Communication with parents with different backgrounds by Teacher Academy

Marcela, Italy

2017-10-02 12:29:20 UTC

I've always try to be open-minded to different cultures and backgrounds. I try to be an empathetic person and an active listener.

Margherita

2017-10-02 13:02:06 UTC

Last year I had an indiano student whose parents, very fine persons, didn't speak italian. So it would have been very difficult to communicate, of I didn't have had MEDIATORI CULTURALI to help me. It was a beautiful solution.
This year I Will use it again

gabriella

gabriellaricci — 2017-10-02 13:38:35 UTC

some years go I had a student that had his father in prison, so when I spoke with the mother I tried to not judge her family

ga

gabriellaricci — 2017-10-02 13:38:35 UTC

Laura pagnozzi,Italy

2017-10-02 14:11:51 UTC

In my experience as a teacher, often difficult situations have arisen, with parents with low cultural and high level, I have tried to engage in more docent communication and to increase meetings to better understand and help their children.

Selma Rego, Potugal

selma_rego — 2017-10-02 14:27:25 UTC

I work with parents with low educational levels. Most of them are Roma Parents. Sometimes is difficult not just because their language, but also because their culture. I try to show them that i'm interested in learning more about them. Did not always go well. I've been physically threatened in my first years of work. Now we have reached good levels of trust.

Argiro, Greece

Argiro — 2017-10-02 14:27:53 UTC

Every time I encounter a situation where communication and relationship with parents is difficult, I try to keep a closer relationship with the kid, so that the parents realise that we have a common goal; their kid's best interest. When this is established as a fact, parents (most of the times) cooperate and get more involved with their kid's learning experience, both in school and at home.

Maria Duarte, Portugal

joaoinvestiga1 — 2017-10-02 15:13:29 UTC

My school is a TEIP one. That means it serves a poor economic status and with low expectations at the scool. In fact, comunication is the key to build the trust of the parents about my work. If we really care and are able to show the benefit of their participation at the students life, the way is open and a path to follow, but there are allways difficult situations. In the video, I was surprised about the strategy of the teacher meet the parents outside the school and I couldnot quite agree with that!

Michela, Italy

2017-10-02 15:28:37 UTC

Some years ago I taught in a school situated in a very disadvantaged area.
To make disadvantaged families involvement possible, the school became a hub of social services for the neighborhood. The results were excellent.

Paulo, Portugal

2017-10-02 16:39:41 UTC

Sometimes it is difficult to deal with divorced parents. It is necessary to know how to listen to both parties and, sometimes, to act as mediator.

Vicky Archondi, Greece

vicky_archondi — 2017-10-02 16:40:05 UTC

Two years ago I experienced an awkard situation where an Albanian student of mine, recently arrived in the area, swore at the headmaster. The student had to be expelled from school but we couldn't explain to him and his parents the repercussions of this fine in his life due to the language gap so we resorted to a friend of them who they truly trusted to act as a translator.

Vasiliki Psaridou/Greece

psaridou — 2017-10-02 17:01:59 UTC

The last ten years I work in a Minority primary school in Greece and all the above mentioned problems I face everyday. My students are greek citizens but muslims. Their mother language is turkish and the majority of parents especially mothers do not know any greek at all. So I learn a few words in turkish and I use help of muslims colleagues for translation.

Roberto, Italia

ginisari — 2017-10-02 17:26:15 UTC

The cultural and linguistic partner difficulties are present in the classes I have worked in, and I think of an inclusive didactic in all its articulations. Inclusion is not a status, but an active path to developing a careful teaching and respecting each's needs in achieving common goals

Despoina Amarantidou, Greece

2017-10-02 17:28:58 UTC

I usually try to make them feel in a comfortable way and speak to them with simple words in case of language problems.

Maria Carmela, Italia

2017-10-02 17:33:44 UTC

I have overcome the cultural and linguistic social difficulties in the classes I worked in thinking of an inclusive didactic in all its articulations. Inclusion is not a status, but a continuous development to develop a curriculum that is attentive to everyone's needs in achieving the common goals to be pursued transversally between school, parents and children.

Christina, Greece

crest_lou — 2017-10-02 18:50:35 UTC

The last two years I work in a refugee camp and I have to communicate with (Syrian, Iraqi etc.) refugee parents that don't speak Greek and sometimes neither English. It is a big deal to make them trust you without any language in common. Fortunately, there are many NGOs in the camp that provide me with interpreters or cultural intermediators but the problem sometimes remain! Those professionals maybe use a different vocabulary or don't express things in the same mien. Appart from the language barriers, there is a cultural issue. The customs are different and maybe you can be misunderstood. You have to use body language, you have to look them in the eyes to make the communication effective.

Adriana

adryanaanton — 2017-10-02 19:14:42 UTC

Yes, there were situations.
Quite calmly, trying to bring arguments

Cecilia

2017-10-02 20:38:32 UTC

In my personal experience I have worked in different socio-cultural environment.

I have worked in rural areas as well as in high cultural level areas. I have encountered communication problems in both situations: in the first areas I found sometimes an obstacle in the language, but easily overcome with a good teamwork.

In the second case I found a lack of presence from families, that didn’t answered to the calls of the school.

Joana Almeida, Portugal

2017-10-02 20:57:45 UTC

In my professional experience, I have had to deal with students and parents with distinct socioeconomic and cultural situations, as well as other nationalities. In all situations I sought to establish a genuine relationship of mutual trust, both with students and with parents, in order to improve the school performance of young people in the medium term and their educational success in the long term. Often, informal meetings and / or personal meetings took place, where the language and vocabulary I used was adequate. From these meetings and / or meetings I tried to define with the parents strategies of joint action, in order to overcome the difficulties felt by them and their children. For this joint action plan a bilateral monitoring was also defined, to be carried out by the parents and me.

