«Do your job, I'll do mine!»
Mums and dads sometimes make it unnecessarily difficult for teachers when talking to parents. Our authors asked teachers which sentences particularly upset them.
«I was like that too. It'll blow over.», «My husband was like that too.», «She's still little.», «I've become something too!»
It may be comforting for parents if they themselves have experienced how they have grown out of certain difficulties. However, teachers often have the feeling that parents trivialise their child's difficulties through such statements and show little willingness to work on solutions together with the school.
«Do your job, I'll do mine!»
Sometimes teachers have to ask why a child is constantly tired. They may also be told by the child that they spend hours in front of the television and that the parents don't care much. With this sentence, parents prevent any co-operation for the benefit of the child.
«Can you tell my daughter to go to bed earlier? She doesn't listen to me.»
Parents and teachers form an educational partnership. However, this does not mean that parents can delegate their educational tasks to their children's teachers.
«The pupils can't even do anything properly these days!»
Parents like to compare their children's achievements with their own at the same age. In doing so, some of them focus on what the children today can no longer do equally well or no longer learn in the same way - and overlook the fact that children today acquire a variety of new skills at school and are ahead of them in many respects.
«Then just give him a slap in the face - it didn't hurt us either!», «You just have to get tougher with my son, then he'll obey you!»
Teachers today want and need to get by without violence. Corresponding demands for a «tougher stance» from parents merely prevent solutions from being sought together.
«The parallel class is already two lessons ahead!», «Mrs X gives much more homework than you!»
Some parents look very closely at how much and what their children are learning at school. It becomes particularly troublesome for teachers when parents start to compare individual teachers with each other and see school as a race.
«They're just kids.», «They used to be.»
In bullying situations, it doesn't help at all when parents make excuses for their children's behaviour, normalise or trivialise nasty behaviour and try to blame the bullied child.
