Building Cordial Relationship Between Teachers And Parents -By Victoria Ifeakachukwu Odigwe

The gift of children given to parents by God is one of the greatest treasures man is eternally grateful for. Children are precious creatures from God and must be handled by parents with the best of care. That is why parents wish to give their children the best training they could ever afford- physically, morally, emotionally, spiritually, socially and educationally.

When a child is old enough to begin schooling, the parents make every possible effort to ensure that their little baby starts off on the right footing.  According to Chris Barnes (2022) in his essay, Inclusive Education for All, “…the quest for parents wanting their child to feel comfortable at school can be exhausting and even traumatic. This can sometimes be overbearing on both the parents and the teachers at the same time.” How, then, can both teachers and parents synergize efforts in making sure that they succeed in the business and obligation of training the leaders of tomorrow?

In the first instance, it is the duty of teachers to be welcoming and approachable to parents. Teachers are to treat every parent in a dignified manner. The same quality is expected to be replicated by parents. No parent should use their seemingly high social status in the society to intimidate, cajole or talk down on any teacher, or even embarrass them in any way. Respect, they say, is reciprocal.

In addition, teachers should take note of the personal details or information of parents’ children.Parents are encouraged to freely provide all these pieces of information to their children’s class teacher. Should your child have any health challenge, please state it very clearly to the teacher in charge of your child. It is in the best interest of you and your child. If the child has a special educational need that would require extra help or attention, kindly inform the class teacher. Also, your home address must be accurately spelt out for easy location.

It is also relevant to add that religion plays a prominent role in humanity. Therefore, parents must inform their children’s class teachers of the religion, and even the denomination, they belong to. This would guide the teachers on how to handle any case relating to beliefs that the child may express, accept or reject. In light of this, a teacher has to be religiously tolerant and understanding. A teacher may not carry out any individual spiritual activity on a child, such as praying, casting and binding, or even giving a sick child food or drugs WITHOUT DUE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND CONSENT OF THE PARENTS. The school management, teachers and parents must discuss all of these possible situations, especially when the child is newly admitted to the school.

Furthermore, it is the duty of teachers to command and enforce discipline, not punishment, in school. In the words of Amy Barnes (2021), “…while punishment focuses on making a child suffer for breaking the rules, discipline is about teaching a child how to manage their behavior, solve problems and to make a better choice next time.” Teachers are, therefore, careful not to inflict bodily harm or injury on their pupil/students. No parent would smile to see their child return home from school with any injury resulting from punishment at school. That could strain the cordial relationship teachers and parents.

When a case of misbehavior by your child is reported to you by his teacher, do not be quick to reply: I KNOW MY CHILD.In the same vein, when your child reports a situation back at school to you, do not listen to your child’s own version of the story alone and make hasty decisions without seeking to hear and confirm from the school. When a Judge listens to only one side of a story and makes his verdict based on it alone, he has not judged correctly at all; it amounts to desecration and murder of justice. In all things, let us continue to be balanced in our thoughts and actions.

It has also been observed that some parents bottle or store up aggression towards some teachers and wait for the day of Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) meeting to open up a can of worms. But look at this way: what if teachers also decide to wait for PTA meeting and use that platform to publicly expose our children’s academic or moral deficiency to everyone present? How would we feel? As parents, it is incumbent on us to iron out any differences with our children’s teachers behind the scene, not on stage. After all, there is none among us that is perfect!

Parents must remember, too, that teachers are not robots. Two major reasons a  lot of people, especially young graduates who have a degree in education, do not want to venture into the teaching profession are the laboriousness involved in teachingand the very infinitesimal salary that cannot foot the bill of a single individual. For you to be a teacher, you must be mentally and emotionally alert and balanced. Apart from having superlative mastery of your subject(s), you are expected and compulsorily required to exhibit all acts of professionalism and versatility on the job. Your dressing and grooming, language, punctuality/regularity to work, weekly lesson notes and lesson plans, engagement in extracurricular activities, attendance at staff and PTA meetings, diaries and registers, invigilation and supervision of tests and examinations, copying and marking of notes on a daily basis, collation and computation of termly and end-of-session results, to mention a few, are expected to be excellent.

Believe me, parents, no work on earth is as tasking as teaching, training, mentoring and guiding learners from the realm of UNKNOWN to KNOWN. That is why we as parents should treat teachers of your children with the greatest of care. There is nothing wrong in sending them recharge cards and/or mobile data, crediting their bank accounts, inviting them to ceremonies or even taking them out on a treat with the purest of intentions. Little or much, our acts of uncommon generosity would be an extra motivation on the job for teachers. Remember, God loves a cheerful giver.

The fact is, every teacher wants their students to attain to academic and moral excellence; to learn qualities like honesty, integrity, hard work, commitment, compassion, and respect for constituted authority. Parents should, please, support teachers in every way they can in the training of their children. They should communicate regularly with teachers, and share their concerns about the education of their children with their teachers.

All of these steps would engender a cordial relationship between teachers and parents.

Odigwe, Victoria Ifeakachukwu is a 100 level student in the Department of English and Literary Studies, Delta State University, Abraka.