Sunday, January 08, 2006

Parent-Teacher interactions: Diplomacy is the Key.

Today we were discussing about reflecting on our professional practice as teachers, and our lecturer, Dr.Leow brought up this thing about "apologizing" in the education line. (which really, at its end, a service industry).

She told us about a teacher who was under her employment who had refused to apologize to the parents regarding some strategy she had employed on some of the children who had been trying the teacher's patience. Nonetheless, the teacher had unintentionally done somethng which was culturally a taboo, and the parents wanted her to apologize.

Instead, Dr.Leow was the one who apologized instead of the teacher. Unfortunately, it so happened that the set of parents were by vocation lawyers! The father wrote in the next day with a formal letter requesting that THAT teacher, who didn't apologize gave a formal apology TO THEM, or he would bring it to court case, (or something of that sort)....

So the poor teacher, had to write it out on black and white.. Dr. Leow commented that IF ONLY the teacher herself had not been so stubborn, the whole entire issue could have been avoided altogether. Even if the teacher were to fake it, it wouldn't matter, but at least the whole situation could have been diffused just by the teacher saying sorry...

*Sigh*.

That's the thing about being in a service line....we can never say that the child is naughty even if they really were....diplomacy & tactfulness are skills & traits that all teachers have to cultivate and develop to stay in the business.....

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