Matilde Ferreira, Portugal

matildecasaca — 2017-10-02 22:19:42 UTC

Unfortunately, I have already experienced situations where the communication with parents is very difficult. In these serious cases we have to communicate the situation to the police and they try to find out where the family is. In other cases we have to keep calm and send different messages in students`notebooks or letters.

Barbara Italy

barbara_galavotti — 2017-10-03 04:57:35 UTC

In my experience I have had some problem of communication. A lot of parents don't speak italian, womans often don't go out of home. I solve these situation with time and patience. I met these parents for 5-6 times and I show them my job; without a cultural mediator is more difficult.

Paula, Portugal

2017-10-03 12:11:24 UTC

I usually work with needy families, both economically and educationally and culturally. The posture I adopt is to respect the characteristics of these families, when I do not understand some behavior I try to know what the meaning is assigned and this may even be the work target for the class project. At the level of communication for different language issues I never had this experience.

Vanesa

2017-10-03 12:58:35 UTC

Sometimes there are situations which are difficult. I had a problem due to cultural background, but I solved it rather easily- with lots and lots of open-minded dialogues

Helena, Portugal

helenagpaixao — 2017-10-03 14:13:46 UTC

In those situations i share with parents, using apropriate language, my experience as a mother. I think it help the parents to see that i´m trying to help them helping their children. We are all at the same side and have the same goal. I prefere face to face meetings.

Tiziana, Italy

Tizianateacher — 2017-10-03 14:41:10 UTC

I must say that cultural and language background have meant a lot of difficulties in my teaching experience. Sometimes I had a young child who was translating what I was saying to the mother. In Italy we have women who come from other lands who do not speak Italian. In some cultures only men have contacts with teachers and often they do not come to meetings and I must confess that I felt hopeless.
It was a pity as in some cases we could not help students who needed more help and support.

Helen, Ireland

helen_p_english — 2017-10-03 16:34:20 UTC

When there is a language barrier, I have in the past contacted a friend/teacher of migrant background in another school to act as interpreter with Roma parents. I've also contacted former students of migrant background who have always been delighted to help out their former teacher.

Athina, Greece

aginoudi — 2017-10-03 17:06:33 UTC

I agree with Marie's point of view in the video. Indeed, I have experienced situations with different cultural backgrounds. I tried to understand the parents point of view and to learn more about their way of thinking. This was really very effective and helped me to communicate with most of those parents.

Silvia

2017-10-03 17:42:59 UTC

Negative past experiences (as either a student or a parent), immigration
status, different cultural norms and expectations, and lack of English language
fluency, among other things, can aggravate parental discomfort and the inclination
to disengage from the school context.
So I think is important is gained in increased clarity and effective communication will be lost if families feel embarrassed or disrespected.

Jurate, LIthuania

jurateorloviene — 2017-10-03 20:28:49 UTC

My experience in such situations is poor. However, I feel that parents from lower social class tended to avoid communication with teachers and school. The phone conversations are the most common mean which I used for communication with them.

Edmundo Portugal

edmundo_ramos — 2017-10-03 21:06:25 UTC

I already dealt with some situations, for example:
parents separated - here, the parental power was still not defined (mother or father - who decides ??) it is difficult to talk to one and then the other ... Here I tried to minimize the problem of the class and to focus only the problems of the student, helping the student to overcome his family situation.
Gypsy ethnicity - parents had difficulty understanding certain school rules and sometimes they reacted poorly to some decisions ... Here, I tried to talk with parents, clarifying the rules of the school and also I tried to make them understand the real problems of their son. I also tried to talk to them calmly and clearly.
Emigrant parents - Student left to the responsibility of the grandmother. in this case the grandmother went to school whenever necessary. But she had a hard time controlling her grandson ... Here I tried to talk to her grandmother, helping to solve some problems and follow the student.

Jenny (Evgenia) Karoumpali, Greece.

jennykaroumpali — 2017-10-04 08:50:10 UTC

During the school terms 1998-1999 I had migrant pupils, whose parents did not speak Greek (the schools' language) at all. The pupils played the role of the translators when the teachers (included myself) contacted with parents.
During the school terms 2001-2002 I was at a school, where a local dialect was spoken both by pupils and parents. Both pupils and parents undrestood perfectly what I said but I had difficulties in undrestanding them, despite the fact that all fo us spoke the same language (Greek). Now I undrestand this local dialect much better than I used to.
The past 3-4 school terms I have Roma pupils. I have difficulties in the communication with some parents (not all of them). These parents showed up in the school very rarely. I do not know whether is the language or their different background the reason for their absence from school life. I had no difficulties in the communication with Roma parents who are musicians, as I teach music.

Jasna, Macedonia

2017-10-04 09:27:55 UTC

I am facing a comunication problem

Jasna, Macedonia

2017-10-04 09:27:56 UTC

I am facing a communication problem with parents who have low socioeconomic status at the moment, and I really don't know how to deal with it.

Aleksa, Serbia

aleksapopadic — 2017-10-04 12:49:58 UTC

I have experienced situation where the communication with parent was difficult because she was not fluent in language that I talk, so I had to speak slower and choose words that she could understand.

Carol

carol_f — 2017-10-04 14:18:28 UTC

I teach to special needs students and I always meet the parents before starting school in order to have information of students’ needs and start a positive relationship with them. My strategy is usually successful, anyway in one occasion I had problems because my student’s mother didn’t appreciate my method. At the beginning I had problems, but after some months she started to appreciate my job and now, after 10 years, I continue to have a fantastic relation with her and my student.

