situation and come up with strategies that would help the student succeed. I did not meet a parent who didn’t care about their child. Some were able to provide more support than others, but all parents wanted their child to do well in my class. I also never met a student who didn’t want to do well. No student wakes up wanting to have a bad day, to fail a class or get into trouble. They want to have a good day, to do well in school and stay out of trouble. They struggle with knowing how and sometimes with believing they are capable, especially after several years of not doing well. Some high school students give up in frustration because their learning style does not match the teaching style of their classes. They stop believing in themselves as they realize the adults in their life have given up on them. Secondary level school teachers can make a difference in a child’s life when they accept that their students are doing the best they can and put in the time and effort to connect with each student individually. Secondary teachers can let their students know they believe in them, trust that they are competent and work with them to discover what is preventing student achievement. If teachers can’t make that connection, they can reach out to parents to help bridge the gap.
In the book, The Anatomy of Peace, the concept of how a teacher can influence a student is illustrated in the Peacemaking Pyramid. Before a teacher can address the things that are going wrong, they need to make sure that things are going right. The first step in that process is to develop a heart at peace with their student, to view them as a person who is doing the best they can, not as just a disruption to their classroom. The next step is to build a relationship with others who have influence with the student. This would be the parents of the student. There is power when teachers and parents form a team to support the student. Not only does the student feel that compassion and support, issues that prevent a student from succeeding can be resolved. Students can believe in themselves when they know the adults in their life believe in them and are not giving up on them. Parents have insight into their children’s learning style and emotional needs. Teachers have expertise in instructional methods and best practice. Students can develop study skills to make school easier and increase their confidence in their ability to learn.
What about elementary teachers? How can they work with parents? I know a kindergarten teacher, Maureen, who excelled at involving parents and enjoyed the benefits as a result. She taught in a school where English was not the primary language in most of the homes. Many of the families were on the lower end of the economic spectrum. Few of her students’ parents had college degrees, not all of them had high school diplomas, at least not in the United States. She could have used these statistics as an excuse, but she didn’t. Maureen was very proactive in working with parents. She began at the back to school night where she presented the curriculum for the year and provided copies to all the parents, including all the materials the students would be using. She explained how parental involvement would increase their child’s success. She specified precisely what support she wanted the parents to provide in the home. She explained her teaching style, which was the inquiry method. Rather than lecturing, she asked questions to get the students to think for themselves. Her goal was to have students who could think and learn on their own by the end of the school year. She found this method to be very effective. If the parents were struggling to learn English themselves, she invited them to attend class with their children. Maureen offered her time and commitment to help parents learn English. Throughout the school year, she continued to meet with parents, expressing her appreciation for their support, assuring them that their engagement contributed to their child’s success. She was generous in providing copies of the assignments again, knowing that some parents may have lost the ones they were given at the first of the school year. Maureen’s efforts paid off and she produced a level of success that was outstanding for any school setting.
Teachers can make a difference in the life of a child, any child, even the seemingly incorrigible. They need to remember two things. First, all students want to do well and can learn. It may take time and effort to discover the blocks to achievement and provide students with the tools they need to succeed; but isn’t this why you wanted to become a teacher? Secondly, parents will be your best ally in enhancing student learning. You need their support as much as they need yours. Form a team with parents, listen to all they can teach you about their children and let them know how much you appreciate them. We are focusing on the best interests of students.
Thanks for listening. For a list of ways teachers can involve parents in the classroom, please go to my website, insupportoffamilies.com and fill out a request form. Next time we’ll talk about how parents can advocate for their children. This is In Support of Families. Have a great day!