Read Keyser (2017)
Keyser (2017)Watch TAPS: Partnership with Families Part 4 (2012); complete this handout as you watch the video
After reading Keyser (2017) and watching TAPS: Partnership with Families Part 4, answer the questions below, using evidence from both the reading and video:
- How should infant teachers communicate with families with infants to engage and build partnerships with the families? Why?
- How is the conversation Rukmini had with the family similar to conversations your family had with your teachers/ school staff? How is it different?
- Is negotiation important when working with families of infants? Why?
Respond to 2 other comments!
How should infant teachers communicate with families with infants to engage and build partnerships with the families? Why?
1) Infant teachers should communicate with families with infants to engage and build partnerships with the families by having daily check ins because daily check-ins help you understand, connect and stay apprised of the children moods, health, family events and experience.
How is the conversation Rukmini had with the family similar to conversations your family had with your teachers/ school staff? How is it different?
2) Rukmini conversation with the family were similar to the conversation my family had with my teachers by both parent and teacher giving each other time to speak, listening and comprehending what is being said.
Is negotiation important when working with families of infants? Why?
3) Negotiation is very important when working with families of infants because some families don’t have a easy schedule they are trying to balance work, school, and taking care of their babies, and some families have a free schedule or have support to raise a child. So negotiation can actually be a good hand to helping out families and parents of infants.
Hey Tamaris, Daily check ins are important to engage and build partnerships with families it keeps the families and teachers up to date
Hey Tamaris, I also noticed how both Rukmini and the parent were very calm and actually listening to each other. This gave me the impression that they have being talking about this situation for a while. Did you also get that feeling?
After reading Keyser (2017) and watching TAPS: Partnership with Families Part 4, answer the questions below, using evidence from both the reading and video:
1. How should infant teachers communicate with families with infants to engage and build partnerships with the families? Why?
2. How is the conversation Rukmini had with the family similar to conversations your family had with your teachers/ school staff? How is it different?
3. Is negotiation important when working with families of infants? Why?
1. Answer: the reading Keyser explains how emailing and can help, “Notes and emails also offer parents and teachers….. Notes between individual teachers and families might include anecdotal observations actions of children made by teachers or families, acknowledgements or appreciations, and requests or questions” (3). Children have higher levels of motivation and self-esteem. They also develop key social and emotional learning skills, such as self-awareness, relationship building, and responsible decision-making.
2. Answer: If a was becoming a teacher I would encourage active parent participation in the children’s learning just how Rukmini conversation had with the family. She establish regular, meaningful communication between home and in classroom. Collaborate with the parents to ensure that the child did have supportive learning environment at school and at home.
3. Answer: Provide a nurturing environment. Providing the child with love and affection conveys to them that they are important and special individuals. Parents who embrace negotiate and compromise as a family value raise children who know that their opinions, feelings and needs will be honored and respected. Children who are taught in this manner are also much more likely to return this honor and respect to others.
Janate — Thanks for your comment. Using notes is 1 method to communicate with families. Respecting a family’s opinions, feelings & needs is crucial to working with families. I wonder, who do infant teachers provide a nurturing environment for? Why?
1). How should infant teachers communicate with families with infants to engage and build partnerships with the families? Why?
Ans: infant teachers should communicate with families with infants to engage and build partnerships by texting or calling anytime during the day because this allow parents to feel comfortable know that they can reach out to see how their infant is doing and to stay connected with the teacher as well.
2). How is the conversation Rukmini had with the family similar to conversations your family had with your teachers/ school staff? How is it different?
Ans: Rukmini conversation with the family were similar to the conversation my family had with my teachers because both teacher and parent giving each other feedback/information about the child, both listening to each other and have a mutual understanding about the child’s learning.
3). Is negotiation important when working with families of infants? Why?
Ans: negotiation is very important when working with families of infant because it’s important to make shared decision about a child’s learning experience and have open and honest conversations with families.
Hey Lacoya! I also agree with your response for question 3. I believe that negotiation is important if its for the child’s learning and how both parent and child are benefiting.
1) How should infant teachers communicate with families with infants to engage and build partnerships with the families? Why?