Maria Calà, Italy

ilacrisere — 2017-10-04 15:17:56 UTC

In my experience I had some communication problems and not just for the cultural and linguistic background that creates many difficulties.
It is a shame because cultural and linguistic social difficulties could be working on a fully inclusive didactic, where a curriculum can be tailored to the needs of everyone to achieve common goals. I dream a school that is a pole of social services that can achieve excellent results.

Angela Metallinou/Athens, Greece

gelametal — 2017-10-04 16:44:02 UTC

I work at a private school...due to the financial crisis my principal and we teachers are dealing with a lot of irritated parents... Many devorces and (even worse) unexpected deaths make us feel responsible to help both students and parents. Mostly we discuss with them and arrange meetings with our social support.

Andreas, Athens-Greece

2017-10-04 17:09:53 UTC

As you know here in Greece we are dealing with an economical crisis. Lately many parents are facing economic problems, many of them are unemployed and they can't offer their children what they want to. They don't have the patience to sit with their children, read the lessons with them, talk about school or talk about school problems. They don't show up in meetings with the teachers although we call them again and again. It's a very sad situation and there is nothing we can do. They are feeling hopeless and teachers feel like there is nothing we can do about it. There is a saying here in Greece: "A hungry bear never dances", I hope you understand what it means.Without proper conditions and right socio-economic solutions there is no way to overcome this situation, which infects their childrens lives.

Irene -Italy

confalone — 2017-10-04 20:43:13 UTC

Last year, I had a very difficult situation at school. I had to talk to a couple of parents with different socio-cultural and economical backgrounds . At school we didn't understand each other. I was very embarrassed and disappointed because of the rough manners of the father .When I was a bit more relaxed and I tried to be more polite and patient, so he changed his way of speaking .I explained that I was very patient with his boy but I wanted the respect and trust ,first of all, from all the family.

Vilija, Lithuania

2017-10-05 06:54:26 UTC

If I have to meet parents with different socio-economic or cultural background, I usually prepare for the meeting in advance. I collect the needed information about them.

laura brazzabeni, italy

laura_brazzabeni1 — 2017-10-05 13:47:15 UTC

~teaching in a vocational school there are students belonging to the very different families (from the doctor, to the worker, to the parents who cannot even use a personal computer or do not have internet connection at home. there are also a lot of students coming from abroad who are here as migrants or only to study. some parents cannot speak Italian. with these i try to use one of the six languages I know or we contact a "mediatore culturale" ready to translate and also to present the cultural aspects of these families.

As every student is different from the Others and would need a personalized learningg also parents are very different so we have to invent strategies good for each of them. there are also parents of handicaped children who have problems like their children sometimes. that's why it is very diffucult to have good contacts with parents. But we call them every time we need. only if there a good relation between school and families you can reach some objectives.~

Vanessa Algarvio, Portugal

vanessalgarvio — 2017-10-05 13:59:02 UTC

At the moment, I have no communication problems, neither linguistic nor cultural. But this is not to say that they can not come up during the school year.
My school receives a lot of students of gypsy ethnicity and of countries of the east.
With regard to students coming from other countries we try to overcome the linguistic difficulty, through the students, but also through other people who have been here for some time. Sometimes they bring someone who understands our language when they come to school.
Regarding cultural differences, in the case of gypsy students, the school found a cultural mediator. In this case he is a former student of the school who facilitates the communication and adaptation of all, students, parents and teachers themselves.
We are also careful to carry out intercultural activities.
I think the important thing is to be interested and genuine, if both we and the parents believe that this is the path to knowledge and healthy development, everything becomes easier. We have to be available, open to trial.

Lígia - Portugal

ligiasantos_pt — 2017-10-05 13:59:41 UTC

Some years ago I’d worked in a private school where most parents are from a higher socio-economic background. Those parents were too busy to came to school and it was very difficult to communicate with them, since they send someone´s else who works for them in their place.

Once a mother ask me to be present at a meeting with her child’s teacher because during those meetings she got so nervous that she didn´t understand the message and she didn´t know what to do. I´d worked with her child years before in a reading remediation context, this time I guess I was a kind of an intermediary and it turns to be good for all, we´ve talked about the student´s strengths and areas needed to be work and the mother felt more confidant.

Teresa Maia, Portugal

mariateresalcobia — 2017-10-05 16:09:28 UTC

I have tried different strategies’: One-on-one meetings, in the most difficult situations I involved the school psychologist or another parent, who had influence in that social context.
I also tried to invite parents to participle in activities, talking about their national traditions or reading a short text of a national writer or telling a traditional story.
Sometimes, I was able to establish a good relationship with parents, which in the beginning were difficult. But other times, in very difficult social situations, unfortunately I could not even establish regular contact with some parents, which was very frustrating, and very negative for the academic success of these students.

C

christos_chachoudis — 2017-10-05 17:37:08 UTC

Christos, GREECE

christos_chachoudis — 2017-10-05 17:37:09 UTC

I have faced some communication problems all the years i teach students with learning problems and special needs. Few years ago i was in a school for students with special needs and the parents of a boy didn't want their child to be in the same class with other specific children and they always came to school and they were causing troubles, when we were calling them about their child's matters they never were there. It was so hard to deal with them but at last when we had an honor talk things got better, or so i think.

I've got to admit that in my school (I've been working there for 6 years now) we don't have such differences. All the families are more or less from the same social background and this makes everything easier.

