Home School and Community

ASSIGNMENT 04
E09 Home, School, and Community
Directions: Be sure to save an electronic copy of your answer before submitting it to Ashworth College for grading. Unless otherwise stated, answer in complete sentences, and be sure to use correct English, spelling, and grammar. Sources must be cited in APA format. Your response should be four (4) double‐spaced pages; refer to the “Format Requirementsʺ page for specific format requirements.

An emotional response by parents is the fear that teachers will replace them in their children’s affections.

1. Describe the conflicting emotions the parent may have that contribute to this fear. In your response, include two negative emotions and a positive desire.

2. What does research show about the child’s relationship with the primary parental figure when the child has additional attachments to other people?

3. Describe three issues related to role confusion that a teacher may feel or may communicate.

4. What can a teacher do to reinforce the primary relationship between the parent and the child and to communicate that the teacher does not desire to take the parent’s place in the child’s life?

ANSWER

Home School and Community

Introduction

Parents are the primary caregivers, but teachers threaten their role. They often develop emotional responses due to the fear that teachers will replace them in their children’s lives. Parents are likely to engage in competitive tactics, insecurity, and guilt as a way of portraying their fear of losing their children’s affection. The main reason behind these emotional appeals is to fight for their children’s attention and affection. Children at times become too attached to others where it threatens their closeness with their parents. There is a dire need to ensure that attachment with ‘significant others’ is minimized. Teachers find themselves relying on the “savior complex” attitude, anger and resentment, and adjusted disciplinary tactics as key role confusion to communicate how they feel about parental links with their children. They have a significant role in building excellent relationships between children and their parents by communicating to parents regarding their children’s status and avoiding an authoritative tone during these discussions.

Conflicting Emotions that Parents

Parents experience conflicting emotions as they seek to ensure that they establish a closer relationship with their children. The fear that teachers might replace them leads to these conflicting emotions. Positive and negative desires are likely to emerge in the parental desire to develop a closer link with their children. One of the positive desires is competition, where parents seek closeness with their children after noticing that teachers have an improved relationship with their children. They focus on strategic actions and behaviors that seek to build better connections with them. Competition is a positive emotional element as it aims to build a child’s affection at the family level. Parents do not engage the competition tactic to counter the teacher’s efforts and ensure that children are loved and cared for in the family unit. The two common negative emotions are insecurity and guilt. Parents feel insecure due to the well-established relationship that their children have with their teachers. They focus on aspects that ensure children view them as better systems compared to their teachers. They do this to eliminate the fear of abandonment or replacement. For example, parents can incorporate children in their activities around the home areas. As Baker et al. (2016) state, home-based activities that parents engage in show their role in supporting their children. These activities help in creating renewed relationships between the two levels. The guilt element comes when parents view themselves as lesser beings as far as guiding their children is concerned. They are often consumed by guilt emerging from providing teachers with the opportunity to give their children love and affection.

A Child’s Relationship with the Primary Parental Figure when Additional Attachments to other People are Missing

A child’s relationship with the primary caregiver might be affected if they establish closer and viable links with other persons. Children are likely to develop closer intimacy with people around them, affecting their ability to connect with their parents effectively. For example, if a child spends most of the time with a closer family member, they are likely to get closer to that person than their primary parental figure. These additional attachments often pose a significant challenge because children encounter conflicts as they grow up due to the failure to distinguish between primary and secondary relationships. Thus, there is a dire need to ensure that these additional attachments are minimized to protect children against these confusions. Children should develop excellent links with their primary caregivers. This attachment ensures that a child builds a viable relationship with the parent due to the need for safety, security, and protection (Benoit, 2004). Primary caregivers have a high chance of providing these elements compared to external parties. Thus, any relationship that child develops with ‘significant others’ should be minimized to limit protect a child’s relationship with their primary caregiver.

Issues Related to Role Confusion Teachers Communicate or Feel

Teachers spend significant time with children, which might pose a challenge for parents as they seek to build excellent relationships with their children. They at times develop role confusions because of the failure to develop closeness with the children. One of these issues is the “Savior Complex,” where teachers feel that they can save children from their parents. For example, if a child experiences psychological issues due to instabilities occurring at the family level, teachers might try to save the situation by rescuing the child from the parents. They view themselves as world change agents and feel that they can save children from their primary caregivers. The second issue is through anger and resentment. Teachers might develop a negative attitude and perception towards a parent that has a good job, dresses professionally and lives a high standard life. This is a way of making the parent feel less influential in their children’s lives. Lastly, disciplinary tactics also portray role confusion among teachers. For example, they might eliminate punitive measures as a way of wooing students to their side.

Reinforcing Primary Relationships between Parents, Children and Recommended Communicational Approaches

One way teachers can reinforce primary relationships is by encouraging parents to develop open communication processes with their children. Parents’ failure to openly communicate with their children creates a gap that the teachers fill. Since children spend a large share of their time with their teachers, they develop closer relationships. This makes the parents feel insecure, angry, and resentful towards teachers. Encouraging parents to communicate with their children openly is an approach that teachers can integrate to reinforce viable links between chidden and their parents. Teachers should also avoid an authoritative approach when speaking to parents and their children. This helps in building a warm environment that enables parents to build quality relationships with their parents.

Teachers should contact parents when necessary. As Graham (2005) states, promoting parental involvement is a key way of boosting partnership between parents and teachers. The two parties deliberate on issues affecting children. For example, if a student experiences challenges in their learning process, the teacher should personally contact the parent for an in-depth discussion. This is the right move instead of getting closer with a child rather than the teacher taking the initiative to address the students’ needs and desires. They should establish viable communication methods which parents can rely on to contact them for further deliberations about their children’s status. For example, teachers can provide their contact to parents to enable them to reach out when necessary. Notably, teachers should ensure that parents do not face barriers to accessing technology for communicational purposes and also train them about the usage of various communicational channels.

Conclusion

There is a high chance that a clash can emerge between parents and teachers when interacting with the students. Teachers spend significant time with the children, and parents become anxious that these professionals will replace them in their children’s lives. Parents must strive to build better relationships with their children through open communication processes. This enables them to understand their children’s needs and concerns. Teachers should also communicate with the parents upon noticing a change in behavior among the children to enable parents to take appropriate actions. In the long-run, parents and children become potential change agents where they work collectively to ensure children build reputable values.

References

Baker, T. L., Wise, J., Kelley, G., & Skiba, R. J. (2016). Identifying Barriers: Creating solutions to improve family engagement. School Community Journal, 26(2), 161-184.

Benoit, D. (2004). Infant-parent Attachment: Definition, Types, antecedents, measurement and outcome. Paediatrics & child health, 9(8), 541-545.

Graham-Clay, S. (2005). Communicating with parents: Strategies for teachers. School Community Journal, 15(1), 117-129.