"From Teachers to Parents . . . "
Help! We need YOU! If you were to sit in on teacher meetings, you would hear teachers wishing for more parental support. Sometimes the teacher doesn't make the right decision. But, that teacher still needs your support. It is the trend today to side with your child instead of with the teacher when things go wrong at school. Everyone wants to be sure the student is treated fairly. This is legitimate --to a degree. However, consider these principles about teachers and students:
[1] The teacher has only as much control as the parent gives. Does it make a difference in students’ behavior to know that when a teacher deals even slightly unfairly with them that the teacher will be in trouble when students run home to mommy or daddy? You bet it does. The teacher has lost power.
[2] The parents who do not question a teacher's authority will find their child less apt to question that teacher's authority. Even if a teacher makes a little mistake and deals somewhat harshly with your child, I challenge you to portray that the teacher still has the authority in every way. You don't have to tell the student you agree, but you do need to emphasize who is in charge.
[3] Backing a teacher is much like backing your spouse. We all know the havoc it can produce when children run to mommy because daddy won't let them do something. This principle is similar with teachers. If the student is able to get us to constantly be questioning each other's decisions then our lives can suddenly develop daily conflicts. Communicate with your teacher when problems arise. Determine to back each other –usually teachers love to back parents.
No matter how hard everyone works, two personalities somewhere will clash. When this happens, do not let the student know you have confronted the teacher unless it is a life-threatening issue. If students understand they can not get a teacher in trouble, chances are that the students will not keep trying!