How to deal with difficult parents tips for teachers. Probably great for intermediate or middle school teachers. Consistently from book to book, whitaker delivers essential survival tips for all leaders in education with his nononsense approach. Pdf dealing with difficult parents download full pdf. By todd whitaker ne of the most daunting tasks principals face is interacting with hostile or aggressive parents. The goal is to help students feel good about themselves and their behavior in the classroom. This is probably the most important thing to keep in mind throughout the year. Four teaching challenges and strategies to deal with them. It shows you how to deal with the parent who is bossy, volatile, argumentative, aggressive, or maybe the worst apathetic. Fiore help you develop a repertoire of tools and skills for comfortable and effective interaction with parents. Pdf dealing with difficult parents download full pdf book. Still, managing difficult student behaviors eventually sucks the energy from most teachers, no matter how talented or experienced. Paula has three grown children and resides in oklahoma city, oklahoma.
The book deals with the complicated relationship between teachers, principals and other educators and parentsguardians. The book and my seminars on this topic address four major challenges and the strategies to deal with each one. The techniques are easy, but most importantly he stress the importance of working with. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read dealing with difficult parents. In my seminars with educators on handling difficult parents the title of my book on this topic, i often begin by asking participants to call out words that come to mind which best describe parents who are difficult. A second and equally important reason for principals to develop successful techniques is to teach the teachers. Parents expect and deserve honest feedback about their childrens progress. The practical guide to managing difficult parents cpd for. A hazard of our profession is dealing with difficult parents or guardians from time to time. Aug 28, 2017 below, youll find strategies to help you with the most difficult parts of working with parents, so that you can focus on what matters most.
While the beginning of the book at times feels like its pitting parents against teachers and administrators, clearly that isnt the authors intent. Sometimes someone who advocates for their child might seem demanding when they only want the best for their son or daughter. The practical guide to managing difficult parents cpd. Dealing with difficult parents by todd whitaker, 97818938670. Now that you have some tried and true strategies up your sleeves for dealing with difficult parents, you should feel confident in handling whatever comes your way. How to make working with parents the easiest part of your job. This book helps teachers, principals, superintendents, and all educators develop a repertoire of tools and skills for comfortable and effective interaction with parents. Most teachers wear their heart on their sleeves and are the most caring people in the world. This is an excellent book for those who find it difficult dealing with parents of students in their school. This was a pretty basic book about dealing with difficult parents. It will help you to understand what motivates the difficult parent and to discover the keys to finding common ground. Whether trying to resolve a heated argument or delivering bad news, it is essential to know how to handle difficult situations and establish positive relationships with your students parents.
Learning effecttive strategies can help defuse tense situations and build trust. Other times, a parent who isnt involved in their childs education can make helping that student difficult. Tips from veteran teachers on dealing with parents. So were not going to talk about tactical strategies and witty comebacks. There are many helpful tips and strategies that will work with all parents as well as the more difficult ones. Dealing with difficult parents one of the most unenviable components of a principals job is interacting with angry parents. Dealing with difficult parents in dealing with difficult parents, doug fiore and todd whitaker offer strategies and techniques that make it easier to deal with seemingly difficult parents and with the difficult situations in which they find themselves. Reviews current research on the individual temperament of young children and recommends strategies to understand and build upon childrens personality strengths.
Reach out with a positive message to start off on the right foot. Dealing with difficult teachers is another winner from whitakers collection. We used the book as a community learning tool with our teachers and staff. Teachers use the term difficult parents to describe many different types of parents. You are in a position where it is sometimes necessary to make difficult decisions, and parents will sometimes challenge those decisions, especially when it comes to student. Dealing with difficult parents, 2nd edition by todd whitaker and douglas j.
Dealing with difficult parents is virtually impossible for any educator to escape. Jul 30, 2019 dealing with difficult parents is virtually impossible for any educator to escape. A brief home visit so the teacher and child can meet on a childs secure home base. This is why it is important for teachers to learn parent management skills along with classroom management skills. The reading strategies book by jennifer serravallo tips to bind it, find online resources, and more. But when situations call for difficult conversations, teachers can become apprehensive.
