Title: The Benefit of Parents and Teachers Working Together
Headings: How Parents and Teachers Can Work Together for the Child's Benefit
How Parents and Teachers Can Work Together for the Child's Benefit
Communicate
Approach Issues Head-On
Deal With the Tough Stuff Together
Consider Other Perspectives

Content: In many situations, sitting down to work out solutions together is the best way to deal with the tough stuff. Dealing with school refusal, for example, requires you and the school to share what you know about your child and using that information to come up with a plan to get them back into the classroom. Likewise, exploring the reasons your child might be bored at school is best done together. Hearing what your child says at home is helpful to the school, and knowing what’s being seen and said in the classroom gives you some context to use when hearing your child’s complaints. Consider Other Perspectives
Building partnerships between parents and teachers can rely on teachers listening to parents and parents taking the time to understand where teachers are coming from. Sometimes parents and teachers both are guilty of dismissing the other’s viewpoint. As a parent, the more dismissed you feel, the less likely you are to participate in your child’s education. As a teacher, the less you feel like you’re being heard, the more likely you are to stop communicating with a parent. Things that may seem confrontational, like an outline of what kind of homework help a teacher wants from a parent or a parent outlining what the school needs to do to accommodate a child’s peanut allergy, aren’t always as demanding as they appear. The end goal is the same for both the parent and the school: