The importance of communication cannot be emphasized enough.

As humans, we use communication to transmit our wants, needs, and desires to other humans. While communication can utilize interpersonal avenues, it can also travel via multi-media paths.

It is precisely communications intricacy in everyday human interactions which makes it so important in the classroom environment.

It has been said that communication is 80%. body language and 20% verbal language. Theoretically, this means that students in the classroom received 100% of the message a teacher is communicating.

A teacher may utilize multiple methods of communication in the classroom which conveys such messages as his or her classroom expectations, providing task instructions, and relay of assignment information. While the students are present, there is also an opportunity for an exchange of information whereby the students can engage in a question and answer with the teacher for further information and/or clarification.

Although a successful classroom depends on the effective relay of information through a myriad of valuable communication techniques, the student’s parents are not privy to the daily classroom. This lack of communication can cause conflict and strife between the parents and teacher.

In an effort to help parents understand what’s happening in the classroom, proactive communication can be key. Being proactive might look like:

1. Setting up a school approved website (or utilizing a district platform where available) which includes all of the basic information for the class (i.e., syllabus, contact information, classroom rules, etc.) as a static information source,
2. A Friday afternoon “note” to remind students of tasks which should be reviewed over the weekend (i.e., homework and projects),
3. Weekly parent classroom re-cap e-mail/update and a weekly look ahead; and,
4. A standing invitation to parents, asking them to communicate early and often.

As an educator, I continue to hear that parents need to be weaned off of communication messages as students need to take more responsibility. While I do not disagree with this statement, I believe at the middle school level over communication may be better than not, especially given this stage of development.

It’s also important to make sure that the needs of all students are being met. For example, those students with ADHD, executive function challenges, or twice-exceptional students often have distinctive challenges with organization and memory which means teacher communication with parents is much needed.

In reality, parent communication is a sticky process and even the best-laid communication plans can go awry. However, embracing a communication mindset, adopting an open-door policy, and understanding that the student is one of your “many” but of the parents “only” can go a long way in re-framing parent communication.  Communication is a two-way street and there should be a partnership between the parent and the teacher whenever and wherever possible.