Let’s face it. Parents can be a great support or a nemesis. They’re either whiny, belligerent victims or impassioned advocates of the services you’re offering. On rare occasions, you’ll find parents who are not only open to learning, but also who are empathetic and pragmatic with their feedback.
These parents support their gifted and talented sons and/or daughters fiercely; however, they have a balanced assessment of their children’s strengths and weaknesses. They’re involved and willing to engage with you about their perspectives and show respect for your professionalism, knowledge and insight. These parents are partners in the best sense of the word. How can you grow this group of satisfied parents in your community without spending every waking minute and/or last dollar tending to their needs? The answer lies in strategic communications.
In this inaugural blog entry, I hope to offer you the first of four simple steps to fostering better relations with parents in your gifted and talented community. Although these tactics are most applicable for gifted and talented (GT) teachers and coordinators working in public or private school settings, those overseeing summer programming or private consulting practices may also discern benefits.
How can you partner with parents and be more effective with your communications?
- Be empathetic.
- Be open and available.
- Be wildly creative.
- Be consistent.
1. Be empathetic
Remember, in most instances, you are dealing with gifted adults who are avid learners. These parents can’t get enough information about their gifted and talented child. They’ll voraciously eat up any nuggets you offer, but abhor silence and perceived indifference.
Recently, I participated in a Saturday seminar for parents of gifted and talented students. More than 100 parents came armed with energy and a fair share of coffee. They were ready to learn and share – and share they did. The majority of attending parents claimed they felt out of the loop and out of sync with their child’s primary GT teacher. Seven out of the eight parents at my table alone complained about their child’s Advanced Learning Plan or felt their GT coordinator didn’t really “know” their son or daughter.
Before launching into defensiveness, lack of funding, limited resources and a discussion of how parents overestimate their child’s gifts, GT professionals would be wise to start by listening with empathy. The parents may, in fact, be overzealous and unrealistic; however, most of them are smart cookies with good intentions. Both sides of the aisle need to listen more carefully to one another if we are to overcome the exorbitant chasm that currently exists between GT professionals and parents.
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