The Importance Of Dealing With The Family

When I decided on elementary education as a major, I thought of a lot of problems that I would constantly have to deal with. I went through the whole low salary, the constantly sick children, and of course the never ended standardized testing. One thing that didn’t come to mind until I was actually in a school was dealing with families. While this can be a good thing, it can also be bad, especially if you do not correctly know how to deal with the family. I know that a lot of times I will not be telling a parent what they want to hear, and depending on what type of parent that is it could turn south very quickly. It is important to know what I am getting into and how to correctly deal with it. This summer I got a job at a summer recreation …show more content…
She replied with telling me how extremely important it is that not all or even majority of my interactions with the parents should be negative. If a parent knows that you just want the best for their child than it will be a lot easier to work with that parent, especially on alarming issues (Landell, 2016). Although I did not ask Shannon this question she brought up a lot of the same points during her interview. A memorable quote from Shannon’s interview was:
Understand that ALL families send the very best version of their child to school each day to the extent that they can. Families have different skill sets that may be helpful and productive but many will not. For those parents that do not have the needed skill set(s), remember that they love their children too. Although they may convey this in a very unhealthy and non-productive way. Overall 99.9% of families’ motivation is wanting what is best for their child, yet many do not know how or unable to provide that. But you still have to work with their child and them each and every day. (Mitchell, …show more content…
I asked both Shannon what their advice for me would be with interactions and both had very eye opening answers. Barb said that it is important to remember that the parent loves their child and they are doing the best for the child even if it seems like they aren’t trying or doing everything they can. Help the child, but make sure to not overstep your boundaries and of course interact as much as possible with the parents. (Landell, 2016). Shannon had a list of six things to always do, her list included: communicate important information early, communicate concerns right away, approach families in a problem-solving way, explain things to the parent, don’t ramble all this educational jargon, all families send the best version of their child to school every day so work with them, and finally to always start matters of discipline with strengths and positives and be prepared for questions or consequences. (Mitchell, 2016). The main thing I took out of the articles and the interviews were that parents appreciate teachers and there will be respect from both parents and the educator, but it is vital that the parent knows the teacher wants the best for their child and that in no way are trying to attack