Communication between educators and parents doesn't have to be a struggle

Key points:

When I think about the challenges and tribulations we face today as educators,
In my opinion, none is more urgent than improving the communication links between educators and parents. While we have had advances in society, such as social media and technology, that have made communication between the two more possible and accessible, there is still a disconnect, specifically in the areas of digital literacy and communicating with parents through less conventional means, as well as getting them more involved in their children’s educational experience.

First, I would say that educators need to work to improve digital technology.
literacy of their students' parents. Educators should examine the number of
Parents who are unfamiliar with the various communication methods available to them through their school district. Developing a comprehensive plan on how to enable them to freely navigate the various communication methods used by the school is a priority. Some ideas may include workshops, seminars, and other training methods.

At my school in particular, I have many parents who do not speak or understand English and rely solely on their children to translate for them in order to communicate. We have to realize that while we are in a 21st century digital world, not everyone has the digital literacy skills necessary to navigate today's world.

Once the problem of digital literacy has been solved by providing more training for
Parents, you can also focus on another issue, which is the simple fact that parents are very busy people too. As I said before, teachers in the digital age will have to try new ways to reach parents when they themselves have full schedules. Something as simple as text messaging has the power to be highly effective in reaching those busy parents.

According technology” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>An article from Screencastify“A study from Columbia University showed a 12 percent increase in attendance and a 27 percent decrease in course failures when parents received weekly text messages about student progress.” While a phone call may be more personal and direct for the teacher, a weekly text message may be more convenient for parents and could lead to a greater likelihood that parents will respond and work with teachers on their children’s educational goals.

Parental involvement can be crucial, as pointed out in an article by Caralee Adams,
where it was stated that “a study of 71 high-poverty schools found that when
Teachers were actively involved in communicating with families and in student reading and math grades.
“Students improved at a 50 percent faster rate in reading and 40 percent faster in math.” This could go a long way toward reducing the achievement gap that exists across all demographic groups in this country.

Each school is different and I can only speak from the experiences I have as a
High school teacher who lives in central Minnesota, where the number of students living in poverty outnumbers those who don't. Communication with parents is often a struggle for teachers, and teachers are pressured to talk one-on-one via phone or email. The truth is that overall communication between teachers and parents has been declining for several years now. According to An article by Jessica Winter“In a national survey published in 2013, only four in ten elementary and middle school families reported receiving a phone call about their child during the previous school year.”

My own colleagues have also mentioned their desire to see parents become more involved in their child's educational experience. The main problem is that many parents are unaware of the methods we use to communicate with parents, or simply need training on them. Gone are the days of large attendance at parent-teacher conferences, and we now find ourselves in an age where most people have very little time for themselves, let alone time to go to their child's school and have a conversation with their child's teacher or to get on a phone call and have a quick chat with their child's teacher. We need to change that, but many don't know how they are going to accomplish this enormous task. Most importantly, educators cannot be afraid to try less conventional tactics to reach parents and to think outside the box.

I'm not saying I have all the answers, and I know there are many.
ways to reach out to our students' parents, but focusing on digital literacy and
Improving overall communication between parents can be effective and really create
Change in the classroom. It takes a village to raise a child, and getting all members of that village united and on the same page will certainly help navigate this new digital world we live in.