Children, Parents, and Teachers:
A Winning Team for Education

There's more to education than just sending a child to school. Parents, teachers, and school administrators need to work as partners in the educational process.

When these important people work together toward common, specific goals--goals they understand and agree upon--the children come out ahead. If children know that parents, teachers, and school administrators all value them as people, want them to learn all they can, and that they will keep close check on their progress, they are motivated to do their best.

To give children the support they deserve, there must be good communication between homes and schools. PTA or PTO meetings and parent-teacher conferences offer opportunities to get to know each other by sight, but that is only a beginning. There should be frequent exchanges of brief notes or telephone calls to help keep active goodwill and positive exchange of information.

Communication between parents and teachers requires an investment of time, which usually is in short supply, so parents must decide the importance of their child's education. We make time to do what is most important to us.

Communication Tips

Set a positive tone at the beginning of school. Send a note to teachers letting them know your work schedule and the times and telephone numbers where you can be reached.

Relate that you would like to know about your child's progress and ask how and when the teacher would like to be contacted. If it is true, tell the teacher that you are glad your child is in his/her room. Throughout the year, let school personnel know when you are pleased with something one of them has done! Be specific. Although many factors contribute to good communication between home and school, the most important aspect is communicating goodwill and a positive attitude.

Be direct and clear in the statements you make. Don't hesitate to ask questions. Each profession has its own language or jargon. Do not be embarrassed about asking what an "I.E.P." or a "cluster" is if these or other unfamiliar terms are used.

If you have time to serve as a volunteer, tell the teacher how much time you can give, your skills, and previous experience. Work out a schedule you can maintain. It is better to keep a weekly commitment than to back out of a daily one.

Address issues when they first arise. Time does heal some problems, but rarely does time solve a school situation. When you have a complaint or concern, discuss it immediately with the person responsible for it...not your friends who are unable to resolve the issue at hand. Start with the teacher, cafeteria worker, crossing guard, or bus driver...whoever is responsible. Only if the problem cannot be worked out on that level is it appropriate to go to a school administrator.

Helping at Home

Homework is the child's, not the parents', responsibility. Collins (Mississippi) Middle School offers these suggestions:

• Set up a work space. It should be quiet, well lit, and have a desk or table and chair. Have pencils, paper, rulers, and a dictionary handy. Reference books are helpful but can be expensive. If you cannot afford to buy references, the local library is a good resource.

• Set a work time. Make sure there is a regular time set aside each day for homework. This time should not be too late in the evening. Make visitors, television, and phone calls off limits during this study time. If there is no homework, still set aside time for reading, working on future projects (e.g., science projects or term papers), or reviewing materials already covered.

• Help with planning. Children often need help remembering homework assignments. One way to help is by giving them a homework notebook (organized by the days of the week) to write down and keep track of instructions, due dates, and other school information.

• Give encouragement. Check your child's assignments at the end of the homework period. If it is complete and done well, provide verbal and physical encouragement. In other words, hug your child and say things such as: "Well done." "You take pride in your work and it shows." "You had a lot to do and you stuck with it to the end." "Your work is getting better and better." Try to instill in your child pride for school accomplishments.

Specific subjects may need to be approached differently.

• Reading. Have your child read all the assigned material; then have your child go back and read more slowly, making notes, outlines, or diagrams as he/she reads. You might help by asking questions from the book.

• Mathematics. If your child has problems with mathematics, it might help to do this homework first. It is more difficult to solve addition/subtraction problems when one is tired.

• Writing. Before writing, your child should make a plan or outline. It may help to begin with a quick, rough draft before the final product is written--correct grammar, spelling, or punctuation mistakes.

• Studying for tests. Review each day rather than at the last minute!

The growth and development of the whole child are important. The school setting emphasizes the intellectual development of children; however, every dimension of children needs equal emphasis. This means physical, social, emotional, and intellectual development (of a child) should progress together.

Often when a child does not achieve academically, the root cause is not a lack of intelligence but emotional immaturity. Probably the most important component of emotional growth is the self-concept, our internal image of self. What am I like? Am I a good person? A smart person? Do people like me? Am I good at sports? Am I a good reader? The strange thing about self-concept is that it often has so little to do with external or apparent reality but with what the person believes inside.

A positive self-concept leads to success. On the other hand, when children think they cannot do any thing right, they are afraid to try new things. They expect to fail. To a large extent we become what we think we are:

"Those who think they can do, do.
Those who think they cannot, do not."

Reacting to Report Cards

How a parent reacts to a report card can greatly in fluence a child's self-concept. Regardless of how well or how poorly a son or daughter does on that scholastic report, the young person needs love and acceptance. Parental love should never be conditional on getting good grades. Recognize any positive aspect of the report, and then the parent, child, and teacher should decide how to improve the negative aspects.

The school and home team working together are unbeatable.

By Norine Barnes, former Extension Child and Family Development Specialist

Mississippi State University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, handicap/disability, or veteran status.

Information Sheet 1443
Extension Service of Mississippi State University, cooperating with U.S. Department of Agriculture. Published in furtherance of Acts of Congress, May 8 and June 30, 1914. Ronald A. Brown, Director

Copyright by Mississippi State University. All rights reserved.

This document may be copied and distributed for nonprofit educational purposes provided that credit is given to the Mississippi State University Extension Service.

Visit: DAFVM || USDA
Search our Site || Need more information about this subject?
Last Modified: Wednesday, 11-Feb-09 14:06:22
URL: http://msucares.com/pubs/infosheets/is1443.htm
Mississippi State University is an equal opportunity institution.
Recommendations on this web site do not endorse any commercial products or trade names.