Sunday, May 19, 2013

Parent and Teacher Partnerships


Benefits of teacher-family partnerships  

Families in today’s world are much like they have been since the beginning of mankind. Man was given woman as a helper and companion and together they were given children to continue the human race and multiply into the world. The centuries as seen through the history books and Biblical accounts have shown families to exist in the same pattern. We classify the family unit as several people of similar backgrounds and common identity who love and care for one another. They are not necessarily living in the same area, but share a bond together. This bond grows deeper than blood lines because many families include adoptions and multiple marriages.

Teachers in a very real way create a piece of the family unit for each child they encounter in the classroom. They become a leader and guide to the child, and also a person to be looked up to and admired. For some students their own home life might be awkward and chaotic but at school they can find a common ground with a stable teacher student relationship. It is important that a bond be established between the teacher and the parents in order to better understand how to lead the students who are placed in the teachers care.  

Parents and teachers become partners in the growth and maturity of the student throughout the school year and in turn place another rung on the ladder of their learning and development. It is critical for teachers to work with the parents as the students need a consistent learning environment both in school and at home.

Methods for developing partnerships

It can be difficult to look at the amount of children you have in a classroom and the amount of parents and believe you can ever achieve a level of partnering with them all. At the starting point it is important to remember having a healthy relationship between teachers and parents is for the benefit of the students learning and the teacher’s ability to educate to the needs of the children individually and collectively.

Parents will not always feel connected into what is going on in their children’s lives. Teachers can help by sending daily or weekly reports on what is being learned in the classroom along with tips and ideas for the kids to do at home as a family. Such tools help aid the process of learning and school work becomes homework.

Teachers need to know a little about what is going on in the lives of the kids they are teaching every day. This knowledge helps them to develop lesson plans and strategies designed to specifically hit points the kids will understand and want to learn. Not everything in the classroom will be fun for every student, but the teacher can work to make sure everything is presented in ways to engage the imaginations and excitement of the students.

A classroom is a community of individuals brought together for a year to learn and develop new skills. The teacher is the leader and head of the group and is in the place of getting to know the kids and being able to help them learn more. Students who know they are appreciated as individuals will function better in the group. Once they know they are a partner in the overall learning plan, it gives a kid -confidence and assurance they are not alone.

Making partnerships work

Several factors go into making partnerships work in the world of business as well as education. Parents and teachers essentially are similar to that of a workforce partnership. The overall agenda is for the student to learn and develop into the person they were created to be. You can never know from the point a person is young what they will achieve in life and who they will eventually become.

Mutual trust between parties is a key to any successful business arrangement. As the teacher and parents come together there is an unspoken belief the parents will be open and honest about concerns and be willing to ask questions. Nothing can be accomplished or changed if people do not communicate and share ideas. A teacher should have the trust that the student will take the homework home and complete assignments. Parents should also trust teachers to inform them when there are learning concerns.

Partnerships need to be built on a common ground, providing for the overall development of the student. Focus always on the good done for the student and there will be a solid work accomplished done. Anytime something is starting out there will be conflicts and pressures. Teachers face pressures just as much as the parents. Both are going to require a focus. You are not just taking the student to the school so they have somewhere safe to hang out and hopefully learn. And teachers have to remember that they are influencing lives daily by giving the students time and attention while teaching.

Schools are making it easier for parents and teachers to have more time to interact. There are positive programs and more are needed, which bring the parents to the school for more than just pick up and drop off time. Students need more than just an annual parent teacher conference for them to be understood and taught correctly.

Anytime you bring people together for a common goal, it is important to keep that goal in mind. With teaching and parenting alike the students overall development path should be the main objective. As parents and teachers develop partnership relationships they will also grow as individuals themselves. There is much learning to be done for all three parties involved in the school system. Parents are the lifetime teachers of their own kids. Teachers have the ability to be constant in the lives of the kids for a season. And the kids themselves will be able to grow from both individually and learn to respect and admire themselves as well as their parents and teachers.

Wednesday, May 01, 2013

Ezekiel 2:1-10: Called to be a watchman


Then He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet that I may speak with you!” As He spoke to me the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet; and I heard Him speaking to me. Then He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the sons of Israel, to a rebellious people who have rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day. I am sending you to them who are stubborn and obstinate children, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ As for them, whether they listen or not—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them. And you, son of man, neither fear them nor fear their words, though thistles and thorns are with you and you sit on scorpions; neither fear their words nor be dismayed at their presence, for they are a rebellious house. But you shall speak My words to them whether they listen or not, for they are rebellious.

“Now you, son of man, listen to what I am speaking to you; do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth and eat what I am giving you.” Then I looked, and behold, a hand was extended to me; and lo, a scroll was in it. 10 When He spread it out before me, it was written on the front and back, and written on it were lamentations, mourning and woe.
Ezekiel 2:1-10


Jesus taught His disciples to be a light on the hill which shines out to the entire world as a message of hope in the darkness. Ezekiel was called out in the midst of captivity and persecution to be a watchman to the people of Israel and give them God’s message. A watchman was in charge of standing on the wall of the city, always prepared to sound the alarm is an enemy was drawing close. It was the duty of the watchman to keep alert and be ready at all times so the guards of the gates would not be caught by surprise.

We are called by Jesus to be watchmen on the wall, taking his message to the people that the wickedness is around and seeking to destroy. Notice something important about the message God gave to Ezekiel. It was a message that he had to give to Israel regardless of how it was received. Acceptance of God’s message is not a prerequisite for its importance of delivery. God knew the people were stubborn and would be rebellious. Such is the majority  of the world today when the message of God’s Word preached, the world turns a deaf ear.

As a watchman on the wall it is our call, just as it was Ezekiel’s’, to deliver the message. Do not worry about who you might offend in the process. Do not worry if they hate you or persecute you or say all kinds evil things about you. Jesus warned us these kinds of persecutions would happen we speak of His Law and Truth. Do so with grace and gentleness, but by no means water down the gospel message or our duty as believers in Jesus. Follow Ezekiel and learn from the way God used the prophet to speak to a people who did not want to listen.