Collaboration with Families and Professionals Paper

     The most important aspects of working with other individuals are respect and professionalism.  Although there are many other important aspects, such as creativity, preparedness, and organization, respect and professionalism are absolutely required for a teaching career.  If a parent or student do not get treated with respect by a teacher, the chance the teacher is going to receive any respect back is slim to none.  Instead of pointing out all the things a student performs poorly in, the teacher could give suggestions and ideas to help with what the child is having trouble with.  Most parents want to know ways to help their child succeed and do better in school.  One option of being positive and respectful to parents is picking out a good thing the child did during the day.

       A very important skill for children, sometimes overlooked, is creativity or divergent thinking.  Some problems with this area are teachers being too caught up in what is supposed to be taught, and how much can be taught in a certain amount of time.  All teachers have lesson plans, but there is more than just following them exactly.  As a teacher teaches, she has to improvise and think creatively.  Perhaps a student has thought of an excellent, educational experiment to do, but it wasn’t planned. If there is time left, the teacher and students could think creatively about what could be done and how to do the experiment a different way.  Ruby K. Payne says that kids must think outside the box and teachers must let the students own the classroom, rather than owning it themselves.  The teacher must allow the students to feel comfortable and that they belong in the classroom. 

         The next aspect of being a professional is being a role model for students and families.  By letting students and their parents know that they can depend on the teacher, waves of communication are opened.  Another way is to be prepared by planning and goal setting.  Students need consistency, because some may not have a consistent schedule at home.  If a schedule is established in the classroom, it has to be understood by all the students and made available for them to see at any given time.  Parents may also like a copy of their child's schedule.  Schedules make school easier and handier for everyone involved. 

Follow-through is also a big factor of teaching and communicating with families.  Parents and students need to be able to trust and count on what the teacher says regarding grades, activities, or school programs.  By allowing trust and cooperation with families, a teacher can become a team with the parents and child to completely focus on meeting the needs of that child.  An expectation teachers and faculty have at any school is for students to come to school everyday.  Some teachers may not be aware that students also expect them to be there and consistent everyday.  It makes me wonder how teachers can expect 100% from their students if they themselves don't give 100% everyday. 

When calling a teacher professional, the teacher must be able to reflect on her teaching style and take criticism.  There is nothing worse than a teacher who will not listen to anyone or take any advice.  Students and their parents should have the biggest influence on a teacher's teaching style.  A teacher should also make accommodations for students and their learning styles.  Open mindedness is a quality that must be present in a teacher.  It not only shows the parents that someone cares for their child, it also shows the students that someone is there for them and wants them to succeed.  If a parent calls, the teacher should make note of the conversation and reflect on it sometime throughout the day.  Perhaps the parent pointed out something that was worth looking at and changing.  To show respect, a teacher could also call the parent and discuss how she made changes in her classroom based on the suggestions of that parent.  The parent would feel that he or she made a contribution and that the opinion actually mattered.  That may inspire other parents to voice their concerns and opinions, whether they are good or bad. 

Being concerned about what parents say and genuinely making an effort to change what is put to question, shows integrity on part of the teacher.  Other teachers, faculty, parents, and students will trust what that teacher has to say if they know that they have a say in it.  Honesty is always best taught by modeling it for students and perhaps parents.  If students know that the teacher always tells the truth and treats them like real individuals, they will trust and try to model that behavior. 

Teachers have one of the most important jobs by interacting with children.  As a future teacher, I will be aware that what I say could make a big difference in what happens in that child's life.  I will be respectful to students and families and value what they have to say.  The only way that a child is going to learn and get help in the future is if the parents and I are working together as a team of professionals.  My philosophy is there is nothing more important when teaching, than putting the best interest of the children ahead of my own.