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The Parent-Teacher Partnership
"Even if you disagree with a teacher, show her that you respect the profession because this will establish the basis for a productive relationship. A child can't really learn from a teacher if her parents don't respect the teacher and a teacher can't really teach a child if he thinks the parents don't respect him, so you want to create that trust, so those sacred learning moments will take place. In Finland, Italy and Japan, teachers are more respected by the entire culture, and as a result, kids perform better in school."
Michael Thompson, Ph.D.
Author of The Pressured Child.
The experts have been polled and the results are in: a positive parent-teacher relationship contributes to your child's school success.
"Easier said than done," you may be thinking. After all, there are teachers your child will love and teachers your child may not. There are teachers you'll like and dislike as well. There are teachers who may adore your child, and those who just don't understand him. But whatever the case, your child's teacher is the second most important person in your child's life (after her parents, of course). And you can help make their relationship a strong and rewarding one.
"A positive parent-teacher relationship helps your child feel good about school and be successful in school," advises Diane Levin, Ph.D., professor of education at Wheelock College. "It demonstrates to your child that he can trust his teacher, because you do. This positive relationship makes a child feel like the important people in his life are working together."
Communicating well is a key factor for making this relationship work. "Communication on both sides is extremely important," notes teacher Susan Becker, M. Ed. "The parents need information about what and how their child is learning, and the teacher needs important feedback from the parent about the child's academic and social development."
But communicating effectively with a busy teacher, who may have up to 30 kids in a class, can be challenging. When's the right time to talk — and when isn't? How can you get her attention? What should you bring up with her with and what should be left alone? How do you create a relationship with someone you may only see a few times a year? And how do you do this without coming across like an overanxious pain in the you-know-what?
Check out these strategies for making the relationship work.