AS teachers and parents, our primary goal is to promote learning among our students, inspire them in order to bring out the best in them, and help them become productive members of the community.
Teachers can become popular by building good relationships with their students. They can do this by treating students well and helping the learners to understand instructions to be able to do their lessons and assignments with ease. But this is not possible without the help from all stakeholders of our schools.
Stakeholders are individuals or groups that have profound interest in the individual success of learners. These include teachers, parents, school administrators, board members, local government officials, and those who contribute for the welfare and development of the school community.
Developing a healthy relationship among teachers and stakeholders is of utmost importance because we all want to work together and have a positive impact on students. Parents desire a successful education system for their children, while the students themselves have an interest in receiving a good education. It’s also easy to imagine the influence that the education system has on government officials, like city councilors and state representatives, as voters may base their decisions on the way such officials support the school system.
In fact, the community as a whole is a stakeholder in the country’s education system. This is because local schools educate future employees, business owners, and community leaders. A solid education program builds a stronger community by better preparing the students to be responsible community members.
Since all members of a community are in a sense stakeholders in our education system, one may be wondering how each individual stakeholder contributes to ensure success.
Every stakeholder plays a different if not significant role in the success of the education system. For example, stakeholders’ input and relations with other groups are key components that can help enhance the planning and implementation of education programs in schools. The perceptions and understanding of parents, for instance, can provide ground level and highly applicable opinions that can help improve the school environment.
In addition, parents may help in monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the school curriculum. Engaged parents are key factors in helping students and schools succeed.
Furthermore, the parents may help teachers to monitor the behavior and social development of the student, especially for learners with special education needs.
As teachers, we are dealing with fragile human beings. Adolescence brings insecurities; it is a phase when children go through several changes as they journey from childhood to maturity. At this age, being accepted by their peers is the key to their self-esteem. It is also a vulnerable time for students since they may experience several problems of adolescence, such as unhealthy behaviors, which may lead to significant problems later in life.
For both teachers and parents, the best way to deal with students’ problems at this age is to know about them and be ready to face them. Based on our experience, a motivated student can become academically proficient.
To fulfill our goals of developing successful students, stakeholders must work together, plan together in building a better school community. This is the best way to ensure the educational well-being of students.
The author is Master Teacher 1 and assistant principal designate at Ballesteros National High School, Junior High School Division.