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Three-way relationship is integral in education
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WITH the rise of the “Tiger Mom” phenomenon, you could be forgiven for thinking teachers don’t have a place in your child’s education any more. But, let us not forget that parents, teachers and the student all need to be working effectively together to enrich the young person’s development.
Teachers are so grateful to supporting parents who “follow up” on what their child has achieved at school. This is a great way of reinforcing what was learnt during the day, the “win-wins” and the areas for improvement. This can be done in different ways such as a casual conversation when your child returns home or over a snack when they have settled down. The golden rule in this is for you to have an honest, open dialogue with your child so he/she learns to take a mature view of mistakes made and how to put them right rather than playing the blame game. Be sensitive to your child’s feelings on how school is going or how the day went but be careful not to get sucked into a “student-versus-teacher” scenario. This could damage very important relationships. Do maintain an interest in your child’s homework but ensure you don’t end up doing it for him/her.
Nothing is more frustrating to teacher and even more so for the student. Keeping check through regular drop-ins during their homework sessions often does the trick. Our school has a student planner, which is common to most schools (aka homework diary et al.), and we ask our parents to read through the homework written down therein by the student and sign it every week. This is helpful, as it shows your child and teacher your interest in what is being learned but also gives you an idea on how well your son/daughter is coping with the work. Is he/she spending an excessively long time on it or are they finishing a 30-minute task in a fraction of the time? Teachers genuinely welcome parental feedback of this nature, as it informs them on how effective the activity was for each student’s learning. Teachers are also sensitive to students who struggle with their subject so a parental signature supporting the student spent the requisite amount of time on a homework in the planner will ensure the student is not reprimanded for trying his best even if the outcome was not extensive.
Communication between parents, teachers and students is key for academic success. This will invariably come in the form of parents’ meetings, school reports and other standard channels. But, our school, and again this is a common practice at others, strongly encourages proactive home-school communication. If a parent has a question about any aspect of their child’s education, they contact his/her homeroom teacher, who will respond. We also invite our parents to join our Parent Support Group, which is an excellent way of integrating our families, especially new ones into the school community.
By focusing on the positive, collaborating with teachers in a team-spirited way and gently coaching your sons/daughters on their journey of independent learning will ensure you, as parents, can contribute richly to your child’s development.
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