Dealing with difficult parents effectively is truly an art dealing with difficult parents and their complaints about one or more aspects of their childs education is a normal expectation for all teachers how to deal with difficult parents is a common and frequent question that i. An educators survival guide for dealing with difficult parents. Synopsis communicating with parents is one of the most challenging and potentially stressful tasks that teachers face on a daily basis. There are many great ways to wrap up the school year, but dealing with. How to keep overbearing, micromanaging parents from stressing. Not only is dealing with an angry or unreasonable parent upsetting, its time consuming. Tools to help you understand parents motivations and how to work. Oct 23, 2015 communicating with parents is one of the most challenging and potentially stressful tasks that teachers face on a daily basis. A downtoearth guide to building positive relationships with parents. How to talk to difficult parents during parentteacher conferences teachers as a teacher, an important part of your role is communicating with parents, which can often be tougher than dealing with. Dealing with difficult parents and with parents in difficult situations. Its natural to be overcome with frustration, resentment, and anger. We have seen eight major types of difficult staff members in action.
A teachers survival guide suzanne capek tingley, judy larson on. Unfortunately, almost every teacher is faced with an irate parent at some time. It was geared more towards parents of students who are getting in trouble for something. Written by an administrator who was also a teacher, the book is also a source of. Doing these simple things can go a long way toward smoother parentteacher relationships. Use positive strategies when dealing with the child. Detailed scripts for dealing with even the most stubborn and volatile parents. There are many different ways teachers need to respond to different situations, and using good judgment is more important than ever. Here are some practical tips from veteran teachers on managing these challenging relationships. If they disliked teachers or had a bad experience in the classroom as a child, this may well contribute to their posture and tone dealing with you as a teacherfigure. And yes, unfortunately, some parents are just difficult.
Would you like to develop strategies for dealing with conflict and awkward situations. As most people who work in the field of education understand, dealing with difficult parents at school can be a tricky subject. By todd whitaker ne of the most daunting tasks principals face is. New teachers will find this resource particularly valuable. See more ideas about classroom management, parents as teachers and classroom. These resources are ideas that i can be use to prevent that and what to do if the situation arises. Remember not only that you should determine which strategies work for your particular students but also that many of these strategies work well with all students. Dealing with difficult parents and with parents in difficult. This is something that all principals must do to help. Consideration of all aspects of a childs overall development. Difficult conversations arent about hammering the other person. Creative classroom management strategies from fellow teachers and our experts.
While there is no one way to learn how to effectively handle difficult parents this book has an array of strategies for handling difficult types of situations. Teachers can also address common separation issues sample handout for parents about separation on page 180181 3. For the sake of simplicity, allow parents to refer to whoever has legal guardianship throughout the remainder of this article. Let me start by saying that i am a believer in todd whitaker. New from acclaimed speaker and bestselling author todd whitaker what great teachers do differently, dealing with difficult parents, leading school change provides principals, assistant principals, district superintendents, and other educators with concrete steps for getting colleagues to champion and work toward the changes you want to make.
This book helps teachers, principals, superintendents, and all educators develop a. Teachers can also inform parents on what to expect in the classroom so parents can help prepare their child to be comfortable in the school setting. Dealing with difficult parents is the ultimate howto guide for navigating the often rough seas of parental communication. You probably never imagined contending with difficult parents when you dreamed of becoming a teacher. Rethinking difficult parents educational consultant and author allen mendler looks at the ways that difficult parents can become teachers allies rather than their adversaries.
As a school administrator or teacher, it is essential for a number of reasons to build relationships with the parents of your students. An educators survival guide for dealing with difficult. Jan 11, 2018 parents expect and deserve honest feedback about their childrens progress. Strategies for teachers susan grahamclay abstract teachers strive to establish partnerships with parents to support student learning. School administrators and teachers can best deal with difficult parents by being proactive, openminded, and prepared.
