Parent-Teacher Communication Plan Using Social Media

Introduction

Parent-teacher communication is one of the bedrocks of education. The reason for this is that education is not something that solely transpires in the classroom — it extends beyond its walls and continues into the real world. The student's home is one area where education also occurs, and that is not the realm of the teacher but rather of the parent. Thus, to ensure that both parent and teacher are on the same page and are communicating the same vital messages and lessons to the child, it is wise that they themselves communicate with one another, share ideas, and discuss important issues that the child is likely to face (Graham-Clay, 2005).

As Merkley, Schmidt, Dirksen, and Fuhler (2006) point out, there are many ways in which parent-teacher communication can be conducted today: the face-to-face meeting is always an option, but technological advancements have also made it possible to communicate via email, text message, or video conference. Indeed, Thompson, Mazer, and Flood Grady (2015) show that today's research reveals "an increase in parents' preference for frequent e-mail communication as well as for emerging modes of parent–teacher communication such as text messaging and social media" (p. 187). This parent communication plan, therefore, will explain how the goals of parent-teacher communication can best be accomplished by utilizing the tools of the modern era that have made communication so much easier in recent years, while also making exceptions and allotting time for those parents who still prefer conventional modes of communication.

Different Kinds of Communication

One of the main goals of parent-teacher communication is to get the "news" of what is going on in the classroom out to parents so that they can be on the same page as the teacher. However, another goal is to obtain feedback from parents so that important concerns can be taken into consideration by the teacher and implemented inside the classroom whenever possible. To enable the spread of information easily and to support a two-way flow so that feedback can always be obtained, the best mode of communication is the use of social media. Social media has become the dominant mode of communication in the 21st century, and parents and teachers can use it to coordinate, collaborate, communicate, and assist one another in the educative process (Thompson et al., 2015).

While there are of course many modes of communication that can be used — such as letters in the mail (typically a one-way flow mode), newsletters (another one-way flow mode), or phone calls (a conventional two-way flow mode) — there are problems with each. The problem with newsletters and conventional mail is that they do not facilitate the feedback required for attaining one of the main goals of parent-teacher communication: they provide information in one direction only, from teacher to parent. Most parents are not going to sit down and write a letter in response, and even if they did, the time lag is considerable in the age of digital media. Phone calls, too, are problematic because most people today have very busy lives and find it difficult to manage their time well enough to take a scheduled call. That is why most parents today prefer to communicate via text messaging — they can read and respond in their own time, and ideas can be exchanged over the course of a day rather than at a pre-arranged or inconvenient time (Thompson et al., 2015).

Social media combines the best of both worlds: it offers a platform for the dissemination of news, as in a newsletter, and also allows for feedback to be obtained, since instant messages can be sent between parties using the messaging options that social media platforms provide.

Social Media as a Communication Platform

This plan aims to use social media to create a platform for sharing classroom news and ideas with parents, while enabling a two-way communication strategy. The purpose of the social media page would be to update parents on lessons being taught in the classroom, what goals are being sought, what parents need to know to support the process, and to find out what questions parents might have for the teacher.

The plan will use Facebook, one of the most popular communication platforms in the world today, to provide news and information to parents on a weekly basis. Teachers are required to make lesson plans so that administrators know what is happening in the classroom; parents should have the same benefit and access to those plans, since they function as administrators in their own homes. Letting parents in on what the teacher is doing can be highly beneficial for getting both parties on the same page (Graham-Clay, 2005). Facebook is a particularly suitable platform for generating two-way flow, as it allows information to be posted publicly for followers to see and respond to in a thread, while also allowing for private messages that are not made public. In this way, communication can be handled in both a confidential and a public manner, depending on the nature of the exchange.

References

Graham-Clay, S. (2005). Communicating with parents: Strategies for teachers. School Community Journal, 15(1), 117–129.

Merkley, D., Schmidt, D., Dirksen, C., & Fuhler, C. (2006). Enhancing parent-teacher communication using technology: A reading improvement clinic example with beginning teachers. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 6(1), 11–42.

Thompson, B. C., Mazer, J. P., & Flood Grady, E. (2015). The changing nature of parent–teacher communication: Mode selection in the smartphone era. Communication Education, 64(2), 187–207.