Really Listening to Parents

03/15/2011

Do we still laugh, sing, dance, and tell our stories with each other when the children aren’t around?
Glory Ressler, Playfulness at Work

Molly Greenman is President of the Family Partnership, a 132-year old non profit working to empower low-come children and families in Minnesota. In the most recent issue of Exchange (March/April 2011), she contributed the article, "The Family Partnership" in which she observed...

"...school staff and parents have a hard time listening to each other. School staff experience enormous pressure to share information with parents because of the urgency of educating parents about school choice, meeting No Child Left Behind goals, etc. School staff often think they are listening, when in fact they are doing most of the talking, information sharing, and problem-solving. Parents, for their part, are pretty tired of being talked at, frequently have had negative experiences of their own with school (as both a student AND a parent), and are tired of coming to school-parent meetings where the entire agenda has been set in advance by the schools."

That’s why The Family Project begins by asking questions. Here are some of the questions they ask:

What do you think is going on with your child?
Share a time you felt successful as a parent.
What do you think would help your child (get to/behave better in/do better in) school/child care?
What’s getting in the way of you helping your child succeed?
What was your experience with school/preschool like? How would you like your child’s experience to be the same? Different?
What beliefs or values help guide you as a parent? How can we support those in our center?
What are some of your family’s cultural traditions?
What has been your experience with your child’s school/center/program?
What are your dreams for your child? What are your hopes for your child in this class/program/center?
What’s the best way for you to get information about what’s going on in this school/class/program?
What does your child like best about you?
What support could you use to make sure your child has a good experience in our school/program?
And last, but not least, how can we help your child, your family, and you succeed?

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