When I was a music teacher, I got along really well with the parents with whom I came in contact. However, I heard the stories from other teachers and their take was that the ‘parents were the worst part of the job’.
It can be difficult, I know. We see our students at school and they behave a certain way. It’s often the students who dislike school the most that give us the biggest problems and those are the parents we have to contact.
That makes for some super uncomfortable and often frustrating conversations. Often, the parents have either admitted defeat and given up on disciplining their children altogether OR they are under the impression that their child is a saint and we are the problem.
Neither of those situations bring forth productive communication.
How often do you call the parents of those students who are doing well? I bet you call home more often about them than about the students who are coasting through the classes, not causing waves but also not excelling.
It’s hard.
Parents, though, are our biggest advocates, even if we don’t realize it.
For those parents who feel defeated, a message asking how you can work with them to improve school behavior might go a lot further than just outright saying, “You’re kid is not a good student.” Seriously, the parent already knows that.
When it comes to parents who are completely uninvolved, that’s a much more difficult thin. The kids of those parents tend to act up more because bad attention from their parents is better than no attention at all. And that is just plain heart-breaking.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t reach out to those parents, but I am going to say that I think you have more supportive parents than you realize. Many just don’t know how to reach out or even if they should.
Rambling aside, those are my thoughts for the day. Take care and keep doing what you’re doing!
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