International Teacher’s Day: 5 Parent-Teacher Relationship To Avoid

One child, one teacher, one pen, one book can change the world- Malala

October 5th signifies a day of appreciation for all teachers who put their right foot forward to foster development in the world.

Teaching remains one of the least lucrative jobs in Nigeria and most parts of the world. Taking up a profession to build, develop, equip, shape the next generation is an art of bravery.

As parents who want the best for their children, it is imperative to collaborate with teachers. Children spend 7 to 9 hours daily with their teachers, a partnership with these teachers is necessary to build the next generation.
In a bid to be overly protective of their ward, parents get a few things wrong and here are some of them.

Rebuking teachers in front of your ward

No matter how badly treated you feel a teacher has treated your ward, do not scold, embarass or disrespect the teacher in front of the child. This will breed disrespect, the ward, going forward will have difficulty taking orders from the teacher because he/she feels mom and dad will be to the rescue.

Bribery

Do not bribe any teacher to give your ward better grades. Teachers are grossly underpaid, most feed large families with meagre salaries, giving them bribes to upscore your ward is a test of their professional conduct. Whether the teacher accepts or not is inconsequential. Parents should desist from this. It does not favor your ward in the long run.

Questioning a teacher’s competence in front of your ward

You might be a professor of mathematics, a degree holder is teaching your ward elementary math. Unfortunately he gets something wrong. Devaluing a teacher in front of your child won’t help you or the child. Call this teacher physically or otherwise and endeavour to iron things out.

Castigations would lead to disbelief. A ward would feel the teacher is incompetent and inadvertently looses focus on whatever the teacher has to offer.

Ignoring teachers totally

Teaching and parenting is a partnership. Year in, year out, some parents never make any effort to know their ward’s teachers. Why is this wrong? A discussion between a teacher and a parent geared towards the development of a ward is always beneficial.

Discovering your child’s traits, potentials, likes, dislikes, strengths can be harnessed when there is a symbiotic relationship between a parent and teachers. Connected parents make for better students.Don’t make their job difficult

Every child is special, every child needs equal attention unless yours have a special medical or physical condition, don’t make a teacher’s job difficult by demanding extra attention and care for your ward.

When your child does not meet up with homeworks and tasks, allow the teacher to do their jobs without fear or favor.

(Change Here) Don’t make their job difficult by going over head, if you have a problem with your ward before you jump to the principal or management have a conversation with the teacher first.