Communicating with Angry Parents

There are many pleasures of teaching, but talking with upset parents is not one of them. As a teacher, you are an easy target for agitated parents to attack when things are not going as they planned. Here are a few simple tips to keep in mind when faced with angry parent, listen, remain calm, and remember the student.

Listening is Key to Building Bridges Home
First, and most importantly, listen to what they have to say. Parents are key pieces to understanding how to help a student exceed. You, as a teacher and the parent have a cooperative agreement, you rely on each other to meet one goal, a successful student. An upset parent may often feel like you do care about what the problem is, if you do not let them talk. If the initial communication is through e-mail, do not reply quickly. Wait and gather your thoughts before you respond. Decide whether e-mail to work towards a solution is appropriate or if a parent-teacher conference would allow for better communication.

Remaining Calm Diffuses Heated Conversations
Second, give parents space when things feel a little heated. One idea is to offer to step out of the room so that they may cool down and collect their thoughts. This will prevent the meeting from to turning to unconstructive. If they refuse to calm down, or become verbally abusive, let them know you will see them when they have regained control of their emotions.

Keeping the Goal in Mind, the Student
Final tip is to remember to keep one thing in mind, the student. Although it may feel like the parent is attacking you personally, they are not. You may not be aware of situation in the students family may be facing that could set this off. Be proactive, and start the conversation with ways the student is excelling in academics or other subjects.

Dealing With the Bully and the Victim

Teachers are in an especially difficult position when dealing with “bullies” because not only do they have to contend with the assailant, but they must be able to provide a safe environment for the victim. All schools should have some sort of program that will give the children, non-violent resources to settle their differences. Since bullies can be very intimidating educators need to be able to recognize the signs of a student being victimized.
These behaviors can include staying close to teachers, frequent visits to the school nurse with complaints of not feeling well, reluctance to attend school, withdrawal from others, poor concentration, poor academic performance, and refusal to try new experiences. A student who is anxious about being victimized either during lunch or on the way home from school cannot concentrate on school work.
It’s imperative for schools to hold workshops, assemblies, a school campaign, and have a school policy of zero tolerance. Assembly programs stressing character development and positive social interaction can be held.
The following steps may help the classroom teacher stop bullying issues before they even begin:
• Focus on students’ doing the right thing.
• Reinforce positive behaviors and work from students’ strengths.
• Be a positive role model. Students will emulate teacher’s treatment of and reactions to students. When a teacher reacts in a positive manner to students, other students will exhibit similar behavior. When teachers value the contributions of students, students will value the contributions of other students.
• Establish a classroom environment that allows students to voice their opinions.
• Enforce the concept that each student is allowed to have his/her opinion and can agree or disagree with the thoughts of others.
• Provide a forum for students to express their thoughts.
• Encourage many solutions to problem solving.
• Enable students to express feelings through speaking, writing, art, music, dance, and dramatization.
• Develop an appreciation of diversity in population and thoughts.
• Provide opportunities for cooperative group work, peer tutoring, and peer mediation.
Probably the worst thing a teacher can do about bullying is ignore it. If you do not know what to do, ask other teachers or administrators, but don’t think the children will be able to work it out on their own, they need adult intervention.

Communicating Through Song During Classroom Transitions

Transitions between classroom lessons and activities occur many times during the school day. Since young children usually love to sing, these transitions provide the perfect time to sing a simple song directing them to their next task. A quiet song about taking out the math workbook and tearing out the page can catch on and after repetition, the children will sing along with the teacher. By changing a few words to a familiar tune, a teacher can adjust the same song to fit many different classroom situations. There are so many simple children songs that adapt easily to different words.

This process allows for a smooth and pleasant transition in the classroom. Most young children love to sing and respond positively. Singing helps children refocus their attention to a new task and gives them permission to use their voices without creating a noisy, chatty classroom.

Finally, research shows that children learn better in a relaxed and positive environment, and singing helps create a fun way to transition and learn.

Sudents Who Need Extra Attention.....

In every class that you teach you will always have one, two or maybe even three students who need a little bit more attention than other students need. It is very important not to favor these students but extremely important to make sure these students know that you are there for them when they need you. If you have a student who acts up or is having trouble in class talk to them, find out what they want and need. Speak to their parents; find out if this is their normal behavior. If so, what do their parents do for them? Keep their parents involved. This will make it easier for the students as well. You don’t want to get frustrated in front of the student as this will most likely cause the student to get frustrated back . You want to stay calm and maybe look in to getting back up. A teaching assistant, especially in an Elementary school setting is a great tool to have to make sure every student gets the special attention that they all need. It’s impossible to be super teacher all the time.

