During my first few years of teaching I thought
that in order to present a professional and knowledgeable appearance to my
students’ parents, I had to ALWAYS BE RIGHT. There were a few times when
parents questioned my classroom procedures, grading policies, or choices in the
classroom. I worried that if I conceded to those parents, I would lose their
respect and trust as a professional educator. So I squared my shoulders, met
the parents’ challenges, and assured them that I was right and I knew what I
was doing.
However, after a few years I was confronted with
a situation in which a parent brought up an excellent challenge to my grading
policy. It forced me to listen to his reasoning and I realized that he had a
really good point. In fact, it was so good that I changed my grading policy.
And guess what! I didn’t lose his respect! In fact, he thanked me for
listening, being willing to adjust, and our relationship continued in a
positive manner for the remainder of the year.
In actuality, my grading policy hadn’t been bad,
but by listening to a parent’s concern, I was able to make it even better. I
learned through that experience that parents have some good ideas if I am
willing to listen instead of feeling the need to prove that I’m right.
I also learned the value of telling a parent
“oops, I was wrong. I’ll correct it”. Being willing to admit mistakes and
keeping parents on your side is so much better than trying to sidestep a
mistake and having an awkward relationship for the rest of the year.
In short, parents don’t expect us to be perfect.
They just want us to work with them. Being a good listener to their concerns
and being willing to admit mistakes are two ways I learned to keep them on my
side.
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