orchestra Keeping Things Cool
With Communication Jack Young, Guest Writer, Hudson
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One favorite movie quote from the 20th century comes from the 1967 drama, “Cool Hand Luke.” The quote is: “What we’ve got here is... failure to communi- cate.” It is first heard in the movie when the prison warden (Strother Martin) is trying to explain why he struck Luke (Paul Newman) to the ground. When commu- nication breaks down between people, it can make for some stressful situations. For teachers, it is particularly challenging. Not only are we expected to plan for and teach our students, but we have to effectively communicate with our administrators, fellow teachers, parents and the commu- nity. Here are some of the communication strategies I have found to be useful.
Dialing a Phone Still Works!
While it takes a little more time than the other strategies I am going to mention, a simple phone call is probably one of the most important. Anytime I have a po- tentially contentious situation involving a student’s behavior, grade or attitude, I pick up the phone and call. An email is easily misinterpreted, and when you and the parent/guardian both have a chance to hear each other’s point of view, a lot of times an agreement can be reached.
Of course, parents/guardians of the stu- dents we teach don’t always follow this strategy and may initiate communication electronically. Although it can be tempting to fire off a quick email in defense of our- selves, often that can lead to inflammatory emails going back and forth. I have found it to be better to let my blood pressure lower and then when I have some time, pick up the telephone and call.
And remember, a phone call does not always have to be negative. Both our middle and high school administrators regularly encourage us to make “positive calls home.” These phone calls usually take less than two minutes and can go a
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long way toward keeping students in our programs. Besides, it is fun to be able to tell parents when their kids are doing something right!
Group Address Contacts
One of the first things I do at the start of every school year is set up a group email contact list for each of my classes. Not only do I create a contact list of students, but I also create a contact list of the par- ents for each class. I can quickly send out announcements and reminders to parents and students simply by entering the name of the group list in the “blind carbon copy” field, typing the email and clicking send. I use “blind carbon copy” to protect the privacy of personal email addresses. The group contact list has become especially handy since our school district’s admin- istration has said that parent/guardian permission may be granted through email for things like field trips.
Creating these contact lists does not re- quire typing every address into the contact list individually. Most school districts have moved to using some form of electronic grading system, which allows for easy access to and transporting of data such as email addresses and phone numbers.
There are of course some families that do not have a computer at home. In cases like this, either I ask permission to use a work email, or a hard copy of the communica- tion goes home with these few students.
Proactive Communication is Best! Using your email makes it easy to be proactive. On those occasions when something negative or questionable hap- pens in the classroom, contacting the parents immediately via email or phone before the end of the school day can head off misunderstandings and clear up the
“When communication breaks down between people, it can make for some stressful situations.”
various interpretations of an awkward or unfortunate event. Always invite the parents to contact you if they have further concerns or questions.
Keep Your Administration in the Loop! Another place to be proactive with com- munication is with your school’s admin- istrators. Share information about your concerts or special events well in advance, and encourage them to attend.
When dealing with parental concerns, discussing the situation immediately with your principal can go a long way. If we can give them a head’s up and a little background, they can offer advice for dealing with the situation and will be prepared for a potential conversation with the parents.
As teachers, our jobs are tough, but good communication with students, their par- ents/guardians and our administrators can keep our programs running as smooth as possible. This will help us avoid the same situation Cool Hand Luke found himself in: knocked down, rolling in the dirt and wondering what hit us, but will keep us cool and in control.
Jack Young teaches orchestra in Hudson. Email:
youngjac@hudson.k12.wi.us
April 2011
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