Body Tells All

Homework

Communication Through Classroom Web Sites

Information about classroom projects, activities and events may be shared with parents through an on-line classroom web site. Established and maintained by the teacher, the web site provides a convenient arena for communicating with parents. The teacher can update parents on the activities of the class and may even choose to include digital photos from the classroom. (Please note: Signed authorization for the release and use of student images must first be obtained from a parent/legal guardian.)

Teachers may use the web site as a means to remind parents of upcoming events. Students might create a class book which can be scanned and shared on the web site. A calendar of events might be included.

There are many things that can be shared by a teacher on a classroom web site. It is an effective method of communication with busy parents and can be easily and quickly maintained by a very busy teacher.

It's all in the Delivery

Communicating With Others, Not Just Students

Teachers interact with many people during the day, not just students. Open lines of communication need to be constantly maintained with parents, administrators, other teachers and support personnel such as secretaries and custodians. The ability to effectively communicate with all these various people is essential for the teacher to maintain classroom management.
For example: understanding roles and assignments, planning and carrying out learning activities, coordinating approaches with students, providing information to teachers on student progress and behaviors, and building a positive relationship with students, teachers and other staff are fundamental for teacher success.
Teachers, administrators, support staff and parents must work as a team for the good of not just one, but all students. Setting aside a time to meet with fellow teachers and administrators can establish and maintain open channels of communication.
Open channels of communication are important for several reasons.
1. Talking to the lead teacher and administrator can convey special interests, talents, training, or hobbies they might have which could be an asset to instruction or to the classroom.
2. The teacher can also reach an understanding of different backgrounds, experiences, values, cultures, religions and other factors which might affect their working relationship.
3. The educator must be willing to ask for clarification on tasks, if the assignment is misunderstood, and they must be able to confront the supervising teacher with concerns they might have.
Finally, as a team, the educators need to work together to build trust in the working relationship. Just as important as communication skills are, listening skills are also needed for effective communication.

Students Communicating With Other Students

Communication between student and student is an important tool that students should learn at a young age. While teaching an Elementary class it is important to let students communicate with one another. This will enhance their communication skills for the future and hopefully reduce the chaos in the classroom. There are a few ways this can be done. For example….
-On the first day of school, let students interact with one another to get to know each other. It is very important for every students to feel comfortable with their classmates that they will be spending the year with.
-Let students work in groups- this allows students to interact with one another, learn how to work together and get to know each other.
-Let students ask other students questions- meaning if a student has a question about something they are learning have them ask their classmates.
-Let students have a little relaxation time- Set aside 5-10 minutes of quiet, social time for students to interact with one another. This will hopefully reduce the number of interruptions between students during the day.
Children between the ages of 5 and 10 are just learning the basic skills of positive communication and should communicate with one another daily. These types of communication skills will stick with them forever. It is important to teach them early how to interact and communicate with people their own age. These will be valuable skills that they will use with everyone they meet in the future.

Velcro

Using Acronyms as Learning Strategies

Research indicates that grade appropriate learning strategies are easily learned and remembered through the use of acronyms. Following is one example of many acronyms useful to teachers and students:

• S = Sit up straight and tall
• L = Lean forward
• A = Act interested
• N = Nod
• T = Track the teacher

By describing and modeling the steps to SLANT and by reinforcing the steps through verbal rehearsal, children will learn to respond quickly and quietly to a single cue from the teacher.

Research proves that learning strategies work well with all students, including those with learning disabilities, improving learning opportunities for all students.

Classroom expectations

Establishing classroom rules is crucial to maintaining a healthy classroom. The beginning of the school year is the best time to inform the students of what you expect of them. Three effective ways to communicate classroom rules are,
 Posting rules in a visible area in the classroom
 Enlightening the students of the rules early in the school year
 Reinforcing positive behavior
These ideas can help you successfully create a great learning environment.

Posting Rules
Create a fun and appealing poster listing all of the classroom rules. If the poster is appealing, the kids will not feel like it restricting but makes class fun. A visual set of rules allows the students to see what is wrong to do, as opposed to determining on their own.

Informing the students early
Begin the year with the best foot forward. Inform that students of what you expect of their behavior while in class. This does not have to be a lecture, or something that will have them staring at the ceiling for fifteen minutes. Instead, make it fun to learn about the rules; make a fun movie with puppets. Have children participate in little scenes that depict the wrong and right thing to do in class and discuss. The more interactive that you make it, the better they will grasp the ideas, and retain the information.

Making the call home
Contact parents when their child is well behaved in class, as opposed to doing the bad call home. Calling the parent at home also opens the lines of communication between yourself and the parent. Tell the students when you have called their parents at home, and be sure to include that you will not contacting for bad behavior. Students who are misbehaving in class will soon begin to display better behavior in order to get the “good” call home. Rewarding students after good behavior also reinforces their manners. Keep track of the students behavior during the week and reward them at the end with a treat to show you notice how well they are doing.

