Technology allows for a lot of communication whether it be between teachers and parents, teachers and other faculty, or teachers and their higher ups, communication is key, but is email always the way to do it? I have been able to watch a lot of technology based communication go on at my fieldwork site and sometimes it works, sometimes it does not. When my teacher has a concern with a child, she either emails the parent or will call them. There are both good and bad things about both of these.
With email there is a record that the teacher did try. Unfortunately, not every parent checks their email as much as all teachers would life. Some messages are not read until days after the concern and then either the punishment has no effect, or the issue was already taken care of without the parent knowing. Emails show that the teacher has tried, but if they parents does not read that email and respond, the teacher is obligated to try harder and contact the parent in another way.
When talking to a parent on the phone is used, there is less of a documentation that is seen. Yes, a call log can be used as proof, but the conversation that happened between the parent and the teacher is not recorded and therefore can backfire. No one knows what is said during that conversation and if the parents was properly informed of what the issue was with the students.
Email allows for a quick conversation that can be done any time that the teacher has an extra minute. A phone call is usually only made when the teacher has a free period and in the same token the parent may not be able to be reached. I hope that we can all be great teachers and be able to communicate with our students parents as needed but must make sure that technology and communication is used properly and intelligently.
This reminded me of the traditional hand written notes teachers would send home with students and the students would never show the parents or forge the parents' signature. Email is definitely a more direct way to ensure your message reaches the parents, but as you mentioned, parents may not get to the email until days/weeks later. I also agree that emails provide a documentation of the conversation. Personally, I have found that when I speak in person with someone or on the phone, they forget what I told them or what they told me. Now I can quickly reference the email on the phone and there is no way to dispute what was said.
ReplyDeleteI can attest to the inefficiency of handwritten notes to parents. When my older brother used to receive progress reports, he would forge my parents’ signatures and hand it back to his teacher. Emails also prove to be ineffective sometimes because some parents do not check their emails regularly. And in regards to phone calls, like you said Danielle, there is no log or proof of communication. Sadly, sometimes the cons outweigh the pros. So what do we, as teachers, do? Do we send out an email and all after to make sure the parents check it? Or is that too much of a process? It all depends on the teacher and how far he or she would go. It’s all up to you.
ReplyDelete