How does your child, teacher relate?
A parent recently expressed to me the disappointment she was experiencing with her ten-year-old daughter Jackie
PARENTS’ CORNER
By Wagwau Jamesa
A parent recently expressed to me the disappointment she was experiencing with her ten-year-old daughter Jackie. She said that Jackie had all of a sudden lost interest in school work and her academic performance had dropped sharply.
All her efforts in encouraging or punishing her daughter for low marks were unfruitful. Mama Jackie then branded her daughter as ‘lazy’ and ‘careless.’
She decided to visit the school and investigate deeply what could be affecting her daughter. She then realised that Jackie’s relationship with most of her teachers had gone sour. This poor teacher- child relationship contributed significantly to Jackie’s academic deterioration and loss of interest in schoolwork.
Jackie’s case is one that many parents can easily identify with, especially at such a time when the school term is slowly dragging to a close down.
In a school context, your child mainly relates with two people, the teachers and fellow children. The way your child interacts within the school context has a direct contribution to his/her academic performance.
Did you know that teachers sometimes harbour simple grievances against their pupils? Oh yes, teachers too are human beings and children can push them to the edge in the course of their work
Educational psychologists believe that teacher- child relationship is one of the pillars on which a child’s successful learning rests. A child’s dislike for a school or a particular subject may be a symptom of underlying dislike for a teacher or certain school programme.
Children too have feelings and their feelings should never be condemned or discouraged. Whenever your child expresses fear or dislike towards school do not reprimand or condemn before you find out why. How then do you discover the underlying rift, which might be simmering, between your child and the teacher?
Use open-ended questions like ‘Tell me how you find science these days.’ and listen without interrupting.
Enquire from the teacher using questions like ‘Could you tell me more about my daughter please’. Should the teacher respond with hard-hitting negative descriptions like ‘she is dull and stubborn!’ then chances of interpersonal friction are high.
However, guard against the temptation of showing annoyance at the teacher’s response. Teachers rarely hide their true feelings towards their pupils and such feelings will offer a relevant clue.
Consult the director of studies for help and avoid direct confrontation with either the teacher or the child. Remember that poor teacher- child relationship may not only make your child to fail a subject but may also make him to hate it for life. Do you know how your child has related with teachers at school this term? Please dig deep and find out before it is too late.
jamesawagwau@yahoo.com
By Wagwau Jamesa
A parent recently expressed to me the disappointment she was experiencing with her ten-year-old daughter Jackie. She said that Jackie had all of a sudden lost interest in school work and her academic performance had dropped sharply.
All her efforts in encouraging or punishing her daughter for low marks were unfruitful. Mama Jackie then branded her daughter as ‘lazy’ and ‘careless.’
She decided to visit the school and investigate deeply what could be affecting her daughter. She then realised that Jackie’s relationship with most of her teachers had gone sour. This poor teacher- child relationship contributed significantly to Jackie’s academic deterioration and loss of interest in schoolwork.
Jackie’s case is one that many parents can easily identify with, especially at such a time when the school term is slowly dragging to a close down.
In a school context, your child mainly relates with two people, the teachers and fellow children. The way your child interacts within the school context has a direct contribution to his/her academic performance.
Did you know that teachers sometimes harbour simple grievances against their pupils? Oh yes, teachers too are human beings and children can push them to the edge in the course of their work
Educational psychologists believe that teacher- child relationship is one of the pillars on which a child’s successful learning rests. A child’s dislike for a school or a particular subject may be a symptom of underlying dislike for a teacher or certain school programme.
Children too have feelings and their feelings should never be condemned or discouraged. Whenever your child expresses fear or dislike towards school do not reprimand or condemn before you find out why. How then do you discover the underlying rift, which might be simmering, between your child and the teacher?
However, guard against the temptation of showing annoyance at the teacher’s response. Teachers rarely hide their true feelings towards their pupils and such feelings will offer a relevant clue.
jamesawagwau@yahoo.com