165 | Proactive Parental Communication - HD 720p
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[00:00:00] Bryson Tarbet: Communicating with the parents of hundreds of students is tricky. I totally understand it. But when we have proactive communication, if we ever have to reach out when there is an issue, it makes things so much smoother.
[00:00:21] Behind That Music Teacher and the Elementary Music Summit. Each week, Bryson and his guests will dive into the reality of being an elementary music teacher and how music can truly be transformative in the lives of the students you serve. Show notes and resources mentioned in this episode can be found at thatmusicteacher.
[00:00:41] com Welcome
[00:00:48] back to that music podcast today. We're going to be talking about parent communication and not just that, but being proactive when communicating with parents and grownups and guardians of our students, because the reality [00:01:00] is nobody likes getting communicated and having this first conversation being a negative one.
[00:01:05] And like it or not, sometimes we as teachers need to have conversations with parents and grown ups, uh, that are not so fun. Uh, for instance, when there are discipline issues or if when, you know, work might not be completed if you're in the upper grades. These are conversations that nobody enjoys and let's be honest, have a real tendency to go south very quickly.
[00:01:25] So what can we do as teachers, especially as teachers who see hundreds of students, to really Get this proactive communication going so that if there is an issue, we're better set up and we have that relationship and rapport already, but also so we can make sure that there are no surprises when great cards come out when there's a concert and so and so doesn't get a solo or whatever.
[00:01:46] How can we make sure that our parents and our grownups understand what's going on in our classroom? So that there aren't any surprises along the way. And that's what we're going to be talking about today. I will be the first one to tell you that this is not necessarily an easy task, especially when we see [00:02:00] so many students.
[00:02:01] But it's important. So let me, I'm going to try to offer you some, some tips to make it a little bit easier. The first thing that I recommend is, Reaching out to the grownups of new families. So for me, I did this for every kindergartner and every, um, any, so anyone that we had move in, um, into our class, I would just like send a message on class dojo or whatever app we were using at that point and just say, Hey, you know, I'm excited to have your student this year and music class.
[00:02:26] I'm Mr. Target. Um, we'll have a performance later on in the year, but we'll be sure to make, you know, send, uh, send home more information. Later on, I'm looking forward to getting to know your student in the music classroom. Really simple like that. Didn't take me very long. I mean, it did take some time, but like, you only have to do it the once.
[00:02:41] And that, that alone is going to initiate that conversation, especially if they're just moving into the school, um, at an upper grade, they're probably going to hear less welcomes because it's not like a kindergarten where everyone's new, right? So they probably are going to get, be like really impressed that you, you took some time and, and reached out to them.
[00:02:57] Um, and you, you never know what kind of information they're going to give [00:03:00] back. They might say, Hey, you know. My, you know, Johnny loved music class at his old school, or hey, Johnny really struggled with his old teacher, like, yada, yada, yada, and the, this is a way to open that dialogue. The reason I like communicating through an app, um, is because, one, it makes it really accessible, because a lot of these apps, like, I know Class Dojo does it, and like a bunch of other too, um, they are, there's an option where the families can translate it on their end, uh, so they can read it in, uh, They're, they're, they're native language.
[00:03:25] Obviously, translations aren't perfect, um, but it's a, it is a good way to start removing that barrier. Um, also, it makes it a way that you can kind of go back and look at old conversations. So if you notice that like, hey, you've been communicating with this parent for a while and things are just starting to go down south, you have a record of like, What, what you reaching out or, you know, them reaching out to you and kind of basically it's, it's all clear.
[00:03:48] It's, there are no surprises. There's no ambiguity. It's all, it's all there, right? We have that record of it. Um, also it makes it easier for us to actually communicate because we don't have to be at our phones the same time. The grownups are at their [00:04:00] phones, right? Um, so for instance, I would do all of this at the end of the day, um, when student or parents had probably already picked up their students for the day, or, you know, we're still at work.
[00:04:08] So trying to call home at that point wasn't really going to help anyway. So by enable to do it simply like an email, um, or we, one of these apps, like I mentioned, it allows us to answer when we have time and make it also as a good way for us to, um, keep that communication going. Uh, but also be like, all right, it's six o'clock.
[00:04:25] You can respond back, but I'm not going to respond until the next morning. Um, that kind of thing. Uh, so that is a great way to just reach out to any new families and welcome them and, and Reach out personally. Don't just send a mass text. Like you can send the same message, but send it in its own thread.
[00:04:39] Um, and, and especially if you can change the name of the, like, I'm so welcome to so excited to welcome Johnny in your classroom or whatever, like that can be, that can be huge. Um, especially if they did not have a super great relationship with the previous music teacher. Um, that is a good way to say, Hey, like I'm trying to be proactive and get this going beyond that.
[00:04:56] I always tried to send home a message. [00:05:00] Um, now I'll be honest. This is one of those things that I didn't do the entire year because the, The year got in the way, but I always started doing this for the first few months at least. So what I would do is at the end of the day, I would send a message home on these apps to the parents or grownups of one student from each grade, just saying, Hey, like, you know, Sally did really good today.