2017-10-05 18:14:34 UTC

Rute Parente, Portugal

rutedasilva — 2017-10-05 18:27:30 UTC

Sometimes is difficult not to use the student as a translator. It didn't happen with me but in my school we have one Chinese student and there is only that family of four Chineses in the community. The student went to meetings because his parents didn't talk, and still don't, spek any other language than Chinese.
With eastern residents, sometimes it is easier because one neighbour or friend helps with the translation.
In my school there is also a great number of gypsies studying there. The difficulties here are more cultural than linguistic, fortunately we have (for two years now) a mediator that may help the teachers if needed.

Dimitra, Brussels

2017-10-05 20:01:04 UTC

I work with pre-schoolers (4 to 6 years old) in a large multicultural school. Almost every year, we have a number of children who arrive every September and they speak a different language.

At the beginning these children often are unable to communicate verbally, especially if no one speaks their language. I try to use a lot of visual resources, props for storytelling and so on, and I address to them, using very simple language (short sentences), as well as body language (e.g. showing things, using pantomime). These children do pick up the language very quickly and by July most of them are able to communicate with me and their peers.

I try to include in the organized activities cultural events, customs presentations and so on. The lovely thing about teaching this age is that children are still very open to differences in nationality and cultures and so they are very accepting to all.

I try to communicate with the parents (with the help of someone who can speak their language) and sometimes, when invited, I do home visits, or participate in meetings with the parents out of school, which really help to give me an insight into where children are coming from.

Angelamaria Galderisi, Italy.

soleemare_a — 2017-10-05 21:08:16 UTC

I have experienced a difficult communication with parents due to a low socio-cultural background. I have met these parents during term meetings and tried to explain in a simple manner their children ‘S difficulties and needs.

Kyriakopoulos George

2017-10-05 21:14:21 UTC

Never had so many problems with different economic cultural or language backgrounds. The last ten years i've been working in my area very few parents have shown up with huge linguistic problems... so i guess i;m lucky

Ispir Iuliana, Romania

ispiriuliana — 2017-10-06 14:43:38 UTC

I have not encountered any problems.

Alina Romania

saftaalina — 2017-10-06 16:15:34 UTC

A parent told me that other students don't behave good with her son...but it wad his foult....So I had to talk with the mother and her son, and then to make them to change their vocabulary

tina

tinamellos — 2017-10-06 17:19:13 UTC

I encountered difficulty in communication as a substitute teacher some years ago while being a 2nd grade teacher in our Capital, in a very difficult area. We communicated with the majority of parents both through gesturing and our interpreneurs were my students. Nevertheless, the parents were so keen and willing to help their kids that language was the only obstacle we had. A great life-time experience for me indeed!

Maria Stafilakou I have not faced so serious problems that I can not communicate .However , the different cultural background has caused slight problems on the objectives set.Talking and agreeing on what is more important for the child, has solved the diffenences

stafilakou67 — 2017-10-06 18:56:24 UTC

Olga Keramida/Greece

olkeramida — 2017-10-07 03:23:57 UTC

We usually have such difficulties because families are different so we must approach them with a way closely to their backgrounds. A teacher has too many roles to cover not only with kids but with parents and community as well. That is challenging!

Iulia, Romania

2017-10-07 04:55:55 UTC

We, as well trained teachers, should be capable of dealing with all kinds of human beings. I think experience has to do a lot with an efficient communication. At the beginning of our career it's vital to ask for help or guidance and not only then. That's why we are always trying to improve ourselves through participation in different courses.

Cristina, Romania

2017-10-07 06:24:30 UTC

Yes, I have met parents with different socioeconomic background. I think it is important to explain to them that education is the only way to improve they economic status. It is hard but not impossible. It takes time indeed but the results can be very satisfying.

Vlad Alexandra-Anamaria, Romania

vladalexandraanamaria — 2017-10-07 08:11:19 UTC

Yes, I did had difficulties when working in poor villages where parents were to busy to work in agriculture and caring for the animals they had, in order to survive financially. Those parents had a very low level of education and it was very hard for them to understand that they play an important role in the educational future of their child, so they didn't involve to seriously in the educational process because of not having enough time. But, beside that, they really wanted their children to push their limits, to learn more than they did, in order to overcome their struggles. They wanted their kids to learn and become well educated adults because like that they could improve their lifestyle. Even it was challenging for them (because of the distance and the meteorological conditions) , they tried their best to bring at school their children, trusting that teachers will change their children's future in a positive way.

Stathis, Greece

slikidis — 2017-10-07 12:15:03 UTC

We recently accepted a student from Arabia in our school who had difficulty even to speak English. The communication with him was difficult and he was a hyperactive child in the class. The only solution was to ask for sending someone who could communicate with him. The headmaster of school, his parents, teachers, the translator and of course the child gathered as to explain him the rules of school and search for ways as to enbody him in school life.

At the moment, I have no communication problems, neither linguistic nor cultural. But this is not to say

suelabraushi — 2017-10-07 12:35:09 UTC

Suela

Penny, Greece

2017-10-07 15:23:17 UTC

I didn't face really serious communication problems with parents. When a student from another country who didn't speak Greek was in classroom, I used a classmate with the same native language and fluent Greek as translator and assistant and I put them to work together. Very quickly the student spoke Greek.

Adriana

adritoderic — 2017-10-07 17:10:41 UTC

I ask for help to the social worker at the school.

Maria Fernanda, Portugal

2017-10-07 17:13:55 UTC

I cannot say I´ve had such a problem so far. The trick is to be aware of their socio-economic and cultural background and adjust our language/speech to their level. We must make sure they understand what we are telling them and the activity/action purpose.

