Cool Cat Teacher Blog
Cool Cat Teacher: 3 Ways Teachers Can Say to Parents, "We Want To Be On the Same Team"
Vicki Davis "Cool Cat Teacher"
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The Cool Cat Teacher is an excellent resource for teachers because she has her own easy to listen to, fun podcasts about teaching were she invites great speakers to talk about different topics with her audience. Cool Cat Teacher, Vicki Davis, is a full time teacher and IT director in Georgia.
Her podcast that I listened to this week is about getting parents on our side right from the get go. 3 Ways Teachers Can Say To Parents, "We Want To Be On the Same Team" had guest Mike Hall on to discuss this topic. Hall is an educator, speaker, and founder of Strong Fathers-Strong Families. Together Davis and Hall taught that the key to getting parents on our side is communication- "Communicate early. Communicate often. Communicate in ways that are convenient for parents." Communication is so important excpecially positive communication. Hall stressed the importance of making a phone call to parents early in the year telling them something positive about their child. This way the parents know we're on their side. It also leaves a good impression of us in their mind. We also need to communicate often. Davis recommends bloomz as a communication tool with parents. We need to come up with some sort of communication system that is not just telling the student to tell the parent. Teachers need a method that is easy and timely. Parents need updates on what is going on because they are busy people too; they have so much to juggle and updates will help them remember to get everything done. Hall had a really good idea about sending home questions for the parents to ask their child about specifics of what happened in school today. This way the child doesn't just say "nothing" but instead will have a talking point to get excited about. Overall I would recommend this site to teachers because it is easy and fun to listen to her podcasts. They're helpful too! New teachers can learn helpful hints from her and her guests. This is a good way for us teachers to continue to learn ourselves. |