student teacher needs help with parent

[beardog]

"Why don't you teach my child something? All he does is play." How would you respond to this? I actually heard a parent ask the teacher and I am kinda of worried of not knowing what to say. Any ideas.

[BigDaddyTeacher]

What grade are you teacing in - potentially, my answer depends on your answer.
BDT

[Anicasi]

I would say that children learn while playing.

[Unregistered]

"Why don't you teach my child something? All he does is play." How would you respond to this? I actually heard a parent ask the teacher and I am kinda of worried of not knowing what to say. Any ideas.
A child learns through play the best at that time in their development because they are keeping their interest and they are learning through tactile. It is easier to learn from an experiment than it is to sit still in a desk and listen to a boring adult drole on about something that doesn't interest a child because they can't put it to practice. This is the basic foundation in Early Childhood Learning and Educating.

[Evelyn]

there is a great poem about how important play is to a child's learning - i wish i still had a copy of it, but you might check on the internet I believe it is called The Importance of Play or just Play. I teach 2nd grade myself and still it is a very important social skill! Some of my children do not know how to use their imagination to play because all they do it sit in front of the TV or except an adult to entertain them. Never underestimate what you are teaching a child - what may seem trival to some doesn't mean you are not doing a great job!!

[Unregistered]

I have always invited my parents in for a "play day." They soon realize that learning can occur with play.

[Unregistered]

What on earth do YOU teach? I hope not children. What kind of teacher insults others instead of giving a practical suggestion on how to answer the question, should it ever arise? If being 'American' or 'illiterate' means teaching mannors, compassion, and just plain courtesy...then I'd rather be an 'illiterate American,' ....or maybe you just weren't an experienced enough educator to answer the question. Something to think about!!

In response to an excellent question, I teach first grade and we 'play' many learning games such as spelling baseball, we have math fact relays, and Jeopardy using social living facts. our reading program requires us to have 'centers' in which they are learning while playing. We also 'play' with countless math manipulatives. I find that the more we 'play,' the higher my scores are on standardized tests because they tend to recall fun, exciting lessons than boring lectures.

[Unregistered]

Teaching methods have changed over the years. Some parents don't understand these changes because they were taught in the old traditional way, when students had no opinion and had to accept all information given.Back then the pencil, paper, and blackboard were the daily routine for teaching.

Teaching through "play" is a great method. Children absorb what is being taught with greater ease. But when a teacher uses a "playing" technique, he or she has to have a purpose behind the "game".

Therefore if a parent inquires, the teacher should be able to reply with true honesty what is the purpose behind the "playing" what skills are being enhanced, what information they are absorbing in some cases without even realizing it because they think they are "playing" but they are actually learning in an innovated way.

[Unregistered]

I neither condone or condem 'Kinda' . Setting aside their rudeness, mistakes do occur in writing, but usually in the classroon not in the teacher's lounge.

Is the inability to write English contagious? It is manners not mannors. Questiions require a question mark (Maybe you just...), and finally the correct use of an exclamation mark is to use it once.

[Unregistered]

hi ... I have taught spec ed K-12. I know a lot happens through play activites. It sounds like you have one of those annoying parents that will find fault with 'something'. Actually I am very good at talking to those kinds. Here are a few ideas: send home copies of articles from educational publications on "play" and learning ... like one a week for a month ...having experts comments helps... I have found that this helps... I even get thankyou letters for the articles... then send one a month home... my parents comment on how helpful this is..so it doesn't look like I am just doing some wacky thing in class.... I have 3 students with attorneys... so building relationship on a slow basis is very good ... just a little note home now and then ... a short call now and then ... these three parents have been 'the district nightmare' before I got them ... it took about a year of little things... but now they are my fan club ... and my boss is so greatful that they don't call him much anymore. Another thing is find an alternate word for 'play' ...when you talk to parents.. like study skills or whatever ... the kids will pick up the new terminology ... and the parents will be less adversarial ,,, good luck nancy in los angeles

[Stacey]

Children learn most effectively through the relaxed environment that 'play' allows - I am a Montessori teacher and we encourage the children to 'play', providing them with educational materials to where they cannot go wrong!

[Unregistered]

THANK YOU!!!
This is all parents are asking..
Please just work on giving parents a little information on what the kids are learning. In fact, you may create an assistant mom or dad/teacher at home who will continue to use the skills you use at school and actually get some homework back the next day to grade. :)

Really though, parents need information on how children learn. Many parents don't have a clue on what a child should learn at what age, etc.
So send that newsletter on how to help their children.. "What Your Child Learned In School this Week (or the week of ____)."

Parents are usually busy at work (6+ hours a day) away from their children and need some information on their children. Is that asking too much? They are their children. Show them some appreciation that they care and look from their point of view how they may feel. They may start to care how you feel.

Just something to think about.

[srogers]

"Why don't you teach my child something? All he does is play." How would you respond to this? I actually heard a parent ask the teacher and I am kinda of worried of not knowing what to say. Any ideas.
I have heard this many times also. Sit down with the parent and ask them exactly what they want their child to learn. In very positive terms, talk about what you feel that they can do, and remember, all children can do more than they realize. After you have listened to the parent, discuss ways that both of you can become actively involved in the learning process. Invite the parent in to work not necessarily with their child, but with a group of children that the child is involved in a hands-on play activity. Afterward, go back over the activity with the students and let the parent see that not only was it fun but it was also a time of educaiton. Make the parent feel impowered and you will have won the battle no matter what you do.

