Both the parents and teachers play important roles in a student’s life. Each spends a lot of time with the student, shaping their thoughts, character and attitude at home and at school.
However, what is not commonly discussed is the relationship between parents and teachers.
Why is a healthy relationship between them necessary? Must they interact with each other beyond an annual parent-teacher meeting?
There are several reasons why maintaining a good parent-teacher relationship is important.
Parents must trust teachers
Parents teach their children from birth – from helping them to take their first steps to saying their first word.
But there is only so much parents can teach their children. This is when parents must enlist the aid of teachers to continue educating their children.
Parents must put their trust in teachers to teach their child a wide range of subjects, such as history, science, mathematics, geography, art and languages.
Schools have teachers who specialise in various subjects and are trained to educate students.
A teacher’s job is to inspire students’ minds and impart knowledge. If the parents taught their child the alphabet, then teachers take it further and teach them to write essays.
Student problems
It is important for teachers to have a good relationship with parents so they are aware of the student’s circumstances.
Teachers should learn about a student’s needs, what they want and any problems they may have at home.
A student’s family could have financial issues or there could be problems within the family. With a better understanding of their students, teachers can work out ways to improve classroom learning.
In turn, Parents can learn about their child’s positive and negative traits from their teachers and any issues they may have at school.
These can include difficulties with certain subjects, being bullied, having problems focusing in class or not submitting assignments on time.
Unique knowledge
Parents and teachers each have unique knowledge about a child that they can share.
Teachers know who the student hangs out with at school and about their behaviour in class, whether they pay attention or not.
When parents communicate with their child’s teacher, the teacher is aware of their child’s emotional health and academic growth.
Parents, on the other hand, know how their child likes to work at home. Do they like having some music on, or do they prefer to study in silence?
Parents know how their child behaves at home – does the child stay in their room all day or do they participate in family life?
Support systems
Students need support from both their parents and teachers to excel in school and in life. Parents can show their support by making sure their child does their homework, helping them prepare for tests and applying for special services if their child needs it.
Teachers can show their support by creating a comfortable learning environment, praising and encouraging their students.
When a teacher works closely with the parents, offering advice and keeping them informed about their child, students will have more respect for their teachers because the teacher is visibly putting in time and effort to be involved in their education.
Once students see this, it will encourage them to become more involved in their own studies.
Establishing contact
Like in any relationship, communication is key. There are various ways parents and teachers can maintain a relationship with each other. These include email, parent-teacher meetings, school websites and school activities.
Collaboration and consistency are important in maintaining a parent-teacher relationship. Rather than communicating once a year, they should communicate often.
The main goal of parents and teachers in having a good relationship is for the betterment of the child.
“No school can work well for children if parents and teachers do not act in partnership on behalf of the children’s best interests,” said Dorothy H Cohen, co-author of the book Observing and Recording the Behaviour of Young Children.
Schooladvisor.my provides information on private and international schools, extra-curricular activities as well as other education-related topics in Malaysia.
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