Be it walking, speaking or brushing, you were your child’s first teacher. You will know his/her habits inside out. You will also know his/her strengths and shortcomings. But as soon as your child starts school, much of his/her time will now be spent there, away from your eyes. And whatever habits and skills he/she develops in that new environment may often stay on your blindsight. You may notice a different behaviour at home. A different way of speaking. And the only way you can catch up with your child’s recent developments is by speaking to the person who now spends as much time with your child in school as you do at home. As evident, when you and your child’s teacher exchange notes, the student can thrive in a better company. And that can only happen with a positive parent teacher partnership.
In this article:
Students perform better with parent engagement
Numerous researches over the years have shown that students who find their parents involved in their studies tend to perform better than the group whose parents stay aloof. When you take notice of your child’s educational progress and, at times, step in to offer help, he/she feels appreciated and valued which works to boost self-confidence. But you have delegated the task of educating your child to the school and its teachers. You do not want to become the authority figure and dictate the curriculum. Instead, through building parent-teacher relationships, you can stay connected with your child’s education through the teacher and help his/her performance.
Teachers also expect your contribution
Your child will receive home assignments from his/her teachers at school. They will expect your child to attend the task in a particular fashion to promote the skill of self-learning. Now, every teacher has his/her own unique way to teach your child and there comes the expectation on you to follow a similar approach at home as well. You can only understand the teacher’s side of things by periodically communicating with him/her. You will also need the teacher’s expert advice on how to help your child with the assignments. The importance of parents and teachers working together lies in the fact that your child gets to follow one method of learning both at home and school. A misalignment will negatively affect your child.
Your team can help the child in impressive ways
And probably, this parameter establishes the importance of positive parent-teacher relationships further. A teacher might notice a learning disability in your child at school. You may have a suggestion to offer as to how to tackle your child’s struggle with mathematics. Both the teacher and you have a similar vision for your child and both of you want good for the student. Thus, instead of individually helping your child in your individual ways, why not team up and come with better solutions? A healthy parent-teacher relationship can enhance your child’s development and maturity. Together, you can guide the student in the right direction.
Today, there is really no excuse to not get in touch with your child’s teacher. Acknowledge the importance of parents and teachers working together, visit the school regularly and connect over electronic means. Irrespective of your child’s grade, a positive parent-teacher relationship will always remain crucial.
