Parent Concerns: How It's Supposed to Be

 

In my first year of teaching, I encountered two situations that demonstrate ways to deal with an issue with a teacher or staff member at the school.

First, at a board meeting in late fall, my name came up. A parent (who also happened to be a board member) said I’d told his kid he didn’t get a textbook because we didn’t have enough of them. The kid had said nothing until grade report time but then contended that was why he was failing world history.

Luckily, the rest of the board didn’t rise to the “Oh, my God, what a horrible teacher!” bait. They asked Mr. Holmes to investigate, so the next morning as I came into the school, he asked if what the kid had told his father was true. I took out my grade book and showed him where I’d written down the number of the text the boy received the first day of class. End of story, thanks to a common-sense decision by the board and going straight to the source for information. (BTW, the book was later found in the library, where the kid had left it.)

The other situation came later that same year, and it concerned the Dreaded Book Report in world history. A parent came in at conference time to ask why his kid was failing. Now this person was very influential at the school, and he could have made trouble for me if he wanted to. Instead, he asked me to explain. I showed him that refusing to even attempt the book report, along with very low grades on tests and homework, had pulled the student’s grade down to below 60%. The parent listened, but then he asked why the book report was such a large part of the grade. I explained my reasons, and we had an honest discussion about the pros and cons of my position. I don’t think I convinced him I was right, but when he left, he had the information he’d come for and the option of going to my boss and making a complaint.

The point?

A parent’s concerns with the school should be taken first to the person closest to the issue, the teacher or other staff member. If a frank conversation doesn’t resolve the problem, parents have the right to move up the chain of command.

Now in theory, everyone agrees that this is correct, but too often, a parent gets excited and jumps a few steps. Or worse, they go on social media and badmouth the school without even asking for an explanation. Or they stand up at a board meeting and make accusations no one can answer publicly due to the right to privacy of everyone involved.

The first question you should ALWAYS ask when someone starts in about "that teacher" or "that bus driver" is What did the person say when you spoke with them about the problem?