Parent, teacher relationships crucial

Whenever Lordrich Kananura’s parents visited him at St Peters Primary School, Nsambya, they made it a point to go to the headmaster’s office and inquire about his progress.
However, this would not go down well with Kananura, a Primary Seven pupil, who says his results would always be way too below his parent’s expectations. But the interaction would eventually help Kananura because his parents heeded his teachers’ advice and started him on private coaching which saw his results improve greatly.
“When my mother spoke to the class teacher, he made sure that he checked my notes every week and also gave me papers for revision that helped me improve my class performance,” says Kananura.
John Katongole, a head teacher at St Peter’s Senior Secondary School, Naalya, says the relationship between teachers and parents should be good because it is the teachers who take care of the children in the parent’s absence.
“Sometimes a teacher may know a child more than the parent because most of the children’s days are spent at school,” says Katongole.

Creates comfort for pupils
Rose Katengeke, a teacher at Pearl Africa School, Kabalagala and mother of five, says teachers are important figures in children’s lives. She says because of her busy schedule, she enrolls her children in boarding schools when they reach Primary Three.
“For me to know more about my children and also be able to monitor them, I always make sure that I get to know the teachers and even take their numbers so that I can constantly speak to them for any updates about my children,” says Katengeke.
She says when parents and teachers harmonise, the child gets comfortable at school knowing they have a second parent they can talk to.

Checks discipline
Katongole says teachers should not interact with parents only when the student has committed an offence because some parents do not even appear when summoned for their children’s disciplinary issues but instead send a representative.
Joshua Akorikin, a Senior Four student at Naalya Secondary School, advises parents to look out for signs as to why their child keeps them away from the teachers. He says most times it is indisciplined students who do not want their parents to meet teachers because they will get to know about their bad conduct at school.
“It is better if the teacher discusses the child in their presence because that is when the real information about the child will be revealed leaving no room for denial. And in case the teacher is exaggerating, the child, too, will have a chance to defend themselves,” Akorikin says.
Performance
Katengeke says children’s performance must be combined effort between parents and teachers because it is a teacher who knows the child’s worst done subjects thus encouraging their parent to get them special help.
Katongole encourages parents of day scholars who see no need to meet up with teachers because they check on their children’s academic progress daily forgetting that there are some main areas being ignored such as discipline at school.
“Sometimes when the parents come for visitation at school, they mind majorly about giving their children eatables and ignore reading the circulars which advise them to meet up with the teachers and review the student’s performance and behaviour,” he adds.
Whatever the reasons a parent has for not interacting with their child’s teacher, they should know that relationship is important because it helps check pupil’s behaviour thus keeping them in line with the objective of going to school.

Teacher benefits
Research shows that parental involvement can free teachers to focus more on the task of teaching children. Also, by having more contact with parents, teachers learn more about students’ needs and home environment, which is information they can apply toward better meeting those needs. Parents who are involved tend to have a more positive view of teachers, which results in improved teacher morale.