Dealing with difficult parents will provide you with and array of strategies that will prove successful a great deal of the time. When it does, keep the collected wisdom of experienced teachers in mind. In this updated second edition of the bestselling dealing with difficult parents, awardwinning educators todd whitaker and douglas j. New strategies for increasing parent involvement to foster. Whitaker and fiore not only provide realworld advice designed to proactively create positive teacherparent relationships, but also offer powerful and specific strategies for remaining professional and effective even in the face of the most difficult circumstances.
If the parents are on your side, then you typically will be able to do your job more effectively. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Effective teachers discipline with encouragement and kind words much more often than rebukes or reprimands. Implement these strategies when the time is right, and youll find parents responding positively to your confidence, abilities, and willingness to establish a friendly rapport. Feb 12, 2011 this is why it is important for teachers to learn parent management skills along with classroom management skills. Dealing with difficult parents priceless teaching strategies. It is our job as the teacher to resolve this difficult situation in a calm and collective manner. After the initial facts are laid out for inspection and discussed, move on to solving the problem that precipitated the conversation to begin with. And with parents in difficult situations, edition 2. Often too, a difficult parent may be unconsciously acting in response to their own experience of teachers when they were a student themselves. In dealing with difficult parents, doug fiore and todd whitaker offer strategies and techniques that make it easier to deal with seemingly difficult parents and with the difficult situations in which they find themselves. Teachers and parents need to be on the same side in order to create success for kids. How to talk to difficult parents during parentteacher.
Strong communication is fundamental to this partnership and to building a sense of community between home and school. Todd whitaker and doug fiore wrote a book, eye on education, that i feel is a very useful tool, said principal les potter. As a school administrator or teacher, you arent always going to make everybody happy. Here are a few teachertested teaching strategies to help you cope with a disrespectful parent, so if you are ever are put into this kind of situation, you will be able to handle it with grace.
Whitaker and fiore not only provide realworld advice designed to proactively create positive teacherparent relationships, but also offer powerful and specific strategies for remaining professional and effective even in. Edu 354 final exam book objectives flashcards quizlet. The most frequent daily complaint i hear among teachers is trying to teach distracted, discouraged, and disrespectful students. For the sake of simplicity, allow parents to refer to whoever has legal. Enlisting parents in their childs education is one of the hardest yet most rewarding undertakings for teachers. It is easier to deal with a parent if you can build a relationship with them before a difficult situation arises. Apr 26, 20 in my seminars with educators on handling difficult parents the title of my book on this topic, i often begin by asking participants to call out words that come to mind which best describe parents who are difficult. Dec 07, 2015 difficult conversations arent about hammering the other person. Working with difficult staff educational leadership. Dealing with difficult teachers eye on education books. And with parents in difficult situations, edition 2 ebook written by todd whitaker.
Dont pretend to be their best friend, nor should have that nipping problems in. You carefully go over your notes and scan the entire classroom. Tools to help you understand parents motivations and how to work with them rather than against them. Instead, they are all about coming to a common and workable solution that helps everyone to grow and move past the situation. Be the first to ask a question about dealing with difficult parents.
Thankfully i have run into many more parents who may seem to be difficult on the outside, but once they realize everyone is working together, they let down those walls and true progress can be made for the student. Just remember that you have the same goals as they do to help educate and empower their developing children. Pdf dealing with difficult teachers download full pdf. Its only natural for parents to want the best for their child. Prek8 collection classroom management methods master teachers share their methods for managing productive and engaged classes.
Dealing with difficult parents is a valuable resource for teachers and principals who want to create a partnership with their students parents. Paula is also a contributing writer to the huffington post and has a childrens book published. Getting your team onboard with these approaches will increase your chances of having civil and productive meetings, potentially improve strained working relations with these parents, and ultimately benefit the. The practical guide to managing difficult parents 1. Will hearing negative feedback about their kids make parents defensive or supportive. Teaching strategies to deal with disrespectful parents. Teachers who make it long term and still love teaching 15 or 20 years later have. If difficult parents are adding to your teaching stress, keep your cool and use these tips. If you have children and are a teacher or administrator, you have been at both sides of the table described in this book at some point. It provides specific phrases to use with parents to help you avoid using trigger words which. Discuss strategies for managing difficult conferences.
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