Teaching has always been demanding, but many educators say the job has become increasingly difficult in recent years.
Dipping academic scores, deteriorating student discipline, and other classroom distractions have made it difficult for them to enjoy their work and maintain effective learning environments. Teacher attrition may have declined from when schools reopened after the pandemic, but persistent challenges—including student behavior, cellphone use, perceived lack of support from administrators—continue to dent morale.
When students lack motivation, refuse to do their work, or struggle with mental health challenges, teachers often must play multiple roles of coach, mentor, or interventionist.
Many educators say a stronger partnership with parents could help. Parents can reinforce behavioral norms at home and get the students the help they need academically.
In responses to a question EdWeek posed on social media last month, online commenters said they want to rebuild collaborative relationships with families and identified specific ways in which parents can better support classroom learning—including reinforcing respect for rules and holding students accountable for their grades and behavior.
Education Week compiled responses highlighting what might make the biggest difference for educators.
Teach respect and accountability
Respondents repeatedly emphasized that respect for educators and classroom expectations begins at home. Reinforcing consequences and supporting school discipline decisions, they said, help create consistency for students.
Teaching respect starts at home. Discipline starts at home. Teaching that education isn’t a waste of time and if they aren’t in school it would be home school. So buckle up and learn something. Teachers aren’t entertainers but if they might find they enjoy some subjects and that’s great. Let your kids know asking for help is not a weakness.
Parent your kids. Teach them respect and resilience. Teach them that hard work is honorable. Teach them kindness. Vote for leaders who will fund education properly. And stop asking us to do it all.
Provide structure and presence at home. Make rules and routines and stick to them. Teach common courtesy, manners, delayed gratification. Eat together, review your day, talk to them, review upcoming assignments, teach them to keep a calendar. Limit video games. Read aloud, model a print rich home, play educational games together, go to museums and make sure they get a decent night’s sleep.
Have conversations with kids about how to respectfully interact with teachers. Hold kids accountable when teachers report a problem. Reinforce what they are learning at school by practicing skills and by reading with them.
Respect educators. Hold your children accountable when they do wrong. Teach your children to respect all teachers even if they don't like them. Teach your children that education has great value and without it their chances of being successful in life are very low.
Be involved in your child’s education. Know what their grades are. Hold them accountable. Help them with homework or get them to someone that can help them.
Don't contribute to grade inflation by insisting that your child needs an A they haven't earned. Colleges do admit students who have Bs and A minuses.
Encourage curiosity—and limit screen time
Commenters also said parents play an important role in cultivating curiosity and engagement outside school.
Parents should be parenting, helping them develop confidence, introducing them to reading, the world, people, new activities, supporting them. Not just thinking it is someone else's role in society, it is everyone's role in society to help those around us flourish!
Model kindness and empathy, provide structure for your children, capitalize on their natural curiosity, nurture a love of books and severely limit screen exposure.
Hold your kids accountable, read to them, be silly with them, give them experiences over things.
Educators want parents to trust their intentions
Listen to teachers. Respect teachers. If your kids say something negative about a teacher, don't be quick to judge and badmouth the teacher. The minute a parent gives a kid the idea that the problem or issue is the teacher, not them or choices they are making, you've given the kid permission to not listen to the teacher.
Communicate with us! We want the partnership just as much as you do :)
Stop teacher bashing on social media. Go to the teacher and find out what is going on.
By trusting that I have complete respect for them and their children, as they are, not how I think they should be. I teach the students who are there, whether they have been raised according to my own life values or not.
Answer emails. Hold students accountable at home. Be a part of solution-oriented conversations. Believe teachers. Understand that your student is not the only student we serve.
