During our recent staff meeting, our team of teachers deliberated on the challenges we face due to parental conduct. While there are several challenges faced by Teachers in school – I would like to highlight the ones that arise out of the insensitivity of some parents. These I consider critical, and I believe can be quickly resolved.
Resolving these positively impacts the teaching environment and adds to the overall educational experience for the students.
Students arriving at school without proper grooming create a distracting and uncomfortable environment for teachers and peer students. Teachers are burdened with addressing these basic concerns, diverting their focus from the primary task of educating.
Several parents are working couples and therefore find little to no time for their children. This lack of attention from parents hinders a student’s efforts to attempt work and thereby affects academic performance. Consequently, teachers are compelled to bridge this gap in effort during class time, further constraining of time.
When parents fail to check on their child’s work at school or emails for important communication, it disrupts the flow of information between teachers and parents. This lack of collaboration hinders the ability to address the individual needs of students and maintain a supportive learning environment at school and home.
Some parents worry less about children missing school leading to attendance problems. Teachers are then left with the additional task of managing continuity in the child’s learning process. The entire responsibility of completing the work now lies solely with the teacher. During Parent Teacher Meetings parents are surprised about their children’s performance – and forget the fact that their child missed classes and hence was unable to perform in the assessments. I feel deeply disappointed when these parents make us look like it was our failure.
Invisible barriers start to emerge when the collaborative relationship between teachers and parents, fails. Open communication is crucial for a student’s development. Teachers find it challenging to guide parents when met with resistance.
The result, many of us feel like walking away from the problem. However, we know the penalty is paid by our students if we walk away.
Parents, having paid high fees, expect the school to handle every aspect of their child’s development. This unrealistic expectation runs contrary to the shared responsibility inherent in education, where parental involvement is paramount for holistic growth.
In conclusion, these issues underscore the need for more active and responsible parental involvement in the education process. A supportive partnership between parents and teachers is essential to create a conducive learning environment.
Anitha Mary
(Coordinator)
