Comments on: Difficult Parents

By: Jody

Jody — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 12:53:29 +0000

Working 13 years in the special education department proved one thing to me. Many parents do not fit my mother’s ideal of a perfect parent, but they do produce babies. Everyone does love a baby and we in education must always remember we are dealing with someone’s baby. As we look at our own “perfect” children, we must remember not everyone looks at them through our eyes seeing the perfection we created. they see their smart mouths, untidy lives, etc. I see beauty, brains, intuition and too much of me. So who is the perfect parent? I have yet to meet one. But perfect children? lots of them. Perfect students? lots of them. Are they all the same? Probably not.

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 01:44:05 +0000

Great post. I often have to remind myself that the “difficult” parents are just fighting for their kid. Many times I do not agree with the course of action they take, but at least they care. I recently came across a book about working with parents. It would be great if our universities offered a class on working with parents as part of the education curriculum.

By: Repairman

Repairman — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 04:26:22 +0000

If they care enough to be difficult, even if it’s their ego vs. ours on the line, we can still give them what they need. Just think about them as being difficult team members, and remember the old saw, “There’s no “I” in “team.” We keep our ego and tempers out of the equation.

But nobody was hired to deal with abusive parents either, and sometimes administrators need to accompany teachers in teacher-parent meetings.

High maintenance parents, helicopter parents, and well-meaning pains in the hindquarters all need our best.
If we can’t give them what they need, we reach up for help. I don’t mean pray, I mean to the next level of admin.

Before you think I’m all peaches and cream, though, I have to admit that I backed (along with the rest of the board) one of our high school principals who banned a parent from campus.

The guy settled down when he realized we meant it, and we backed it up with the local police. “Polite” became his middle name, and he worked his way back to being able to pick up his child after school and see a teacher (with the principal) when necessary.

By: Kimberly M

Kimberly M — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 21:52:46 +0000

Parents do love their kids! It might not be the way you or I define love, but they do love them in a way they know how. Kimberly, I can’t agree with you more. I deal with parents daily and I have had some angry parents call screaming, but when I hang up the phone I always grin thinking “Well, at least they care.” I have found the best way to approach the parent is to listen and then show an understanding to their concerns. Usually, once they voice their concern they do calm down. I’d rather deal with a parent that takes the time to call (and scream) vs. a parent that doesn’t fight for what should matter most to them -their kids!

By: Amy

Amy — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 00:27:48 +0000

I don’t agree with Dottie. There are parents who do not love their children.

….. but, when they have taken the time to address an education issue then I’d say that there’s some love going on.