[00:05:19] She was working a lot. Um, and you know, she worked really hard and she was a really good leader. Um, and I just wanted to share that with you. Um, those messages are huge. They take like. So what I would do is at the end of the class, if I noticed that there was a student being particularly awesome, I'd write it down.
[00:05:34] Um, but I'd also keep track of who I contacted so I could try to send home a positive, positive note to with every student because Let's be honest. We can find a positive thing to send home, right? We, we, we see all the wonderful things. So being able to kind of be like, all right, you know, I'm, I'm gonna really pay attention to the good things that student is doing is a really good switch because sometimes we only focus on the negative or we only remember the negative.[00:06:00]
[00:06:00] Which kind of gets into the frustrating thing of like feeling that the class was so much awful, so it was awful, but like When you look at the facts, it was really just a couple kids that were kind of grumpy or a little tired or something, and it wasn't as big of a deal as you thought it was. Um, sometimes that's the case.
[00:06:13] So I love being able to do this. 'cause not only does it allow me to focus more on like the positive side of things, um, it really helps the students and the par the parents see, you know, that we're noticing their student when they're doing things good. Let's be honest, communication around concerts and performances is also a sticky situation that sometimes we get in.
[00:06:29] I always like to send home like a save the date months in advance, just so they have it. I send it a physical copy that's translated. Um, in my school, we translate it to Spanish because that's the language that was spoken. Um, so we had a physical copy that was sent home in English and Spanish. I would send home a message, um, Through the app, which again would be would translate as well as putting it in the school newsletter.
[00:06:51] And then if the homeroom teachers had a newsletter, I'd put that in there as well, um, so that there are getting it from all these different pieces, places of information so that they know about it. [00:07:00] Um, but then I don't just leave it out at that. I usually send home a message about a month in advance and then a message about a week in advance, just reminding them, giving them more details each time.
[00:07:09] So there's kind of something new to say. It's like the first time it's like, hey, save the date. The month before is like, Hey, we're super excited, you know, for my, for instance, for the third grade performance, we're like, Hey, we're going to be doing a folk dance night. So be prepared to move, you know, where your tennis shoes and some comfortable clothes.
[00:07:23] Uh, and then the week before it would be like, Hey, make sure you're, um, you know, we're really excited to share things. Um, you know, we're just, we're really excited, basically just another reminder. So again, giving them multiple opportunities, sending something home, both physically and digitally is good. Um, because like we can't, again, it's, it's not great to assume what they're What students are and are not able to access at home or what their parents are able to access.
[00:07:42] So giving them multiple opportunities is great, but also just be super clear and everything. Um, one thing I learned very quickly. The first year that I did a kindergarten performance, um, is that especially if this is a, uh, a, A family that's never done a music performance, they will need so much more information than you think that you need to give [00:08:00] them.
[00:08:00] Um, we had parents that were asking specifically, like, should I go out and buy a special dress? Like, do they need to bring any music with them? Like very specific questions. So I always make it very clear. So for instance, my kindergarten, so I said you can wear anything you'd like. Some people like to dress up to make it a little bit of a fancier event, but you can come in whatever your want, every, Whatever you want, um, we just make sure that, you know, you don't wear something extra hot because up on the risers, you can get kind of hot or any crazy shoes that would make it hard to stand.
[00:08:26] Like I make it very specific advice. I said, students don't need to bring anything. There's no cost to attend. Um, they need to be here in this, in the music room at 6 15. The doors will open at six 50 or six o'clock or whatever, like. Give all the details, um, because otherwise, this is kind of the frustrating thing, otherwise a lot of parents will start talking to other parents for this information rather than just like going to you and asking, um, like I, I, I've had parents who like went to my principal and was like, I don't know what's going on rather than just like sending a message back to me, which is so frustrating, but like, What are we going to do?
[00:08:56] Um, so making sure that we've covered our bases, sent out lots of information in lots of [00:09:00] different ways. Um, this is a great way to be proactive, to make sure that we have all the information given out. Um, and making sure that when they hear from us, when parents hear from us, it's not just because something bad happened or a student's not paying attention or a student is, um, doing inappropriate things or whatever.
[00:09:17] Like we want to have positive interactions with our, with our parents and our grownups Well, just just like they do. I mean, think about if you were a parent, would you only want to hear from your teachers when something was wrong or needed fixed? Um, I know that we can't have all the same amount of communication with our students as someone who might only have, you know, 28 kids in the class.
[00:09:37] Um, But because we see so many kids, but that doesn't mean we get a pass to not have communication, um, finding a way to be communicative, to have that proactive thing, and just make sure that you're being clear, make sure that you are sharing all the information you have, and again, I think welcoming new students and new families is a huge way to build rapport.
[00:09:58] So with that being said, I hope you [00:10:00] learned some new little tidbits or kind of got you re inspired to reach out to some parents and some grownups when things are a little bit better rather than just when things are a little wild. Um, we would love to hear your tips. What are your tips for parent communication?
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