I agree that it is not always easy to get to parents with disabilities or from disadvantaged backgrounds. Nevertheless, I think we ought to use our own personal and professional abilities to overcome this problem. I usually use a simple speech and simple words and explain again and again, to allow them understanding what I am saying. It turns easier when facing one person or two, but it gets difficult if talking to a big audience, since you are not able to figure out if everyone is really knowing what you are talking about.

My main problem is how to communicate with rude parents (and I have a lot this kind!). The Kind of people who believes is always right and perfect (which obviously they are not!)

Maria, Portugal

2017-10-07 19:19:11 UTC

The worst situations are when parents are overwhelming. This happens with parents with low or high socio-economic backgrounds. It's difficult to make them respect the school. In those situations I have felt felt the need of being also tough sometimes.

Elisa

mec972 — 2017-10-07 21:32:46 UTC

I ask for hel or a mediation. The real problem is when there is no specialized staff to perform that

Sofia Rosado Dias, Portugal

sofia_rosado_dias — 2017-10-08 08:39:26 UTC

If there is a social or economic backgrounds issue that is not compatible with a general meeting or with emails or so (when those parents don't use computers nor mobiles) I believe a personal meeting could help.

Silvia, Rome

silvietta_68 — 2017-10-08 14:21:18 UTC

I've been teaching for 27 years in primary school.
I have encountered communication problems not only for linguistic or social differences, but also because parents often do not trust.
I have tried to demonstrate with the facts that for the successful formation of children is needed the family school collaboration.

Daniele - Italy

danvir — 2017-10-08 15:25:44 UTC

Have you experienced situations where the communication and relationship with parents was difficult due to different socio-economic/cultural/language backgrounds? How did you deal with it?

It's easy to find such difficulties, due to better or worse economic condition. The key is to build trust, as it is said in the videos below. Parents have to be involved and they have to understand that it must be a collaboration between the school and them.
Some times linguistic barriers are also cultural barriers. Usually people from other countries are usually from countries where the teacher is high considered and they really want the best for their children.

Pietro- Italy

idiotshater — 2017-10-08 17:18:51 UTC

I have often tried to communicate toparents with different socio-economic-cultural-language background and the best move has always been keeping a low profile with them using a simple language repeating several times the issues being faced. I remember talking to Arab parents of a female students with completely differents socio and cultural background, all the issues related to daily school routine were made simple to let them be a part of the new school system, this way they felt ready to cooperate with me and with the other colleagues in order to actively partecipate in their daughter learning success

Antonella-Ital

grigiante — 2017-10-08 18:53:51 UTC

when the communication and relationship with parents is difficult due to the different socio-economic /cultural/language backgroung face to face meeting is the only solution. I usually prefer asking the presence of a collegue just to have a double check that the message is simple and direct

Adriana Miranda - Oiã, Aveiro, Portugal

cunhamiranda2017 — 2017-10-08 21:34:03 UTC

In my experience as a foreign Portuguese teacher I constantly have to deal with parents with different socio-economic/cultural/language backgrounds. Usually my parents arrived Portugal and the language is their main problem, because most of them don’t speak Portuguese. Many of them arrived with their families running away from war or political/religious pursuits. So, in these cases I contact with the “Centro Nacional de Apoio à Integração de Migrantes (CNAIM)” - The National Immigrant Support Centres (CNAI) that were created in order to give response to some difficulties felt by the immigrants in their process of integration in Portugal. This organism has, in the same space, different services, institutions and Cabinets of Support to the Immigrant. This allows me and the parents to communicate in order to solve their socio-economic/cultural/language problems they may have. As I refer to in module 2 – 2.1., this organism has created the Telephone Translation Service (STT) to overcome the language barrier, one of the great difficulties experienced by immigrants in their relationship with the services in Portugal.

Helena, Portugal

helenanuno — 2017-10-08 21:46:39 UTC

I agree with Maria Fernanda from Portugal. I din´t have problems with socio-economi/cultural/language backgrounds, but some parents dind´t understand my work ans question my skills, some aren´t nice and educated.

Rasma, Lithuania

rasmastuokiene — 2017-10-09 08:39:06 UTC

Communication with parents with different backgrounds is always a challenge because parents of lower social status usually show less interest in school life. To involve or even engage them the teacher must put more effort, e.g. make more phone calls or write more emails, messages, focus on positive things about their children not negative (at least till parents become more open and willing to collaboarate). Parents' encouragement is very important to help keep their self-esteem.

João Adelino Santos, Portugal

joao_santos2 — 2017-10-09 16:49:49 UTC

It often happens that parents go to school to present a problem but they are angry, not very receptive to explanations. They only want to impose their positions and get the school to adopt them. In these cases, I try to listen to the arguments of the parents, I let them speak and, little by little, I create a climate conducive to dialogue, serenading the mood. After this period, dialogue becomes possible.

Marco, Italy

2017-10-09 17:03:11 UTC

I have many problems because the most parents are absent and if i call them, they don't meet me.

I have problem with some parents and the only tool that I can use is telephon

cristina_floriddia — 2017-10-09 17:04:31 UTC

IULIANA LINEA ROMANIA

iuliana_linea — 2017-10-09 18:12:25 UTC

I believe that it is difficult to discuss with parents because in certain cases they consider they are superior to teachers, and others think school is not important for their children. So, it is difficult for teachers to approach any issue with this kind of parents. But, generally, I think teachers have to be united in defending the sociaty's values and the school's values as well. They have to approach parents calmly, objectively, and ensure parents that school act for the well being of their children.

