Monday Memorandum #2

Five more points from TCC’s Parent-Teacher Partnership Skills Session

“Treat people as if they were what they ought to be

and you help them to become what they are capable of being.”

                                                                                                                                         Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

2^nd of 5 Things Teachers Wish Parents Knew

• Your example speaks volumes
  • If you support your child’s teacher or coach, so will they. If you complain about homework, their practice schedule, their teacher or a policy, your kid does, too. If you praise their school and administration, they’ll be much more apt to show their school pride. If you cheat at anything, you give your children a license to cheat at school and everywhere else. (Oh – and if you say the F word, so do they. I hate that.)

2^nd of 5 Things Parents Wish Teachers Knew

• The experience and process is more important than grades
  • I once asked my son’s teacher what was happening in math, since his grades were slowly slipping. I was shown a notebook of graphs and percentages that I didn’t understand at all. My question was not nearly as much about what he was scoring, but what his demeanor, focus and attitude was that was leading to the decline. I never quite figured it out and to this day, my son’s only impression of his teacher that year is that she taught a lot of ‘stuff’ but didn’t know much of anything about him. Sad to hear from an elementary school kid!!

2^nd of 5 Things Kids Wish We All Knew

• Life would be easier if parents, teachers and coaches worked together
  • What is it like for a young student or athlete to hear one set of instructions from her teacher or coach and then to hear another set from her parents? Whether it is that math is being taught a different way ‘these days’ or who she should be passing the ball to, our kids are confused and conflicted when the important adults in their lives are not supporting one another. In athletics, we beg parents to: release your kid to the game/coach. Works in the classroom, as well.  The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics division for young athletes, Champions of Character, surveyed college students as to when and why they stopped playing organized sports. About 80% stopped by middle school. The number one reason they gave? The relationship with and between the adults in their lives. Whew!!

2^nd of 5 Things I Wish Parents and Teachers Knew

• They’re not finished yet!!
  • Even if you could answer the question of what your child will be best at when he grows up, I would ask you not to go there just yet….Our children should be free to grow, change, change their minds and simply BE….without the added pressure of going to college where her dad went or becoming an attorney because his mom wants him to join her practice or over-scheduling them in hopes that they find their life’s calling if you (over) expose them to enough activities. Let them remain a blank slate until they are ready to color it in all by themselves.