Question

Your text writer mentions becoming partners with parents to better the outcomes for the child. Visit websites like http://www.parentsasteachers.org/ and http://www.parentservices.org/ to see what these organizations believe the relationship with parents should be. Provide your description of what a parent/teacher partnership should be. How does communication work? Who starts the relationship? How do you build the relationship? Who makes the decisions about the child? (200 words minimum for 80 points)

Answer 1

Parents are the first teachers of a child and when the child starts going to school, this responsibility is only being shared between the parents and teachers. Most of the time, parents think that the entire responsibility is shifted to the teachers, that’s why most of the schools have opened parents-teachers associations to discuss ways through both could work towards the holistic development of the child. In my opinion it’s the responsibility of both to initiate the communication because it’s not one way communication but two-way.

The parents have the responsibility to know how well their children are doing in terms of academics and behaviors etc. The teachers have the responsibility to communicate about the progress of the children to the parents. They normally use a progress card that reports the child’s development periodically to the parents. Apart from these, there will be parents meeting where the teacher in-charge of the particular child would meet and discuss everything with the parents. They share the responsibility of corrective actions accordingly. Although the parents have more rights to make decisions about the child, both the teachers and the parents make different decisions about the child at various stages. It’s a more holistic way approach of the development of the child.