COMMUNICATING WITH TEACHERS
Parents often feel intimidated talking with teachers and other
educators with professional credentials. We sometimes tend to be
a little in awe of and accept what teachers say without question.
Don't let yourself feel intimidated! It's your child who's being
discussed. You have spent much more time with your child than
anyone else, and know your child better than anyone. Your
observations and hunches are important. You have a legal right to
help design your child's educational program. Here are few
suggestions to empower you and make you more successful in
communicating with school personnel.
- Each time you have contact with school people, remind
yourself ahead of time that you are important and have
the right to be involved.
- Prepare for meetings. Know ahead of time the important
points you want to make, make a list and take it with
you, know every person who will be there.
- If possible, take someone with you to take notes, to help
you make a point or merely to provide moral support. It
is impossible to remember everything that is said at this
meeting. Another option you have is to take a tape
recorder. You must declare at the beginning of the
meeting that you will be using a tape recorder. The
school is also allowed to tape the meeting.
- If you don't understand something ask for clarification.
- Communicate assertively -- not passively or aggressively.
- An assertive person states his/her point of view
clearly and listens to what others have to say.
People generally respect an assertive person.
- A passive person disregards his/her own needs and
gives into others. People tend to take advantage
of a passive person.
- An aggressive person disregards others and
insists on what he/she wants. Others may feel
forced to give into the aggressive person -- and
may resent it.
- At meetings, let your nonverbal behavior tell others that
you know you belong on the team. Sit up straight; take
notes; seat yourself at the table - not in a chair off to
the side; dress for a business meeting
- If you say some of what you wanted to say, but not all of
it, don't be too hard on yourself. Like other skills,
assertive communication comes with practice.
- Although it's important to stand up for your child's
rights, remember it's also often necessary to compromise.
Decide ahead of time which points are negotiable for you
and which are not.
- Learn to escalate. This simply means that when you are
not satisfied, you go to the next level of authority. If
you're unhappy with a purchase for example, you should
first address your problems with the store clerk. If that
fails to get results, go to the department manager, the
store manager, the district manager and finally the
company president.
- Let the school know when you're pleased with what they're
doing, not just when you have a problem or a complaint.
Positive feedback is always appreciated; it can create a
reservoir of goodwill to help you if problems do arise.
This information was taken from a September 1989 article of
PEAK Parent Center, Inc. adapted for The Ohio Coalition
Parent/Educator Team Training Project.
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treatments advertised in this homepage. The ADDA-SR board strongly
recommends that you consult trusted and known professionals of your choice
prior to implementing any treatment or initiating any therapies suggested
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This page designed by Opal Cummings Harris.
Copyright © 1997 by [ADDA-SR]. All rights reserved.
Revised:
07 Nov 2005 19:14:00 -0600
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This page meets Bobby's guidelines to be ADA compliant.
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