It is really difficult to deal with some parents. Some of them want to call in every period of day. they don't watch out the hour. That's why I don't give them my number. I call them hiding my number or prefer to use school phone.

duygumkara58 — 2017-10-09 18:13:26 UTC

Parent can be really difficult at times. They sometimes are blinded by their love for the child and lack the energy to oppose them.

otili26 — 2017-10-09 18:40:31 UTC

Otilia Machedon

Parents usually want to impose their own ways and cultures throughout the group. What is needed is to get all the views of all the parties together and to develop a wonderful mix of culture. Nothing should be imposed but created within the same group (parents - teachers - pupils)

chrislampou — 2017-10-09 19:41:14 UTC

Parents usually want to impose their own ways and cultures throughout the group. What is needed is to get all the views of all the parties together and to develop a wonderful mix of culture. Nothing should be imposed but created within the same group (parents - teachers - Students)

chrislampou — 2017-10-09 19:41:35 UTC

Lampropoulos Christos
Greece

Isaura Ventura

2017-10-10 09:29:23 UTC

I agree with most of what has been said previously and there are always problems arising as we must deal with all sorts of people and many parents at a time.
Of course there are different kinds of parents, like no person is equal to another. So, you must have the skill to reach them all if you want cooperative parents. Someone above referred to being tough at times. It can work with parents with whom you've tried every approach possible. However, due to their job specificity, experienced teachers are kind of experts in communication and they always find a way of opening the communication channel and getting the message through. It's just a question of patience. I have already dealt with difficult situations interacting with parents from different social-economic backgrounds, both high and low, and have always reached agreement.
Most problematic is when parents give up on their children's education and ask the teacher to do something because they are unable to deal with the tough behavior of their child. They are difficult to convince that it's their responsibility as well as the school's and the school can do nothing because the authority over the child is mostly theirs.

José António Carvalho

joseantoniocarvalho — 2017-10-10 10:28:45 UTC

Social, economic and linguistic conditions do not represent a difficulty in communicating with parents. The lack of interest in the students' schooling and the lack of involvement of the parents are the greatest difficulty. I try to get around this difficulty with an attempt of effective parental involvement in the lesson plan.

Lúcia Paulino, Portugal

2017-10-10 11:08:21 UTC

When you are dealing with parents from different socio-economic or cultural backgrounds you need to adapt your speech to their level. There can’t be a mismatch in the communication styles. Sometimes it is hard to build this relationship of “trust”, as mentioned in the video, especially when parents are uncooperative.
Teachers are taught how to teach and communicate with children but they are not trained in how to effectively work with parents. This is a skill that you have to develop on your own, learning from your failures and successes, because teacher training lacks this important aspect of your role as a teacher.

Adérito

2017-10-10 16:04:29 UTC

Foreign cultural and language is more dificult than socio-economic difference.
We must work for reduce these difficult.

Susana, Lisbon, Portugal

maria_susana_fernandes — 2017-10-10 16:35:44 UTC

The ability to adapt to one's interlocutor is crucial to any form of communication, and concerning parent-teacher engagement it is heightened. So teachers must be well aware of the need to use a simple, straightforward and assertive type of language. And this is true not only when you are dealing with people from different backgrounds (cultural, linguistic, socio-economic) but also with parents you assume are similar to oneself. To have a proficuous communication trust must be strenghtend and that, as mentioned in the video, can spring from natural curiosity expressed by the teacher towards the pupil's world. From my experience with parents the key to achieve that trust, needed for true engagement, is showing care and attention.

Giorgia, Romania

giorgiagroza — 2017-10-10 18:40:08 UTC

Yes, I did
The religion may be an obstacle. Yehova witnesses has a lot of different points of view connected with school activities, school parties and I need to talk a lot about this theme with the family of a girl from my class

Helena

hcpires — 2017-10-10 21:18:07 UTC

Jagoda Gauta, Croatia

2017-10-11 09:26:00 UTC

I agree with point of view that if parents have genuine interest for their children's achievement, language, culture and social beckground can be overcome and don't have to present barrier. From my own experience, parents prom China that come in our country only few months before, communicate with school more effective then some Croatian parents.

Elsa, Portugal

2017-10-11 14:58:17 UTC

Sometimes parents don’t have a car and it’s very hard for them to come to school. Phone it’s a great way to overcome this difficulty. Long time ago I had a student that was not able to speak at all and her parents didn’t speak Portuguese language. I had a few documents that needed their signature, so I went to their home and explained the situation. In this situation, speaking face-to-face was hard, but it was the best solution. We had to choose simple words and use nonverbal communication in order to understand each other clearly.

Loredana Italy

loredana_mangano — 2017-10-11 20:12:50 UTC

I have always relate to parents of different economic and cultural levels, because working in public school class groups are very heterogeneous. I always thought it was my categorical duty to have positive relationships with all the families because of this, a serene life for the pupils emerges. It certainly does not always succeed easily! One case was very impressed because it was a fight lasting almost five years. After three years of being overlooked, his son needed a logopedic evaluation, one day the dad at the exit of the school intimidates me and threatens me. I ask for help, co-workers intervene, and I am forced to report this to my manager. A meeting with the director is organized with the whole teaching team and parents. After heated discussions I can pass the information that my intention is just to help the child. We plan a customized teaching plan and the family begins to visit the child. A serious picture has come out. We started working together and now that the five year period has ended we greeted with cordiality and esteem and the dad admitted to having lost so much time because of his difficulty listening to me. he was crying.

