The teacher and the parent: one goal, two different roles…

Two evenings this week will have our teachers talking with parents. The goal of that communication during parent-teacher interviews is to strengthen the link between what you, our parents, are doing at home with students and what we do here at LCES. We wish to celebrate the growth and success of your child and to outline other potential areas of growth, change, and further development.

Here is a quick summary of what might be considered the essentials of a very productive parent-teacher relationship that supports learning well. Consider:

Uplift your children’s teacher in prayer on a regular basis.  It is a tremendous blessing to be prayed for by the parents of the students you teach as an educator. Pray for wisdom, energy, patience, and clarity for them as they respond to individual students and the learning environment as whole.

Share your priorities and hopes for your child’s development. At the end of the day, what is it that you want for your child? To know clearly that the parents and teacher are of one mind is incredibly affirming for the day-to-day learning moments that arise in classroom.

Commit to starting with trust, and to directly engage the teacher with concerns. Trust that the teacher’s choices have intended goals and specific reasons based on experience, training, and the desire to bless your child and the class. Your parent voice of concern or support is most welcome; respect and bless the teacher with the first opportunity to explain why they do what they do when you are unsure.  

Allow your child to see that you support the goals and objectives of the teacher and the school as whole. Powerful and formative things start to happen when your child sees their parent and the teacher as part of a supportive, success-oriented team consistently working for their welfare. 

Support the extensions of learning that reach to the home environment.  There is significant evidence in research that shows children who have parents that take an active role in their child’s learning gain much more from their education than those who do not.  Allow your children to practice, re-tell, and explain their most recent learning, read to you, and follow up with their “I wonder” extensions of learning. Love given is often the investment of time spent well – sometimes on the simplest of things that don’t initially feel very important.

Grace and peace,  SJ