Teacher-student cooperation is an important alliance that starts at home and affects a child’s entire academic career. Having positive relationships with teachers throughout 12 years of school can make the difference between a child who adores school and all it encompasses and a child who dreads school and struggles on a daily basis. By the time school starts each Fall, teachers have already invested years of education, practice, and preparation into getting this school year off to a great start. Most parents want their children to succeed in school, but sometimes students and parents inadvertently get off on the wrong foot with teachers. How can parents encourage their kids to meet educational professionals halfway?
Here are 10 tips for helping your child cultivate a positive, supportive, and mutually respectful relationship with their teacher from the first day of school forward:
1. Attend meet-the-teacher activities. No matter what the age of your child, don’t miss an opportunity to get to know the teacher both as an educator and as a person. It’s always appropriate for teachers and students to share things about their lives with each other as a way of bonding and getting to know each other.
2. Set positive expectations about the teacher with your child. Even if the teacher your child was assigned to is new or not the current parent favorite, express enthusiasm to your child about learning with the teacher they will have.
3. Communicate your child’s needs. If you can send an email to the teacher a week before school starts, that’s good timing. But it’s never too late to keep your child’s teacher up to date on your child’s specific challenges, especially those that will affect your child’s ability to learn.
4. Let the teacher do the teaching. Once the school year kicks off, assume a supporting role. Express interest in your child’s academic work and school activities but try to let your child tackle challenges like homework and projects themself.
5. See how well your child can meet standards on their own. Schools set up checkpoints, like teacher conferences, to assess student progress. Use these opportunities to find out how well your child is doing in school. Be relaxed and open-minded about any reports, especially if they are not what you were hoping to hear.
6. Coach from the backseat. No parent likes to see a child falter. But facing struggles can be helpful in building character and teaching your child lessons about themself. Don’t do your child’s work for them. Take on a cheerleading stance instead.
7. Get more structured support, as needed. If the year is at the halfway point and your child is not making solid academic progress, and you have exhausted the school’s resources, consider a private tutor, a learning service, or a tutoring service. Try to find a private tutor with reasonable rates.
8. Participate. Three common commitments are parent-teacher meetings, school events, and parent volunteering. But don’t be at the school 24-7. If your child gets the sense that you are appropriately committed and engaged in the spirit of the school without hovering, your child can relax, participate, and focus on doing their best.
9. Don’t pressure. Meet your student wherever they are. There is no point in projecting your prior academic success onto your child or pressing them to achieve more than they are reasonably capable of accomplishing. Love and appreciate your child as a whole person, not just a grade at the end of the year, and they will feel secure and motivated.
10. Express gratitude. Offer your child’s teacher an inexpensive card or a gift at holiday time and at the end of the school year. But don’t write the thank-you note for your child. Help your child write it themself instead until they are old enough to take over the job.
Reboot that rocky relationship - five ways to resolve student-teacher conflicts
Here’s an easy troubleshooting guide for teacher- student relationships that get off to a rocky start:
1. If you are not sure what to say, start sentences with the phrase, “I am concerned because...” Then ask, “Do you think there is anything that needs to be done to address this concern?”
2. Ask questions until you understand the situation and what your child can do better.
3. Convey to both the teacher and your child that you will do everything you can to help address the issue.
4. Check in with your child daily for a couple of weeks to ensure teacher expectations are understood and heeded.
5. Follow up with the teacher after two weeks to make sure there has been a noticeable improvement.
Don’t assume the situation will be resolved immediately just because you brought it up. And don’t believe it is resolved merely because the student says it is. Confirm a more harmonious relationship from the teacher’s point of view, as well. When harmony is achieved, praise your child for trying and thank the teacher for their time and attention. If your child’s teacher brings up a challenge that needs to be addressed, follow the same steps.
Whatever you do, don't...
Author, journalist, and writing coach Christina is a teacher who is married to a teacher with many more teachers scattered throughout the extended family trees. Teaching is one of her favorite things to do and writing about teaching comes up a close second.
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