Betty-Greece

bettyaggeletaki — 2017-10-11 20:12:52 UTC

As i am not a teacher i do not have any experience but i would like to tell that people from other culture maybe have in their minds a different image for school or for some others the fear of rejection keep them far away of school and colaboration with teachers

Rosy, Italy

rositone73 — 2017-10-12 07:25:10 UTC

There are everyday problems with parents in school. I think that first of all it is for religion problem, but this in not the only one. I think the best way is to talk face to face, somethimes we have to talk with the students that traslate our words to their mothers. And we hope that our transalators report the things we really way.

Yes, there are many parents that don't want to share their problems and it's difficult to know family environment. Others came frome another country and we have to translate all information, sometimes they are from a low socio-economic background and they don't understand what we say.

2017-10-12 11:39:32 UTC

Maria, Volos, Greece

makias17 — 2017-10-12 11:55:41 UTC

It's really important and beneficial for all parties to 'make use' of parents' cultural background, heritage, language and tradition. Indeed, showing genuinely curious and including them in the learning process will 'bridge' the gap more easily. Of course, there are cases where the teacher cannot do many things as is the case with parents of Roma(ni), who hardly ever come to school and also have their children leave school for several months in order to help in agricultural or commercial businesses.

Miryam, Italy

miriamscafatihpg23 — 2017-10-12 15:02:16 UTC

I haven't any problem to comunicate with parents.

Laura, Ital

2017-10-12 16:39:09 UTC

In my own experience I faced a lot of difficult situations depending on different kinds of reasons. Personally I dealt with them effectively especially due to my own empathy capacities. Easily I can understand parents points of view and react to them. What I realized watching these videos is that in my school reality actually any forms of activities is done during or off the school hours besides the usual family/school planned meetings. It is a pity that our schools couldn't be a social encountering environment where a real inter-social/cultural/ethnical exchange could happen.

Maria Antonietta Italy

2017-10-12 17:09:52 UTC

I think it is important to mediate, to have patience, to make sure that activities are planned for the needs of children; I have experienced difficult situations, I have never tired of communicating, so much patience, sometimes I had to change the programming

Céu, Portugal

2017-10-12 19:56:13 UTC

I agree with most of what has been said: communicating with parents of different socio-economic, cultural, and language backgrounds is not easy. In my school, we need to deal with a lot of socio-economic differences.As we see in training, we need to build positive relationships with parents, we need to show them that they matter and their concerns are legitimate. We need to show them that we care. After that, with some experience, we will reach our goal.

Adélia, Portugal

bentesa — 2017-10-12 20:58:30 UTC

Yes, sometimes, at first, it's not easy to communicate with parents from different cultures, but if the process is well managed, it can be a very interesting experience.

Inês, Portugal

2017-10-12 22:23:24 UTC

I work in a school of a territory with a lot of different background... the major challenge is to adapt vocabulary (especially with african population) but I succeed that... at same time even when work around parenthood abilities I try to give value to their knowledge learning something from their own experience...

Rosa Medeiros, Portugal

rosa_medeiros1 — 2017-10-12 22:27:23 UTC

I have worked in a school that had different cultural and economic differences: children of military men and children in a degraded social neighborhood. It was not easy. Parents' meetings had to be held in order to get to know each other better and sometimes to have meetings with parents individually. Even the school organized a traditional dance in which it was difficult to mix the students. At last it was verified that the children of the neighborhood had better rhythm and danced better. Such valued this poor social group, since they became preferred to form dance pair. ( Google tradutor :)

RS - DE

NatasaHerweg — 2017-10-13 10:16:10 UTC

I have been working abroad for the last 4 years. My target group was the descendants of the emigrants. My students were the second or even third generation of emigrants. They are distant from their native culture, in best cases they speak dialects of the Serbian language, but a rather modest fund of words, and only 10% of parents were in highly educated. In many families, the mother tongue was not spoken, so the students were initially prevented from effectively attending regular classes. It was extremely difficult for four years, but in which I learned a lot.

Adriana Miranda - Oiã, Aveiro, Portugal

cunhamiranda2017 — 2017-10-13 20:59:49 UTC

Edyta, Poland

2017-10-13 21:27:42 UTC

I work in public school so the economic status is different. Some parents explain their children that they do not have to learn because they don't need it. Then, I try to talk to them and it is quite difficult...

Fulvia Italy

leardini — 2017-10-14 16:31:21 UTC

I teach in a pubblic school so the economic status is different but I try to listen them and I try to give them the different help that they need.

Patrizia, Italy

2017-10-14 17:24:42 UTC

In the last years we have had a lot of foreign students- I teach at kindergarten and very often the problem is daily communication! We try to communicate even with drawings when communication is really difficult, sometimes the children help us. I agree with Ezster when she says that trust is the point!

Dora_Greece

ntanouth — 2017-10-15 07:49:09 UTC

In my school, Ihave to deal with parents from different backgrounds. I use a simple and comprehensive language and be available to any concern

Orlando Serrano, Portugal

orlandoserranoue — 2017-10-16 00:24:24 UTC

We can even emphasize that communication, as information sharing, presents itself as one of the greatest challenges to be faced by all actors in the school and surrounding communities, not limited to the dissemination of school results and issues related to learning behaviors and difficulties from the students.

João Eusébio, Portugal

2017-10-16 13:45:22 UTC

There are various social inequalities in my school, both economically and literally. Yet it is possible to adapt to different realities without anyone feeling excluded.