It is very important that families and teachers use communication to build partnership relationships. Ways to build partnerships and engage between families and teacher is by arriving 10-15 minutes earlier at drop off time because this gives the teacher time to share general information of the child and events of the program for families to engage in (Keyser, 2017).
2) How is the conversation Rukmini had with the family similar to conversations your family had with your teachers/ school staff? How is it different?
One of the ways that teachers in my school years communicated with my family that are similar to how Rukmini had conversations with the family is by informing my mother on ways on how to help me develop and teaching my mom skills of what to do to get used to school schedule. My teachers would send home activities that would benefit me from developing not only in the class but at home as well (TAPS: Partnerships with Families, 2014).
3) Is negotiation important when working with families of infants? Why?
Negotiation is actually very important when working with families of infants because when working with infants they really don’t speak for themselves. Families know best about their babies and informing teachers all about the babies needs that need to be met and satisfied are very important. It’s important teachers and families communicate on babies needs to create a safe environment.
Hi Eunice,
i do agree with you last statement on negotiation. it helps in every sphere of life even if it is for it to be personal or professional. Every individual should learn the skills of effective negotiation to lead a calm and peaceful life
1) What teachers can do is having daily check ins with the parent. Every morning for drop off you can get information from the parents based on their moods and if any event happened when they got home that they should be aware about. Having a social platform for parents if they have any concerns or information they are not able to address in person.
2) The conversation between the teacher and parent were very different from the conversations that my parents and teacher would have. The meetings with my parent and teacher would be very short and straight to the point. There were no questions from the teacher or my parents. My parents was contempt on knowing my grades were good and I wasn’t disturbing the class in any way.
3) Negotiation is important for both families and teachers because it shows that both parties are willing to contribute the wellbeing of the child and causes comfort knowing the communication between them. With both the teachers and parents working together and communication it enables a healthy environment for the child knowing that both of their caregivers are engaging with each other.
Hi Tamia, i agree with your 3rd answer, because it is important that both parties have open and honest conversations about the child and what they both think is best for the child wellbeing
Tamia — Thanks for your comment. Thanks for sharing that your teacher’s interactions were NOT collaborative! Teachers typically “tell” families information and do not engage in a dialogue where families can give input or feedback on decisions. Both parties contributing is an important element to negotiation & to partnerships with families. Communication between families and teachers impacts babies in many ways. Having the opportunity to chat with a family each day is ideal. I wonder, what if the nanny or another family member (aunt, grandmother, etc.)- drops off or picks up the baby? How do your ideas connect to the video and Keyser (2017) reading?
How should infant teachers communicate with families with infants to engage and build partnerships with the families? Why?
Infant teachers can make families feel comfortable and make them feel apart of the day. Infant teachers can communicate their Childs day to them and let them know what is working in class and what is not.
How is the conversation Rukmini had with the family similar to conversations your family had with your teachers/ school staff? How is it different?
The similarities in the conversation was in the beginning of the conversation where the teacher lets parents know they can call whenever to take care of the child. Also the teachers greeting whoever picked me up and will let them know if today was good day or not.
Is negotiation important when working with families of infants? Why?
Yes it is, to accommodate each party in their Childs learning experience.
Hey, Cindy Agree with what you said about negotiations being important accommodate children learning experience
Cindy — Thanks for your comment. Making families feel comfortable & a part of what happens, fosters trust, belonging, and relationships. Negotiation requires infant teachers to accommodate the needs of families. I wonder, what methods of communication should teachers use to communicate with families? Why? How was the content of the conversation between Rukmini and the family similar to conversations your family had with your teachers? How was it different?
1. Infant teachers should should communicate with infant families to engage and build partnerships with families by allowing check in, having conversations during drop off and pick up, and also phone calls.
2. The conversation Rukmini had with the family are similar to the ones my family had with teacher and staff, greeting who ever pick me up and drop me off and have conversations with them, about my developments home and school. The difference is my school didn’t do emails.
3. Negotiation is important when working with family each family and child is unique so it is not a one step approach.
Hi Shemella, i agree with your first answer because having daily check-ins with the parents help create a partnership and this way they will know how their child is doing in class etc.
