Take a minute to think of one of your favorite teachers from school…
What were his/her qualities?  What did you like about him/her?

Make a list.

• Made learning fun
• Had high but well-communicated expectations with room to grow
• Always encouraged us to do our best
• Saw the good in us
• Created an atmosphere of teamwork and respect
• Silly and downright goofy sometimes
• Truly loved their job
• Truly cared about us

How did students react to or treat this teacher?

• With respect
• With love
• They wanted to please him/her

Now think of the worst teacher you had in school…
What were his/her qualities?  What didn’t you like about him/her?

Make a list.

• Made learning a chore
• had ridiculous unattainable expectations with no room for error
• always had a discouraging word to say
• saw the worst in all of us
• created an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty
• grumpy and yelled a lot
• hated his/her job
• didn’t seem to care about me at all

How did students react to or treat this teacher?

• with fear
• with lying and disrespect
• They wanted to either get revenge or just stay as far away from him/her as possible

Or what about this teacher?

• didn’t have many rules
• chaotic classroom environment
• was really “nice” but not very effective
• not much learning got done
• seemed frazzled at times but never did anything to solve problems

How did students react to or treat this teacher?

• with disrespect and manipulation
• Kids felt insecure
• They didn’t listen and obey

The teacher can make all the difference.  

A friend of mine shared with me that last year, her daughter did awesome in Spanish class because she had an awesome teacher.  This year, however, she isn’t doing well in Spanish.  Why?  She has a different teacher who makes learning impossible and is “hard to be around.” Last year…As and Bs…this year…not so much.

The teacher can make all the difference.

So my question to you is:  What kind of teacher are you?

Yes, I know our kids push our buttons, roll their eyes, talk back, throw fits, scream, yell, and sometimes appear to TRY to drive us crazy, but we have a choice in how we react.

In our homes, we are a team. We can choose to have high expectations with love and grace. We can choose to be learning-focused with a balance of rules and respect. We can choose to invite our kids in to solve problems with the idea of teamwork and having fun.

“How can we stop throwing toys so you and I can have more time to play with them together?”

We have the choice to view our role as parent as that of a teacher…a “good” teacher–creating an atmosphere where kids learn, laugh, and love.

And that’s what the Teamwork Parenting Approach is all about!

I truly believe that the style of teacher that we choose to be can make a difference in an “A student” or an “F student”.

And I’m not talking about grades.

Lord, open our eyes to the ways You want us to grow and change as a parent. Give us wisdom to parent our kids like the Teacher that You are to us–with high expectations but full of patience, grace, and abounding love and joy.  

Here’s to building better families–

Christine