Between Home and School: Letters, Notes and Emails
Discussion Questions
- What letters or exchanges were particularly meaningful to you? What questions did they raise? What experiences did they bring to mind?
- How are the relationships revealed in these letters different from ones in your experience? How are they the same?
- What subjects are appropriate for discussion between parent and teacher – home and school? Are there any that are not?
- In what ways do different teachers or parents require different handling? Can you think of some examples in your own experiences?
- What rules of thumb about communication between parents and teachers might be drawn from these letters?
- What is your approach in dealing with parents or teachers? How can the school encourage good communication? What can parents do to help their children resolve their own issues? At what point is it important for adults to communicate with each other?
- What are the various ways you can communicate with parents or teachers?
- How can you plant seeds of good communication to build a healthy relationship with parents/teachers before problems/issues arise? How do you relate as people (not only the roles of parent or teacher)? Come up with a specific list of suggestions that you would be comfortable with.
- When does a parent become involved in a child’s problem? When should a teacher reach out to parents? What role do children play in this dynamic?
- What have you learned from your own interactions? Successes and failures you’ve experienced? How has reading this book made you re-think your approach to communication between home and school?