Hi Shemella,
when it comes to negotiation it is not a one step approach. It is a process by which compromise or agreement is reached while avoiding argument and dispute. which i feel people tend to forget all the time. they look at negotiating as a negative thing
Mel — Thanks for your comment. Connecting with families by having phone call, conversations during drop-off and pick-up fosters trust and community. I wonder, how was the content of what Rukmini was saying — and how she was negotiating with the family — similar to conversations your teachers has with your family? How specifically do your ideas connect to the Keyser (2017) reading and video?
How should infant teachers communicate with families with infants to engage and build partnerships with the families? Why?
Infant teachers can be open in sharing the workspace and allowing parents to spend some time observing the environment their child is developing in. it is also important to form open communication and an intent to share daily learnings with check-ins, whether that may be in person during pick up or drop off or via emial/text/phone call/notes. These are important to form a line of communication with parent so they’re are aware and apart of their childs development in the program.
How is the conversation Rukmini had with the family similar to conversations your family had with your teachers/ school staff? How is it different?
The conversation has is similar in the sense of my family taking time to talk to my teachers about my development in their class. However, the difference would be giving the parent a say on wether or not the child should move on up.
Is negotiation important when working with families of infants? Why?
Yes, negotiation is important because building trust and having respect is important in building health teacher-parent relationships. Which can in turn open a space to talk about ideas and come up with good solutions.
Jasmine — Thanks for your comment. Engaging a family in a child’s day fosters trust & lets families know you are working with them in the best interest of their child. Creating space for families in the classroom — through workspace & an open door policy — fosters relationships, belongingness & community. Open communication builds trust & relationships. Using multiple mediums for daily check-ins is critical. I wonder, how will you decide which medium to use? Most teachers do not engage in shared decision making with families — which is what Rukmini was demonstrating! I wonder, how do your ideas connect to the Keyser (2017) reading and video?
1. How should infant teachers communicate with families with infants to engage and build partnerships with the families? Why?
Somethings that infant teachers could do to communicate with infant families, build partnerships, and enrich the infants learning experience can occur both orally or written and is encouraged to happen on a daily basis (Keyser 2017). Other things that are suggested are interactive family journals and sharing information about the child’s day/experiences to inform the parents about their child and their development.
2. How is the conversation Rukmini had with the family similar to conversations your family had with your teachers/ school staff? How is it different?
The conversation Rukmini had with the family is similar to the conversations my family has had with teachers in the beginning of the year of such as letting them know of the program plan and offer as much as information the parent would like to know. Rukmini also made sure to listen and engage with the parents’ concerns and thoughts.
3. Is negotiation important when working with families of infants? Why?
I think negotiation when working with families of infants extremely important because in order to be on the same page it is good to understand each other’s views and perspectives for the best outcome for the infant. An open and honest discussion to come to a great solution.
Xitlaly — Thanks for your comment. Listening to families fosters open and honest discussion. Using both written and verbal communication supports connections with families. Providing documentation of the child’s day is important to families — they feel included in what’s happening which build trust and lets families know that you are working in collaboration with them. It sounds like your teachers were imparting information to your family; I wonder, was Rukmini just sharing information with the family?
1:How should infant teachers communicate with families with infants to engage and build partnerships with the families? Why?
Infants teachers should communicate with families in every way possible that works for the families. Communicating with parents not only makes a strong relationship but makes the parents feel like their child is well taken care of and gives them a sense of belonging. ” For teachers and families, daily sharing helps build trust, relationships, team-work, and support” (Keyser,2017,p.1)
2:How is the conversation Rukmini had with the family similar to conversations your family had with your teachers/ school staff? How is it different?
The conversation Rukmini had with the family is similar in the sense of how she approached the mom and made sure she remained professional at all times. Our school staff try their best to remained as professional but majority of the time the parents do not agree with what is being said and have this sense of “denial”. The staff tries our best to explain all the benefits and give a chance to for the parent to speak about the situation at another time but most of the time parents dismiss the conversation and it is never touch upon until management tries communicating with the parent.
3:Is negotiation important when working with families of infants? Why?
I believe that negotiation is important if is done professionally and you have resources or evidence to back you up especially when speaking to parents. Some parents are willingly to negotiate when it comes to the safety and learning of their children. As teachers, I believe you need to make sure that we are listening fully to the parent and their concern because at the end of the day parents always know what is best for their children.