So...one of the lovely duties that we have as teachers is receiving and responding to parent e-mails. The majority of e-mails from parents that I get are polite, asking where and when their child can get extra help, what he/she should be doing to help improve their grade, etc. Every now and again though, we get those lovely e-mails where you can tell that Bobby or Sally went home, maybe even broke down into tears, and told Mom and/or Dad how Mr. or Mrs. or Ms. so-and-so was oh so cruel, wanted them to do something that said student didn't want to do, etc. I have been the recipient of 2 such e-mails this week alone, from totally different parents of students in totally different classes. I can tell you for a fact that both of these e-mails were written in the heat of the moment, parents frustrated because their kids were melting down and that I had either done or said something that was construed as "unfair" or "unjust" to these students. In both situations I e-mailed each parent back, apologized for the misunderstandings, and said that we would work it out. I know if I had been in this situation as a parent, I would feel like a real jackass when I got that nice, polite e-mail back from my child's teacher. I would think that I had WAY overreacted. So here are some tips for you parents that may fly off the handle from time to time and a more acceptable way of dealing with your child's teacher:
1. Check your facts. Before you go all batshit crazy on your child's teacher, call or e-mail said teacher and go off on their ass, cross-check what little Bobby or Sally told you happened. Not that little Bobby or Sally would ever twist, exaggerate, or misconstrue what another adult said to them...just saying. I would hope that as a parent you would take the word of a professional adult into consideration. Pull your heads out of the sand...kids lie from time to time, or exaggerate, or misconstrue situations.
2. Have your child fight his/her own battles (where appropriate). Now remember that this blog is coming from the perspective of a high school teacher, where students should be able to talk with their teachers about certain issues (performance in class, study skills, etc.). If there are larger issues going on, then as a parent, you should definitely intervene. If it is something that can be handled by your child, let them try and reason and talk it out with said teacher. If the child talks to the teacher and this does not have the desired effect, once again parental involvement is appropriate.
3. When you do call or e-mail your child's teacher, make sure that the call or e-mail is polite. If you call us (as teachers) nasty names, tell us what horrible people/teachers we are, etc. we probably aren't going to be too overly impressed with your call or e-mail. We will still be polite when replying to you and will talk with your child about your/our concerns. Just remember, you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar.
4. Of course we are concerned about your child's welfare and school performance. That is what we are here for. Please don't make us the enemy. All you have to do is contact us, be polite, and we will help you try and figure out your issue(s) with your child. That is what teachers do. We don't just teach course material, we are there to be advocates, counselors, nurses, etc. We have chosen this profession because we care about children. We want what is best for them.
REMEMBER...these are just some small suggestions that may help you from getting pissed off at your child's teacher(s) and may help keep the peace between you as a parent and said teacher(s). Feel free to disagree with me and to keep solving all of Bobby and Sally's issues though. I am sure that they will grow up to be very productive, independent adults who can solve all of their problems on their own. (Note heavy sarcasm here).
Until next time, I remain,
Jenuinely Yours
No comments:
Post a Comment