Moldova Positive teacher-parent relationship through a new approach

Project : Moldova 12 Dec 2011 | prevention school dropout

Chisinau, Moldova December 1st, 2011: It is a long tradition in Moldova for form teachers to meet with parents regularly. Unfortunately the meetings are often characterized by requests for additional funds or a formal discussion about the children’s performance (“we need money for curtains or books; the grades of your child are…”) which is rather a turn-off for most parents. Terre des hommes wanted to help schools change these meetings in order to develop positive relationships between the school and parents as an important part of each child’s education. For this aim, a training was organized to experience different methods of interacting with parents by establishing an approach that would draw them into taking part in their child’s development in a positive way, by communicating and listening to them.

Besides form teachers and school principals, the training was attended by representatives from local Directions of Education, who were invited in order to see what benefits this methodology might bring. “For me this training was an example of how to organize a good training. Also, the information that I got here* will be useful in my meetings with the psychologists from schools* from the district.” says Liliana Nanii, a psychologist and specialist from the Direction, who added that she felt really happy being there.

The specialists from the Direction of Education agree that this training was very useful in relation to the work with schools, and also it is providing the necessary informational support in the matter of organizing the activities with parents. Maria Filimon, specialist from Ungheni, is already thinking about organizing methodological seminars with teachers that weren’t present at this training, in order to share everything that she has learned here, as she finds it very important – „I think that the activities proposed for us will be useful for the form teachers to establish a better relationship with parents, making them partners of the school and most importantly, of their children. I think that a good partnership between child, parent, teacher and school can be the foundation of a better future.”

Even if teachers already have the necessary knowledge, accumulated from their practice, they couldn’t really organize and apply it in their work with parents. „Thanks to the practice that we have I don’t think it will be difficult to do these activities with parents, and with the new methods that we’ve learned I hope we can loosen them up in order for them to get along better with their children, understand them better and taking a bigger part in their education.” thinks one of the participants at the training, Rodica Prodan, organizer and class mistress at a gymnasium from Soroca district, who is enthusiastic about the knowledge that she can bring back to her community and apply it on a constant bases.

Through these new methods parents should get more responsive to their child’s needs, the games that they will get involved in are created in a way that they should understand their children better, supporting and collaborating with them more.
This was the first training on this matter. There will be two more trainings held to reach out to more form teachers from other communities and get them acquainted with the methodology of working with parents. (MS)