[Unregistered]

It depends what kind of "play" the parent is talking about. If the parent is talking about the learning activities that are taking place in class, stress to them the importance of learning through interaction. We learn best when we "do" rather than listen or see what someone says about a topic. Explain to the parents the basis behind the learning activity and the objectives. If you have the time, you could even play a quick round of the game with the parents and help them see where the child is applying specific skills.

If the parent is talking about the child "goofing off" in class rather than participating in the learning activities, bring it back to the parents--what are they doing at home to engage the child in learning activities. Do they have any suggestions that you could use to engage the child? It's important that parents realize their attitudes towards school are reflected in their child's attitudes, so if the parents think school is a waste of time, the children will too--attributing to negative attitudes and children who "goof off" because they don't find any value in school.

Hope this all helps! Things will come together as you get the experience and you'll find ways to work with the parents who can be difficult at times, but just remember that every parent wants the best for their children, even if we as teachers don't agree with the way they go about showing that.

[millers]

Think of the goals of social skills: sharing, observing, learning from others, patience, achievement, trying, taking turns, etc. - share them with the parent(s). There are plenty of individual and group social skills learned during play.

[Unregistered]

I must say for an educator in training, comming to this site to read replies to what I believe to be a good question and then reading your reply is very disheartening. I'm training to be a biology secondary ed. teacher & please tell me you do not teach in Illinois, because I do not want to be at a school with such a pompus educator. Please forget about the grammer of one webpage question as this is not a thesis or dissertation paper. Notice how just your attitude "kinda" peeves people off?????? And yes, I used several question marks there to make a point.

As far as the actual question at hand, I would vote to go the same way others seem to be heading.....play is part of learning. I know that in the 3 or 4 times I've had a class to lead they have always love the word searches, science quiz games, etc. that I've used in class. Of course, if you really wanted to be "smart" about it you could play one of the games with the parent and see just how much they learn in the activity!!!!!

[Unregistered]

If you don't like the way Americans talk then why are you here? How Rude! You want our freedoms and then bash how we live them / speak them? What a downer -- no wonder your country asked you to leave!

[Unregistered]

People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. Is it Questions or
Questiions? C'mon be civil. Mistakes occur everyday in life. It is not enough to get your britches in a bunch. Some one asked for help and instead of help you decided to use a put downs and antagonism. Good grief! I sure hope you don't work in my school. You sound like a sour puss!

[Ger Gibson]

Sorry to be a narky cow, but notice how I put my NAME at the top of this post, Ms or Mr Kinda? How rude to insult ANYONE that way, letalone someone in training, and without even identifying yourself! Did you have a bad experience in your training days or something? You know what I would call one such as yourself? Vinegar knickers. Bitter and twisted.
Ignore this individual.

[Yaralice]

Dear Beardog,

I have taught 6-year-olds and I learned by myself that you sure can teach them by letting them play. You can use what you want to teach in a more pleasurable way if you transform it into a game. Even adult students like it and learn better this way. Who understands about teaching, the parents or the teachers?

Good luck!

[Unregistered]

Keep in mind what your objectives and standards are. Whether the child is playing math games or games like checkers (critical thinking) they are doing activities that fall within the standards. Even in Kindergarten, dramatic play is a big part of building oral language and learning social skills. So think about what your students are doing when they are "playing" and tie them in with your teaching objectives.

[Unregistered]

As a parent who was in a similar situation, hopefully I can offer some help. My 4 year old attended a well-known montessori school this past fall. After researching and touring multiple schools, I had decided on one. My daughter was more than ready to read and I had mentioned this to her teacher and explained that she just needed that final "thing" to get her started. Each day my daughter would come home from school and tell us about what she did - usually, sitting in the reading area looking through books. The teacher had sent progress reports of every child every month. After the 2nd month of school, the report said that she loved playing with the doll they had in class and loved to play with her hair. That was it. While I am a firm believer in play-learning (we use that in our homeschooling now) I have to wonder why a school would let a child who more than loves to learn, do nothing. Now that we've been teaching her at home she has been not only reading but knows more about art, science, and foriegn language than I ever did as a child. I suppose the thing to tell that parent is how they learn through their play. For example, when they play with a ball, describe the physics between the ball and gravity - children love it and will repeat it! This I know from experience. That way when a parent does ask, you'll have no problems explaining the learning aspects behind the play!

[Unregistered]

Sam as BigDaddyTeacher- what grade are we talking about? I would be tempted to remind the parent that we have 30+ students to manage at the same time. Students that come from homes that don't require discipline and concentration frequently don't pay attention in class and don't learn as much.

[Lisa's Hotscakes]

First I think you need to find out if the parent is right. If they are, you need to re-evaluate your teaching strategy. On the other hand, if the play-time activities are designed to teach grade-level skills and concepts, you need to explain your approach to the parent.

What makes me wonder is that you don't seem to have a response. Why is that? Shouldn't you already know what to say when a parent questions your teaching methods, if they are well-designed?

So I think it comes down to confidence. If you have confidence in your methods, you should be able to discuss your methods at length with a parent. If not, you need to re-examine your methods.

But that is just my opinion, and few give a rat's butt about my opinion. :D

[Unregistered]

Tell them you are not teaching them and they do play all day. The only thing you could hope for is the parent will request that you all move his/her child to another class. This would be a wonderful way to reduce your class size!

[Lisa's Hotscakes]

The only thing you could hope for is the parent will request that you all move his/her child to another class.

Along with every other parent.

Of course, the easiest way to reduce your class size is not to show up at all.