From the Principal’s Desk

"In this complex world it takes more than a good school to educate children and it takes more than a good home. It takes these two major educational institutions working together."- Dorothy Rich

Education is much more than academic success.We must use the parent teacher relationship to help children achieve a sense of competence and balance. This means encouraging the many facets of a child’s development and helping him form ‘healthy core foundation’ which includes self-perception, world view and the willingness to learn how to form healthy life affirming relationships with others. In order for a child to learn what he needs to succeed in school and in life; he needs parents and teachers who communicate and support each other with regard to what they are teaching in their separate domains. We have to remember; now a days a school is not just made by the teachers but also by the parents.

The parent teacher relationship is dynamic. What one does, affects the other, but the person most impacted is the child. Of course struggles at home and school impact how he feels about himself, the world and his ability to meet new challenges in academics and otherwise. This alone should underscore the significance of the parent teacher alliance, but often parents and teachers become adversarial, focus on the wrong things or just fail to take advantage of the influence they have together. Parents are their child’s first teachers as only 13% of child’s time is spent in school and 87% is in the home and community. Children observe varied reactions exhibited by parents while facing life situations, unknowingly parents are modeling ways to express feelings and emotions in group settings. Children observe and practice these skills, the coping skills become tools in a child’s “psychological pocket” to be used in future life experiences.

Teachers too truly care about his/her class children. If a teacher gets in touch with a parent about a problem, she is trying to work for the child to resolve some conflict that may be getting in the way of the child’s success. Trust in teachers’ feedback is very essential just because a child doesn’t exhibit a particular behaviour at home doesn’t mean he/she doesn’t exhibit that behaviour in the school. The classroom and home environment are quite different and often times children behave differently when forced to follow rules and work with peers.

Communication is essential for a child’s success in school, more actively involved a parent is in his/her child’s school life, the more the child excels. Two way communication/interaction between teachers and parents should be continuous and on going-teachers learn from parents and parents learn from teachers. While parents worry about what their children learn, teachers are more concerned with how they learn. While the parents see the product, the teachers live the process. Both teachers and parents are concerned about the growth and proper development of their children. It makes more sense that teachers and parents should work together in the best interest of the child. Developing a powerful parent teacher connection is an essential element in building the strongest scaffolding to success. If parents back a teacher’s discipline of a student in class and restrict privileges at home the teacher notices real improvement in the student. It is this parent teacher connection that dictates the strength of the bond between the home and school. “Parental support can improve the school outcome immensely.”

PUNAM DOGRA

Principal