Rosa Medeiros, PT

rosa_medeiros1 — 2017-10-16 21:16:41 UTC

At the first meeting with parents:
- I present the class project
- I listen to parents' concerns
- I give the day and time of the week to receive the parents
- I ask that parents to the smallest concern, discontent or doubt
- - make my personal contact known, for priority contactsI
After
- meet periodically with each parent in order to define strategies
- I do projects involving parents
- as soon as the student shows some difficulty, I contact the parents
- often ask for parental collaboration

Rita Rosado, Portugal

2017-10-17 09:00:26 UTC

I have experienced some cultural differences in a school where the majority are from other countries, principally from Africa. It was necessary to meet the parents and to adapt the language to be understood. The parents were more interested in those meetings than sometimes other ones in a school where they don´t have social dificults because the first ones gave more value to the few meetings we had. The dificult was to ensure they could come to the meetings.

Antonietta, Italy

miaaba — 2017-10-17 14:07:11 UTC

I have experienced a wide range of situation but luckly mostly positive. I think a relation based on trust is always positive.

Valbona

valbona_mata2 — 2017-10-17 18:48:35 UTC

I've always had good experiences

Silvia Patrizia RUGGERI, Italy

silviap_ruggeri — 2017-10-19 13:32:01 UTC

Unfortunately relationship can be difficult not only for different background but also because parents are so much worried about their girls and boys. I solved always meeting parents, listening them and trying to understand their reasons and proposing a solution when it was possible.

Paulo Dionísio, by Portugal

sonialeao — 2017-10-19 21:09:02 UTC

I have great experiences with students with educational needs and cordial relations with their parents

Sónia Barbosa Leão, Lagoa , Portugal

sonialeao — 2017-10-19 22:07:27 UTC

I have been working in many school, sometime I find it hard to talk to parents with high social and economic background, because sometime it seams that for them school is just a place where they "deposit" their children and they don't want to be upset with calls from the school....appart of that I don't have dificulties to comunicate and relate with them because I enjoy learn more about people, and be a part of their children formation.

Isabel Quirino, Portugal

isabelquirino — 2017-10-20 11:17:08 UTC

The tree dimensions are important, and sometimes they work together. I had one situation with 2 students who came from Senegal, they don't talk portuguese, or french or english, the family was very poor and our main difficulty were understand how they look at life and what were they projecting to the future. In these kind of cases, we usually got help from other people from outside the school, who can mediate our relationship.

Paola. Italy

paola_tona — 2017-10-22 10:11:24 UTC

My only difficult experience was that of communicating with a Chinese boy's parents. The solution was to make the boy speak to the parents

Vesna, Serbia

2017-10-23 18:07:30 UTC

I teach classes with different various backgrounds and there were a few of the difficult ones but they were all resolved in a good manner and I value them most precisely because they've always made me push harder to understand them and get them to understand me. Keep calm in mind and body, hear them out, be objective to identify the problem then you can have a good solution.

Konstantina, GREECE

2017-10-23 20:29:58 UTC

I haven’t experienced situations where the communication and relationship with parents was difficult due to different socio-economic/cultural/language backgrounds

Carla, Oman

cfaulder92 — 2017-10-24 14:51:34 UTC

I work in a bi-lingual school. At times we have issues between staff and parents when English / Arabic gets lost in translation. Or a conversation can't flow because of a lack of language.

Fernanda Cunha, Portugal

fernanda_mcunha58 — 2017-10-25 00:15:04 UTC

The school where I work and where I live, belongs to a rural environment, with low social status, where own parents of students have low expectations and self-esteem ... It is not surprising therefore that their children present, in general, the same personality traits.

I absolutely agree with Eszter's opinion on creativity, being genuinely curious, respecting the opinion of the other even when different from ours, speaking simply with a smile rather on the face ... it breaks the "ice" of difference and strengthens confidence - this is the attitude I try to use when I talk to parents / students educators.

Azize Ozcan,Turkey

shiningforthelife — 2017-10-26 20:19:03 UTC

I would like to admit that I haven't experienced any difficult situation like that as all my parent have nearly the same type of lifstyle and socio-economic backgrounds.But as to cultural and language backgroundsi, I have experienced some difficulty with the parents who think that they know everything and try to guide you.I always say them to trust me and that I have my own style which is succesfull politely.

mihaela, Romania

salistemihaela — 2017-10-30 14:34:41 UTC

I realize that I had no problems with communication with parents in the 20 years of activity, but I find it increasingly difficult to explain all parents that children are the most important... in their lives...

Ulfet C,

2017-10-30 18:10:25 UTC

Luckily I don't have problems with my parents.

Teuta Dimo, Albani

teutadimo — 2017-10-30 21:10:43 UTC

I have always have good experiences

Maria Michael Kollyfa

2017-10-30 21:11:49 UTC

I explain the culture, values and targets of the school, class goals and according to their needs we put together the goals for their child. Sometimes I translate invitations, announcements in their mother tongue, as well as the rules of the school, school programe etc. and I have a translator with me if needed during face to face meeting.

Nicoleta, Romania

mercur_mercur — 2017-11-01 09:46:39 UTC

I have experienced such situations, in the past, also recent. I try to clarify, using a clear language, searching for mutual goals, developing patiance and tolerance, not blaming or making statements. Finding common ground. Make things interesting and accesible so that we can grow together, no matter what are own backgrounds. No one should feel inferior or superior, but empower to progress.

Teuta, Albania

2017-11-21 19:04:57 UTC

To my experience, I found out, Parents have different background, religions and education. We try the best to make parents understand his or her child situation in school.

İSHAK KURT

kurtishak16 — 2018-06-25 13:18:05 UTC

Yes, I did. There was a parent I had a language problem and we were communicating using google translate. But it was not very healthy.

Ipermahia Christodoulou Greece.

2018-08-22 08:44:50 UTC

In my opinion if the child lives a good family life he teachers can work and succeed miracles. If the child lives problems in his/her family then the collaboration and communication with the child's parents is difficult ,the child needs the specialist's advice .