5 Ways to Use Parents More in Your Classroom

While the students' focus and effort are significant to their classroom success, it's also essential to acknowledge the role parents play in helping their children achieve better grades. Research shows that parents' involvement in classroom matters can help improve the students' attitude towards studies and strengthen teacher-parent cooperation.

There are various ways that parents are typically involved in their children's school work, like reinforcing good study habits by creating study places, helping create study routines, and paying for online tutoring. This parent-teacher partnership goes a long way in helping students improve their grades.

But, in addition to the typical parent-teacher partnership, getting parents more involved in classroom activities can help students approach learning as fun and interactive training, not a duty. Here are five examples of ways to use parents more in your classroom.

1. Organize a Meet and Greet at the Beginning of a Term

Many teachers organize conferences throughout the school year where teachers and parents discuss the students' academic progress. Students also share personal or classroom problems that may interfere with their studies. In most cases, conferences are an excellent way to monitor the students' progress and help them refocus on their studies.

But, what would work even better is getting to know the parents and students personally before creating an academic foundation. A meet and greet at the beginning of the school year is a great way to learn from the parents and briefly discuss the students' educational goals.

During this meet and greet, you and the parents can agree on the best ways to communicate and collaborate in other school activities. Meet and greets also don't have the typical pressure that conferences have. Instead, they are a fun and interactive environment where parents offer information that helps the teachers handle the students better.

2. Encourage Parents to Volunteer for Roles Around the School

In addition to the parent's traditional classroom role, parents can volunteer for roles like mentors, teachers' aides, and sports coaches. Real-life problems and information cover a significant part of the curriculum. When students see their parents take up critical roles around the school, it reinforces their belief in the importance of their studies. This is consequently reflected in their grades.

You can also organize- real-life lessons to build on the students' classroom lessons with actual knowledge. For example, for a practical chemistry lesson, you can invite a parent who's a doctor or working in a chemistry-related field to offer students an essential real-life perspective of their lesson.

3. Encourage Feedback From Parents

Both the parents and the teacher are invested in the student's success. Encouraging open dialogue regarding the best way to support the student is the first step to ensuring their success.

Based on their training, teachers may assume they are best placed to dictate the path to better grades for a specific student. But, asking for parents' help or feedback can make all the difference in a student's grades. Sometimes, teachers need the parent's input to understand a specific student's learning habits.

It's also easier to collaborate with parents for various classroom activities when they are part of the decision-making process. To get parents more involved in the classroom, consider scheduling phone calls to ask for their feedback.

4. Use Social Media to Connect With Parents

One of the reasons why parents don't participate in classroom activities is a busy schedule. Parents today can live in a particular city while working in another. This limits their participation in the usual face-to-face parent-teacher interactions.

To use parents who otherwise cannot participate in classroom activities in-person, teachers can arrange for online live chats and discussions. The live chats and video calls can also balance study discussions and interactive sessions where parents participate in fun activities like online trivia or question and answer sessions.

Teachers can also have a parenting blog and an event calendar to help parents keep up with social activities in the school.

5. Offer Teaching Guidance to Parents

It's not enough to send students home with assignments if the parents don't have the necessary knowledge or tools to assist them. For example, if a student's comprehension grade is low, you can discuss how to incorporate teaching moments into the student's daily activities outside of the classroom. Teachers should inform parents about reading materials and activities to help students improve their grades.

Parents are the ultimate teachers, and educators can utilize them to maximize their efforts in and out of the classroom.

Written by Steve Ndar
Education World Contributor
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