![]() | What Educators Can Do“My kids.” Like parents, teachers use this phrase when talking about their students too—and for good reason. You’re invested in your students’ education, and often, invested in them.Whether teaching in K-12 or providing extracurricular instruction, educators typically see “their” kids every day and know more than most about what is going on in their world. Educators are uniquely poised to support parents through regular interaction or lend an ear to a child who needs to talk because they’re having a hard time at home or elsewhere. |
Remember that connection is important. Research consistently shows children growing up in challenging environments can be resilient if they have just one strong, consistent adult relationship in their life.1 Teachers are this adult for many children in their care.
Educators have a unique opportunity to positively influence the development of children they work with by providing socially and emotionally rich learning environments, implementing intentional child development strategies, and by fostering strong partnerships with families. Finding ways for parents and caregivers to be involved in learning can help strengthen families and promote positive parenting so kids can be ready to learn and engage in the classroom setting and at home:
Share resources that can help your students and their families thrive. For example, Parenthelp123 offers child development, parenting support and help in finding local resources.
Recommend school policies that encourage community building and support awareness and education around abuse and neglect and the need for trauma-informed care. Consider the following ideas.
1 “Resilience,” Center on the Developing Child, Harvard University, last accessed December 7, 2019, https://developingchild.harvard.edu/science/key-concepts/resilience/