These are just a few of many things that can be done to effectively communicate classroom expectations. Remember the age of the students, as they will be your audience. Here is a simple recap, Post, Enlighten, and Reinforce.

Relating to Students - The Lighter Side

Which Class Would You Rather Have?

"Just Because" Justified

Communicating Effectively with Your Students

In a lecture given by Marquette University English Professor, Jean M. Czaja, she outlines 15 steps that a teacher can take to communicate effectively with their students.

1. Speak at a slower pace, but still naturally and articulate your words clearly
2. Ask direct statements and questions and avoid complicated sentence structures
3. Use simple vocabulary and avoid technical language that your students may not know.
4. Write down key words if your student doesn’t seem to understand you.
5. Use nonverbal cures such as gestures, facial expressions, and nodding to help convey meaning.
6. If your students don’t seem to understand you, repeat what you said again. If they still don’t understand you repeat what you said in a slightly different way.
7. Give your students time to understand what you’ve said before expecting a response. Don’t immediately repeat yourself.
8. Confirm that your students really understood you by using questions such as “Did that answer your question?”
9. Look at your students and pay attention to both verbal and nonverbal cues, which help convey meaning.
10. Tell you students when you don’t’ understand what they are asking you, but try to be specific about what it is you don’t understand.
11. Ask your students to repeat their question.
12. Paraphrase what you think the student is asking you.
13. Get to know our students
14. Share experiences from when you were a student
15. Be prepared for our class and make sure you are familiar with the material

Most importantly be persistent and patient with your students and give your students a chance to learn how to communicate with you!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frwP9f85TnU

Discipline and Expectations in the Classroom

Most educators, whether having just entered the field or having many years experience, find the task of responding to disruptive student behavior to be one of the most demanding and least rewarding aspects of teaching. Without the proper training and skills to respond effectively, teachers all too often find themselves resorting to the authoritarian models they may have experienced as students. Respect must be given to a student in order for the student to give respect back to the teacher; therefore, preventative measures are far more effective than punitive ones. Teachers who are effective classroom managers help students take responsibility for their own behaviors and learn other ways for handling frustrating situations. Here are some ways to deal with minor problems before allowing them to escalate into major problems:

-Arrange seating patterns so students are easily seen and accessed
-State classroom expectations and limits clearly and in a positive manner
-Use verbal as well as nonverbal cues indicating an inappropriate behavior
-Remain calm
-Speak courteously and make eye contact
-Offer assistance to students in need
-Use positive reinforcement when students are acting desirably

It is important to know that it is best if teachers handle disruptive instances themselves, rather than referring students to a counselor or administrator. It may be challenging for a teacher to handle every situation single-handedly, but doing so shows the students that the teacher possesses natural authority. This indicates that the teacher respects and genuinely cares for the students. Maintaining a positive relationship with students will make teaching and guiding them much more effective.

Quarterly Parent Surveys Encourage Communication

The use of a Quarterly Parent Survey is an efficient way to encourage communication from parents. At the beginning of the school year valuable information about a child may be revealed by a parent's response to a single question:

What are three things you would like me to know about your child?

Information provided may be valuable to a busy teacher who is trying to establish a relationship with each student early in the school year. As the year progresses, a carefully worded second survey may provide insight into a child's attitude about school. Consider the following questions:

What three things does your child like most about school?

What would you like me to know about your child?

A third parent survey at the beginning of third quarter may be worded so the teacher is provided with parent feedback about the many aspects of the classroom/school environment. For example:

As a parent, what three things do you like most about this school year?

Teachers and parents are very busy people and Quarterly Parent Surveys provide a quick and easy opportunity for communication.

The Pros to Positive Communication with your Students

Communication is the most important thing that happens between a teacher and her students. There are many Pros to having good communication with each and every student. For example: It sets the tone of how your student will treat you. Children at a young age will treat you how you treat them. You communicate positive with your students they will communicate positive right back. Teaching communication skills in Elementary school is extremely important being that it will stick with them forever. A Pro to positive communication skills is less chaos in the classroom between students, which would be a big plus for you. Less fights and outbursts lead to more education time. Therefore grades go up, children get along and everyone is happy. Good, positive communication skills save the day.

Communicating Effectively With Parents About Differentiated Instruction

Communicating effectively with parents about the way you meet the diverse learning needs of your students can help to create a supportive partnership between parent and teacher. If Differentiated Instruction is a mainstay in your classroom then you are aware of the unique learning environment you are creating for your students. Parents will become empowered to help their child learn in different ways by understanding the concept of this teaching method. I would recommend beginning your explanation by defining Differentiated Instruction. Basically, it is a learner-centered teaching method that modifies curriculum to meet the wide range of learner needs within the classroom.

Citing several examples of Differentiated Instruction will give parents an idea of the modifications you make in the classroom to accommodate different learning styles.

Examples of Differentiated Instruction Used in the Classroom

• Flexible Grouping - Organizes students into different groups based on readiness and interest.
• Scaffolding - Teacher models a concept or activity and then encourages students during participation.
• Compacting - Enables students to skip content they already know and move to more advanced work.
• Tiering - Gives students of different learning levels parallel tasks at different levels of complexity.

It would be wise to reassure parents that tasks and groupings are ever changing, and that you continually assess each student's skills and progress.

Introducing parents to several aspects of Differentiated Instruction will help them understand how this teaching method encourages students to be active learners, and nurtures creative spirit.

Through the process of effectively communicating important aspects of Differentiated Instruction, you may find a bond develop with parents as you work together to ensure student success and independence.

Persuasive Communication With Principals

Do you need more desks? Is there a student who needs to be relocated in to another classroom? Would you like to start a fund-raiser to support a school club? If these are questions you are facing as a teacher, then you are probably preparing to get an approval from the principal, and of course, you cannot just walk into the principal's office and ask such questions without preparation. Here are some helpful hints to effectively persuade the principal in your favor.
Begin by researching how the choices would affect all parties involved. The principal is your primary audience, they are going to be interested in the outcomes, and it is your job to tell them. When you are faced to with having to persuade someone, what is going to stand out is how knowledgeable are you about the topic. For instance, if you are trying to convince the principal to okay a new fund-raiser, you are going to need to know all the details. When you are asked, "How much are we going to need to raise to meet the start up costs?” you should not pull up a calculator to start crunching numbers, you should already know this.
After you have gathered enough information, and feel comfortable being considered a reliable source, start organizing it into how you are going to present it to the principal. As well, now is the time into determining the appropriate medium you will deliver your persuasive piece. Do the work for your audience; they do not want to have to think about it. The information should be organized in a way that your audience should not have to ask you the, who, what, when, and where questions. Decide whether a note card would be appropriate, if you are going to speak in person, for the situation (i.e. using numbers as part of important details). When you have finished organizing the information in a smooth flowing argument, review the following list, if you find that you cannot agree with something figure out why and correct it before you present it.
Am I...?

* Comfortable with the information I am about to present?
* Sure that this will benefit al parties, and if not, do the benefits outweigh the disadvantages?
* Confident that if I were hearing this information it would be easy to follow?

All of these are important in making your argument effective. I hope you remember these tips before you have that big talk with the school’s principal. A persuasive argument is effective when the information is researched, a well-organized medium is selected, and the it is all presented in an appropriate manner.
Good luck with what you may hope to achieve with your persuasive communication.

Communicating With Your Students

Communication between teachers and students is a very important tool that teachers need to obtain to be successful. It is very important to have a good relationship with your students especially when they are in the Elementary category. Children learn so young that it is important to teach them the right ways early especially when it comes to communication skills. They way you communicate with your students are the way that they will communicate to you and to others. When talking to you students it is extremely important to talk in a tone that is open and positive. You don’t want your student thinking that you do to like them by the way you talk to them. It is important to gain respect from your students but remember you are not there to control them; you are there to teach them, help them and guide them. Here are some tips to how you can communicate successfully with your students…..
· Make eye contact
· Obtain positive facial expressions
· Don’t use distractive gestures
· Use the students name when speaking directly to them
· Speak in a calm tone
· If you become frustrated just stop and go back to the conversation later
These are the top tools that will help ensure that your relationship with your students stays a positive one.

Parent/Teacher Communications

Research has proven that children can perform better in school when both parents and teachers are active in the school and there are also open lines of communication between the classroom teacher and the parent. There are several other ways you can achieve this besides the traditional parent/teacher conference.
· Supply the parents with an e-mail address where they can ask questions or make comments.
· PTA meetings, although not the perfect time to have one on one conferences with parents, will still give you the opportunity to interact with each other.
· Send home a weekly newsletter explaining what’s going on this week in the classroom and have the parents sign and return it to you.
· Let parents know that you are available for meetings with advance notice.
· If you see a problem starting, don’t wait for the parent to contact you, you contact the parent.

Communication Basics

Teachers communicate with the parents of their student’s on a regular basis. There are many forms of communication in which a teacher may use. When using a written form, it is important to remember there is always an audience and a purpose for writing. Many elementary teachers may choose to send home a weekly schedule in which the purpose would be to inform parents so they may be involved with their child’s school activities and make sure homework is being done on time. The other purpose for sending out a weekly schedule is to have the parent and student take action to get the assigned tasks completed. The audience for the weekly schedule would be not only the parents, but also the student. For this reason, it is important to use simple, concrete language. If a teacher follows these beginning steps, his or her writing will be more successful.