Studies show that if teachers and parents are able to work together towards a common goal, it brings multiple positive results for all parties involved: teachers seem to work more efficiently, when they receive support and acknowledgment from parents; children achieve better results, when parents are more involved in their education and parents are more satisfied with teachers and their work, when they can communicate their needs and become involved in the school life. If your child has any special educational needs, your involvement becomes crucial, in order to ensure that your child receives proper support. How can parents become involved in the school life of their children? Check our list of the best tips for parents.
Introduce yourself
Make sure that your child’s teachers recognize you and introduce yourself as early as possible. Instead of waiting for a teacher – parent conference, take the initiative and schedule an appointment to discuss the most essential matters. This is particularly important for parents of children with learning difficulties. Inform the teachers about the possible problems and present them the best means they can use to solve these problems. At the same time, do not expect that the teacher is going to pay a lot of attention to your child, when there are several more kids in the class. Offer simple tips and ask the teacher to contact you if any problem occurs.
Solve Problems together
That brings us to the second advice: when you stumble upon any kind of problems, cooperate with the teachers, instead of looking for someone to blame. Everyone makes mistakes and often it is better to focus on the solution of the difficult situation, rather than try to shift the responsibility onto the “guilty” person. Spend some time discussing the possible strategies with the teacher and choose the one, which is best for everyone involved.
Volunteer and offer Help
The best way to get involved in the school life is to be there when all important decisions are made. If your job allows it, become a member of a school council or the Parent Involvement Committee. As a member of an educational organization, you will be able to participate in all important decisions, which affect the well-being of all students. If you do not have enough free time to participate in school councils and committees, there are hundreds of other ways to help. For example, you can volunteer to organize math workshops in your school – find the best experts, who will run the math program and encourage a group of students, who need additional math lessons to participate in the workshops. You can also offer your services in any discipline you feel strongly about, for example, you can help in after school reading classes. Even if you can offer only a few hours of your time once a month, you can still do a lot, for instance, you can help supervise children on a field trip. Your positive attitude and need to help will be warmly received by the teachers and will help you establish successful cooperation.
Marta Gromadzka is a writer and editor with a wide variety of experience, including writing for websites internationally and editing books on many different subjects and in a variety of formats.
