A strong connection between parents and teachers triggers academic excellence as the work of the young one is monitored closely by both the groups, says Shishir Jaipuria

The raising of a young person is serious business. Teachers and parents need to work in tandem to bring up a child and ensure that he lives limitless and excels in a chosen field. Ongoing discussions between parents and teachers can enhance the achievement and happiness of young learners, both inside the classroom as well as outside.

An open line of communication between parents and teachers and engagement of parents in school activities facilitates a better understanding of expectations of the various stakeholders. This in turn can be used to improve the overall experience for the students while they are learning, creating or playing during their growing up years.

Professional developmental programmes are being initiated in different schools and universities across the world to improve the association between these two vital stakeholders. The idea is to provide training to teachers on how to engage with the parents of their students.

According to mentors, a close connection between parents and teachers can instill discipline in students, highlight achievements, and identify weaknesses; without it, students are not able to grow to their full potential and achieve all the dreams in their lives.

One could say that the teacher is a school parent; he is responsible for the student at school. A parent can talk to a teacher and expect to get a comprehensive report on the behavior as well as performance of the student at school.  Such kind of a dialogue as is evident in a parent teacher meeting builds a strong relationship between the two groups and works really well for the overall development of the student.

Why it is important?

A bond between parents and a teacher translates into a better relationship between the student and the teacher as well. Students can place their trust and faith on the teacher and have someone on whom they can depend in school. The teacher can channelise the energies and behavior of their students towards productive activities.

A strong connection between parents and teachers triggers academic excellence as the work of the young one is monitored closely by both the groups. When a parent is involved, it creates a positive attitude in the child towards schoolwork. In such a context, the young child becomes more interested to attend school regularly. It ignites a passion for learning in young minds.

It is also important the teachers understand the psychology of the children and try and help the parents to sort out issues at home to ensure the complete wellbeing of the little ones.

If the teacher witnesses potential in a child, he should ideally inform the parents so that all of them can work together to nurture the talent in the little one.

How can such a connection be maintained?

A solid partnership between the parents and teachers can be maintained through technology tools, email, social media, and also over telephone calls. Moreover, one-on-one meeting can be used to share information pertaining to overall growth and improvement of the child in the classrooms.

With improved technologies and software programmes, students, parents and teachers can communicate openly with each other. The use of such technology saves time as the parents are not required to visit the schools physically while also being able to talk to the teachers and monitor the academic progress, discipline, and other activities of their children.

What should be the frequency of communication?

Ideally, the communication between the parents and teachers should be on daily basis. It is not advisable for one of the parties to leave the entire responsibility of the child to the other. A consistent and open dialogue between the two parties can steer the students in the right direction and motivate them to make correct choices in their lives.

For a school going child, the parents as well as the teacher are the mentors and guiding souls who can shape their lives for the better with concerted efforts every day.

The writer is Chairman & Managing Director, Jaipuria Group of Institutes