LEAven Blog

Most of us have moved, full steam ahead, into January. I pray you had a blessed, refreshing Christmas break and are now ready to begin the hike through the second half of your school year!  My topic today is simple, yet important.  Get to know your parents – the parents of your students, and as many other parents in your school as possible. To keep this concise, I’m going to focus today’s article on the benefits of knowing the parents of the students in our class or classes.

First, when the foundation of educational endeavor involves students, teachers, and parents together, it is stronger than when it involves only teachers and students.  A triangle is a stronger shape than just two lines placed next to each other.  Furthermore, when communication involves students, teachers, AND parents, everyone can more easily and effectively be on the same page. In this case, familiarity breeds progress.  Problem solving is more productive, the relationship between those involved is more relaxed, and the educational process is less hindered by various obstacles. 

Second, getting to know parents well gives teachers another source of expertise and assistance when teaching various subjects.  Most parents have knowledge and experience in areas that are, perhaps, not as familiar to us.  If we are teaching a math or science lesson on units of measure or how to make measurements, it could be very helpful to have a parent who is a professional in a construction trade come in to help teach a hands-on lesson.  Along with teaching a specific skill, the parent can also introduce their broader field of work to the class.  This lesson is then not just about mathematical procedure, but it opens up a whole new field of learning to the class.

Third, the better we know our parents, the more comfortable we will be witnessing to them about Christ.  Where that relationship has been built up over time, it becomes easier to talk about spiritual matters, salvation, and God’s grace. If we have built up a relationship with parents, our words will have depth and meaning.  As parents grow to trust us about schedules, activities, and other day-to-day parts of school life, they will be drawn in to trust us about life’s more serious matters.  As we carefully cultivate the relationship with our students’ parents, we will find them turning to us when they need to talk about life’s deeper subjects.  Their trust in the messenger will open doors to the message!

God’s blessings be with you as we continue to grow in our relationships with our students AND with their family members.  We have been called to sow the seeds of salvation in Christ.  Let us first prepare the soil for those seeds as we continue to grow in our relationships with the important adults in our students’ lives.