Teachers discuss how parents and kids can work together to achieve good grades
NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (KNOP) - The balance of being a good parent and letting your student succeed on their own can be a hard one to reach. NBC Nebraska 2 sat down with an elementary school principal, as well as a child and family therapist, to break down what parents need to know about empowering their students to succeed.
Pam Wood, the principal at McDaid Elementary School in North Platte, said one of the biggest keys to success is for parents to keep in contact with teachers.
“When teachers and parents work together as a team, that is when the best education takes place,” Wood said.
Child and family therapist Matt Fosket agreed.
“We can see that relationship turn adversarial, and that is harmful for the student,” Fosket said.
Both encouraged that the parents, teachers, and students work together as a team. Fosket said that parents can get sidetracked by the grade itself, and forget the process.
“That’s a lot of paying attention to what kids are doing that they’re putting in that effort and recognizing that effort, encouraging them to continue doing that, versus the focus on grades,” Fosket said. “We’re so focused on that, and that is one measurement of success in kids, so I think it’s really forgoing positive relationships between parents and kids too and we’re focused on the work that we see them doing each day.”
Fosket advised asking students questions about their day that aren’t necessarily general questions, but show you care about your student’s school life.
“It’s open ended things, some different things, like what was the most interesting part of your day, what made you laugh today, what was your biggest frustration and kind of work to open up those dialogues,” Fosket said.
Wood agreed, and also wanted to stress how hard it was for teachers to do their jobs.
“Teachers love their students, and they put so much into getting ready for them to come, and I hope parents know that,” Wood said.
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