School Corner: The importance of the teacher-parent relationship
Caxton Local Media chatted with a local school principal to find out how parents can work with the school to support the development of their children throughout the academic year.
SPEAKING on the importance of building a good parent-teacher relationship, is St Mary’s DSG Kloof executive principal, Jonathan Manley.
Starting off the conversation, Manley says, “When children attend school, they are exposed to a significant increase in the number of relationships they are involved in. Their primary relationship remains with their parents, and in order for their school relationships to function well, the parents need to be involved.
“Parents and teachers become ‘partners’ in raising and educating children. It is important that these two groups complement and cooperate with one another in order for the child to feel safe, challenged and to develop a love of learning.
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“When parents and teachers have a trusting, respectful relationship, their conversations are more meaningful and they have more impact on how the child develops. The child needs to know that they cannot play the one off the other and that both the parents, and the teachers are committed to their educational growth.
“Every child is different, and parents can help teachers understand their child as an individual. Although there are some practical limits as to how much the teacher can adapt the programme or environment, knowing that a child has individual interests, needs or abilities can help a teacher to make changes that optimise the child’s development.
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“In Finland, one of the most successful strategies used by their schools is called ‘looping’. This is where a child has a teacher for more than one year. The benefits are seen because of the insights the teacher brings to the classroom about their children, and it builds on the relationship formed in the previous year/s.
“Relationships are key for optimal learning, and when teachers and parents work together, it compounds their efforts, and the children benefit enormously. Being a parent and being a teacher nowadays is tough. We need to value the role played by both and work through the challenges together,” Manley concluded.
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