Talking with Parents

"In exchanging information with parents... give parents information only if they can do something about it or if they can use the information," advises Kay Albrecht in her article, "Helping Teachers Grow: Talking with Parents," in the new Exchange Essential: Evaluating Teacher Performance.    

"For example, if a child is cranky or fussy during the day or cries more than usual, the teacher might say to a parent, 'Michael was fussy and cranky and cried more than usual.'  This comment does little except make the parent feel guilty.  A more effective statement might be, 'When Michael was fussy or cried, I sat with him on my lap and read him a book, took him with me on an errand to the storage closet to get more construction paper, and offered him his snack early to make sure he wasn't hungry.  Today these strategies worked.  What strategies do you use at home in situations like this?'  

"Such a response tells the parent that the teacher kept trying to alleviate the problem, suggests some intervention strategies the parent might try when faced with a similar behavior at home, and, most importantly, opens the door for parents to offer additional suggestions of what has worked at home or to identify other causes of the behavior that the teacher may need to know about."

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