Understanding and Building Successful Parent-Teacher Relationships
Understanding and Building Successful Parent-Teacher Relationships
Have you ever been in a situation where you received a voicemail or an email from an angry parent? Perhaps you were expecting this type of communication because of an ongoing issue, or maybe this communication caught you unaware and ill-prepared. Regardless of the situation, you must now work on defusing the angry and emotionally charged parent. Some things you may find yourself asking are, where do you start? What type of resources do you consult? Can you prevent this in the future? How can you understand and deal with this difficult parent?
No matter how organized and prepared you might be, there will inevitably come a time when you must face a challenging parent. Learning and understanding how to build parental support at the beginning of the school year will allow you to gain trust and credibility to defuse many situations. However, when a problem does arise, it is essential to have the tools and confidence to get things back on track to reach the ultimate goal. Provide a comprehensive education for the students in your class.
The Importance of Building Successful Parent-Teacher Relationships
The parents of the 21st-century are more involved in their child's academic lives than previous generations. With this comes many positives, but it also has the potential to lead to questions, concerns, and conflict. When you have a conflict with a parent, it has the potential to spill over and affect the child. If problems continue to persist without the right tools and resources in place, it could also manifest into self-doubt in your ability as a teacher.
It is imperative that teachers develop good habits in effective problem-solving, conflict resolution, listening skills, building positive communication with parents and administration, and how to defuse difficult situations. Not only will these skills serve to bolster a teacher's confidence and preparedness, but it will also lead to an effective way to get the parent and student back on track to their academics.
In the course, Understanding and Dealing with Difficult Parents offered by Professional Development Courses at the University of La Verne, teachers and administrators will learn many solutions and ways to handle problems diplomatically. These newly learned or honed skills will allow for better teacher-parent relationships, development of communication scripts, review of ideas for addressing difficult situations, and much more. You may even find yourself a trusted resource among your colleagues or administration as they navigate their difficult situations. Get ready to say goodbye to being unprepared in challenging situations with your student's parents!
Benefits of the Course Understanding and Dealing with Difficult Parents
In the course, Understanding and Dealing with Difficult Parents, K-12 teachers and administrators will learn how to apply their newly developed skills positively and effectively to focus on the student's success.
Through content that is relevant, practical, and engaging, here are some other topics teachers and administrators can expect to find in this course offered by Professional Development Courses at the University of La Verne.
Topics include:
- Learn effective problem-solving
- Become familiar with changing circumstances of parents
- Recognize emotionally charged behavior and develop scripts for handling the behavior
- Develop instructional strategies for dealing with angry parents
- Provide behavioral strategies meetings with parents
- Develop strategies for including parents in school activities
Understanding and Dealing with Difficult Parents Course Contents
Successful completion of Understanding and Dealing with Difficult Parents will lead to long-lasting benefits that you may find yourself applying to other areas of your life as they relate to communication and conflict resolution. This course may also impact your professional career by allowing you to leverage your new skills towards salary advancement, license renewal, or recertification. Students are encouraged to seek approval from their district or state before enrolling.
Contents include:
- Today's parents
- Family configurations
- Family stress
- Typical parental behaviors
- Angry parents
- Building credibility
- Community involvement
- Positive communication with parents
- Listening and learning
- Behavioral responses
- Apologies
- Dealing with defensiveness
- Delivering bad news
- Focus on the future
- Kinds of problems
- The healthy school
Through this course, Understanding and Dealing with Difficult Parents, you will become equipped to deal with parent-teacher issues with confidence and professionalism by completing coursework designed for busy K-12 teachers and administrators. All content is self-paced, written in a user-friendly format, and accessible online 24/7 or via PDF format delivered to your email inbox.
Note, the University of La Verne is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Since requirements may vary, students should check with their school district or state department of education before enrolling in a course.
How to Register
This three-semester credit course, Understanding and Dealing with Difficult Parents, can be completed online or via an emailed PDF format. All books and materials are mailed to the student regardless of the format selected. Featuring online chat support and quick grading turnaround times, the course is open for registration at any time during a semester. Upon completion, students receive graduate, non-degree semester credit on official transcripts from the University of La Verne, an accredited university in La Verne, California.
Registration is simple and can be done online or over the phone. Courses are offered on a rolling basis during three standard semesters, and you can begin whenever you are ready! Courses are offered ongoing during three semesters. Students may enroll in up to a maximum of 15-semester credits at any time during each semester.
The registration dates are:
Fall: September 1 – January 31
Spring: February 1 – May 31
Summer: June 1 – August 31
The course Understanding and Dealing with Difficult Parents is relevant to both incoming and seasoned teachers and administrators as it offers comprehensive and realistic solutions to difficult situations with parents. Now is the time to prepare yourself to calmly and effectively move past the conflict and back onto helping your students thrive!