I recently read this article that had been weighing on my mind. It was written by a high school teacher but I feel it pertains to us all as parents with children in the classroom with other adults. I have felt the same way he notes, but on the other hand have felt the way he explains parents may act when it comes to their child succeeding. I want to break down his points in each section to get it across to parents of all ages.
First, "we are educators, not nannies". Dead on. Especially in early education, teachers get that look of "who are you to tell me.... ". For those who are in the field with knowledge like I work with at Watch Me Grow Childcare and Preschool, we are educated. We are educated and have seen your kiddo outside of the comfort of the home. If we see something that isn't typical, or normal for your child's development, we should not be chastised for wanting to prove tips and tools for the parents to get the child where they should be. We need to have a circle of trust between the teacher and the parent. Trust our eye and don't fight our advice or suggestions when it comes to your child in the class and their interactions with others. We are your partner in providing your child with the best start in life.
Second, excuses for your child's work not getting done. Luckily, there is less of this in early education because your children are still learning to develop a sense of responsibility and ownership of their actions. That brings me to behavior. Do, let us know if they didn't sleep well, eat breakfast or if a parent is out of town. These are called stressors. This provides us with the knowledge of why the child is displaying this behavior and allows us to open up the line if communication with the chid during school. They are throwing tantrums during carpet time because of their sleepless night, let's label this. We can discuss the reasoning for your child to link the emotion to the cause. They need to know that it's okay to be sad and irritated because Dad is out of town for three days and they really miss him. Party of our job is to help arm them with the coping tools for when those feelings creep up on them again.
"Please, be a partner instead of a prosecutor." I cannot emphasize this enough. In terms of early care, don't go over our head unless a behavior or interactions with your child warrants immediate action. If your kid is having a hard time adjusting or just hasn't connected with the early care teacher, tell that teacher and discuss what your child enjoys, find common ground and, again, partner with your child's teacher to make the relationship thrive. Who knows, you may be walking in on the witching hour and all of the kids are in tears, this happens from time to time. We teachers are not lying when we say crying is contagious.
Lastly, when your child tells you something about school that concerns you, approach your teacher like this "I wanted to let you know something my child said took place in your class, because I know that children can exaggerate and that there are always two sides to every story. I was hoping you could shed some light for me." Kids exaggerate and don't understand the terms on context. This reminds me of the picture with this post. We hear things too, doesn't mean we believe it all.
Consider this as my final plea, if your doctor gives you tips to get healthy, you take it as educated guidance. Treat your teacher as the educated professional they are. We aren't in this field for the money, but we are in it for the moments of epiphany and quality guidance of costed and families. They are our future and we want them to walk with confidence that their parents and teachers are united in what's best. If you question and talk the teacher down of front of your child, they will not have respect for that teacher and possibly make the same excuse for teachers and leaders ahead of them. When they meet challenge in the classroom, you want them to dig deep into themselves to work and don't want them to dish out excuses.
For the full article, and words of wisdom when it comes to upper level educational partnership, find it here.
Ash
thelloydmom
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