Five Sentence Starters to Talk with Parents about Poor Behavior

Five Sentence Starters to Talk with Parents about Poor Behavior Five Sentence Starters to Talk with Parents about Poor Behavior

The teacher-parent relationship can withstand conversations about poor behavior by using the right phrases and tone of voice, says the Classroom Caboodle website regarding five sentence starters to talk with parents. Here are some pointers to getting through what could be otherwise a possibly challenging discussion with parents, according to the site:

  1. Begin the conversation with a friendly greeting.
  2. Speak with a calm voice and be gentle.
  3. Stay focused on the issue.
  4. Present the positive with the negative.
  5. Step into the parent’s shoes by thinking about what it is that they’re hearing.

The teachers’ website, Learners’ Edge, says to be sure to take the time to ask the parent his or her opinion about the issue and to also ask input on how to correct the situation. Parents know their children best, so use this information to your benefit.

To fully engage parents, teachers must also offer opportunities for them to partner in on their child’s education. A teacher can say, for instance, “Can you remind (student’s name) to continue to work on it daily?” Or “ask (student’s name) to show you the daily project assignment that has been assigned?”

For families living in poverty, many of whom are from minority and/or from immigrant homes, homework, attendance an school, in general, are not top priorities, says Edutopia. As such, to develop a strong relationship from the beginning with families, schools should be asking, “What we can do to help out?” This can go a long way in building an effective partnership with parents.

Family outreach and parental involvement programs, like The Latino Family Literacy Project, help greatly to connect the dots between schools and parents and have shown to be a proven formula for success. After teachers and staff complete a half-day training or online webinar, they then hold a series of workshops to assist parents in establishing a regular reading routine using bilingual books. Research shows that family reading time helps to improve literacy and strengthen vocabulary in both languages and not just for the kids but parents, too!

For educators who can’t attend an in-person workshop, they can opt for a 1 ½ hour online training session instead, which provides training for the implementation of all programs—infant/toddler, preschool, elementary, and middle/high school levels. Curriculum manuals are shipped in advance for review.

You can now schedule a private webinar at a convenient time and date for you and your staff. Upcoming webinar dates and times can be found on the Workshop Locations on The Latino Family Literacy Project website.