Teacher Letters Inspire Parent-Teacher Teamwork To Improve Children’s Learning

In “Dear Parents, From Your Child’s Loving Teacher,” Dana Arias, a longtime parent, teacher, and school librarian, has written a candid book with the goal of improving communication between teachers and parents. Dana’s goal is for parents to understand where teachers are coming from in terms of what they actually do in the classroom and why, and what parents can do to help teachers help their children. Dana has written the book as a series of letters, like the ones a teacher might send home to a child, each letter building on the previous letter to discuss ways parents can help their children learn and create a environment that best enables them to learn.

I was very surprised by these letters because they contain simple information that should almost be common sense but that I’m sure most parents never think about. Dana guides parents step-by-step through various topics, including how to help children pay more attention in the classroom and how a child’s thought process develops. A simple example that made perfect sense to me was the importance of having a regular dinner hour for a family. In addition to the family bonding that dinnertime provides, it teaches children how to sit for a sustained period, which will also help them focus on paying attention in school and sitting still while doing homework.

Homework is a big part of the discussion in these letters. Dana explains why teachers give homework, how much homework kids should have, and why it should be consistent, not once a week but every day. Homework becomes more than homework in these discussions: it becomes a means to a child’s success, teaching them how to manage their time, form a routine, and have structure—all elements that will help them survive and thrive. In the real world.

Another thing I loved about this book was the focus on how children can become better writers. Before children can write well, they need something to write about. Most children don’t know what to say in their writing because they haven’t been taught how to talk about the issues or raised their self-esteem to believe they have things worth saying. Dana explains to parents how to talk to their children so that they feel good about themselves and believe that their opinions are valuable; when children are listened to, they become more open to expressing themselves in many ways, including through drawing, verbally and in writing. Dana’s discussion here includes better ways to converse with her child, including how conversation can help your child enhance her thinking development, which in turn helps develop writing.

There is much more information in this book than I can discuss here. In short, “Dear Parents, From Your Child’s Loving Teacher” is filled with examples of games parents can play with their children, examples of conversations they can have, activities, and even ways to discipline their child in a loving but sign so that he or she will learn to follow the rules and respect the limits set by the parents. Dana even explains why rewarding children when they get good grades is counterproductive to their learning and development, and how to change the situation so that children want to succeed and do the right thing, regardless of whether they receive a reward or not.

Perhaps most refreshing is how Dana takes the time to talk about the importance of “me” time for parents. Parents often make the mistake of doing too much for their children, thinking that they have to take them to sporting events, play time, and cater to their children’s every whim. The result is that children take their parents for granted and become ungrateful. Dana shows parents how to set limits so that their children realize that their parents sacrifice for them and come to love and respect their parents for everything they do for them.

As I read, I kept nodding in agreement and surprisingly with all the great advice in this book. Dana Arias, who is bilingual, grew up in Mexico and teaches at a multicultural school in the Chicago area with students speaking forty different languages, she is someone parents have been waiting for a long time. She is able to explain what seem like difficult concepts and make them simple so that parents and children can benefit and so that parents and teachers can be together on the same team, working towards their goal: children’s success. As a former English teacher, I especially thought that your discussion of writing and evolutionary thinking made a lot of sense, and therefore, without reservation, I can honestly say that any educator, parent, or grandparent would benefit from reading “Dear Parents, From the loving words from your son. Master”, and when they follow the advice in this book, her children will also benefit.