The push is on. The end is near. The finish line is in sight. For many of you, your child has two months left of school. You’re. Almost. There.
My best advice: stay on the same team as the teachers–especially if you’re dealing with a ‘tween.
Parents of ‘tweens (10- to 14-year-olds) not only have to deal with the changes in their relationships with their children, but they also have to confront the changes in their relationships with their children’s teachers. Many of you served as PTO presidents or created costumes for school plays. You felt welcomed in your child’s classroom; you were needed and wanted. Now, you don’t feel welcome in your child’s bedroom, let alone his/her classroom. Yet, you are assets-to both teachers and your kids-when you become allies.
Parent-teacher communication is just as important in middle school as it is in elementary school-maybe even more so. Parents, teachers, and students are in this thing together. With the end of a successful school year just weeks away, hang in there and keep the lines of communicatino open. It’s not always easy but it’s as important as ever.
Listening is a skill.
That was one of my favorite teacher-isms to use with my seventh-grade students. I would throw it out there whenever I was asked to explain a direction for the 17th time or questioned by the 10th student – in a matter of 10 minutes – about how many paragraphs they needed for their essay. But my favorite time to say it loud and clear was when it was one student’s turn to speak and another decided to carry on his own conversation or interrupt the student who had the floor.
But struggling with listening isn’t just a problem in the classroom. Listening is hard to do at home, too. And I’m not talking about the kids here. According to Julie Scandora, author of “Rules Are Rules,” parents need to listen to their kids with respectful ears, not condescending ones.
She says, “Children don’t seem to get as much respect as other members of society. They experience the same emotional obstacles as adults, but this is often overlooked by grown-ups. Parents need to treat children with respect and ensure a trusting relationship.”
Among Scandora’s tips to help parents open the communication lines and build that trust: Simply, listen. Short and sweet, sure, but not as simple as it sounds. That’s why I always followed up my terrific teacher-ism with an even better refrain: Listening is a skill…on which you can improve.
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