Maintaining positive and effective communication with parents is one of the prerequisites to effective teaching and learning. As an educator, you should work with parents and try to build understanding and mutual trust with them in order to facilitate effective student learning both in the classroom as well as at home. Some of us are naturally good at communication and developing trusting relationships with others. However, even if you view yourself as someone who is not well adept at effective communication, fear not, for we have you covered. By making a few tweaks to your strategy and by paying attention to a few important tips, any educator can learn to communicate more effectively with the parents of their students.
Over the years, the field of education has changed a lot. Today, educational institutions are readily adopting new technological teaching tools to teach online and some of the best online teaching app such as eLearning portals, institute ERP, smart classes and likewise for making teaching and learning more effective. Educators can communicate with parents using social media, over a phone call or in parent-teacher conferences. Here are some useful tips for educators to help them communicate more effectively with parents. So, without further ado, let’s dive in.
Active Listening-
Almost invariably, effective communicators are often great listeners as well. Simply by paying attention when the parents are speaking with them, educators can get a lot of useful information related to the students and their family. Nobody knows children better than their own parents. By being an active listener, you can learn a lot about your students, their strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes, their fears and motivations and likewise. Furthermore, it lets the parents know that you value and appreciate their thoughts, ideas and experiences and that their concerns will be taken seriously.
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Be Clear, Courteous and Considerate-
While speaking with the parents, always keep your language simple and speak clearly. Avoid using complicated and professional terms too much as it might throw them off and feel kind of alienating to the parents. Secondly, it goes without saying that you should always think before speaking especially while approaching a subject which might be a bit sensitive for the parents. Furthermore, you should try to approach the conversation from a positive point of view about students’ learning and behavior in the class. Having said that, you need to be honest with the parents and openly share everything that you observe about their child. It doesn’t hurt to ask parents about their inputs or any ideas they might want to add for enhancing the learning experience of children.
Addressing Parents’ Concerns-
Always listen patiently to parents’ concerns and follow a problem-solving approach for addressing those concerns rather than worrying too much about any problem. Firstly, you should work with the parents and identify the problem and its causes. Next, you should brainstorm to find a number of solutions to the problem. After evaluating the pros and cons of each of these solutions try putting the best solution into action. After some time has passed, review your solution and make amends if deemed necessary.
Communicate Frequently-
Make sure that you communicate with parents frequently. One of the most common pitfalls which prevents educators from developing an effective communication channel with the parents is that the frequency of communication is simply too low. They often only speak with parents when there is a problem. This often makes parents apprehensive when the educators try to communicate with them as they associate those interactions with bad news or negative experiences. Therefore, the educators must try to communicate with parents often and seek their inputs on various things related to students’ academic achievement and well-being.
Refrain From Making Assumptions-
Educators should not have any preconceived notions about a child’s life outside the classroom while speaking with their parents. Keep an open mind and make the parents feel right at home while speaking with you. This will help them shed their inhibitions and speak their mind which is important for promoting clear and effective communication.
Communicating with parents is a vital part of an educator’s job. Whether or not the communication is effective will determine how well they are able to support student learning and achievement and by extension, how well they do in their teaching career.