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How to Deal With Parents Who Are Angry, Troubled, Afraid, or Just Seem Crazy

Teachers' Guide

By: Elaine K. McEwan-Adkins

Written for classroom teachers, this edition of a best-seller provides strategies that can be used to work with even the most difficult parents.

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Product Details

Grade Level: PreK-12
ISBN: 9781544352442
Published By: Corwin
Series: Corwin Teaching Essentials
Year: 2019
Page Count: 144
Publication date: August 22, 2019

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Review Copies

Review copies may be requested by individuals planning to purchase 10 or more copies for a team or considering a book for adoption in a higher ed course. To request a review copy, contact sales@corwin.com.

Description

Strategies for working with parents of all kinds

Parents can be a teacher’s greatest advocate—and that’s why it’s important to know how to handle even the hardest parent situations. In fact, new teachers reported that parent communication is one of their biggest challenges. This teachers’ edition of the all-time best-selling How to Deal With Parents Who Are Angry, Troubled, Afraid, or Just Seem Crazy provides invaluable strategies that teachers can use to defuse angry parents and to work with all parents to advance the success of their children. Addressing a variety of educator needs and concerns, this resource

• Helps teachers get parents on their side with a set of proactive practices and policies
• Provides guidelines for teachers to follow when meeting with parents during annual reviews and IEP meetings
• Includes advice and vignettes that reflect challenges and concerns of today’s teachers

With resources that will remain relevant to teachers throughout their careers, this book provides a clear explanation of the complexities that interact to create dysfunctional parents and how teachers can most effectively problem solve, communicate, and learn from their relationships with parents.

Key features

Teachers will receive:

A set of templates suitable for reproducing on 3/5 cards. Side 1 will contain several descriptors that quickly identify a type of difficult parents. Side 2 of the will contain key prompts teachers can use to keep their encounters and conversations with parents on positive and productive levels
An assessment that teachers can self-administer to help them evaluate their personal strengths and weaknesses
A set of proactive classroom practices and policies to help teachers get parents on their side during the first three weeks of the school year
Recommended guidelines for classroom teachers to follow when meeting with parents during Annual Reviews and IEP meetings

Author(s)

Elaine K. McEwan-Adkins

Elaine K. McEwan is an educational consultant with The McEwan-Adkins Group, offering professional development for educators to assist them in meeting the challenges of literacy learning in Grades Pre K-6. A former teacher, librarian, principal, and assistant superintendent for instruction in several suburban Chicago school districts, Elaine is the award-winning and best-selling author of more than three dozen books for educators. Her Corwin Press titles include Raising Reading Achievement in Middle and High Schools: Five Simple-to-Follow Strategies for Principals, Second Edition (2006), Seven Strategies of Highly Effective Readers: Using Cognitive Research to Boost K-8 Achievement (2004), Ten Traits of Highly Effective Principals: From Good to Great Performance (2003), Making Sense of Research: What’s Good, What’s Not, and How to Tell the Difference (2003), Seven Steps to Effective Instructional Leadership, Second Edition (2003), Teach Them ALL to Read: Catching the Kids Who Fall through the Cracks (2002), and Ten Traits of Highly Effective Teachers: How to Hire, Mentor, and Coach Successful Teachers (2001).

McEwan was honored by the Illinois Principals Association as an outstanding instructional leader, by the Illinois State Board of Education with an Award of Excellence in the Those Who Excel Program, and by the National Association of Elementary School Principals as the National Distinguished Principal from Illinois for 1991. She received her undergraduate degree in education from Wheaton College and advanced degrees in library science (MA) and educational administration (EdD) from Northern Illinois University.

Table of Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Chapter 1. Why Are There So Many Angry Parents?

Facet 1: The Increasing Variety of Today’s Family Units

Facet 2: The Range of Needs, Issues, and Problems of Today’s Students

Facet 3: A Continuum of Types of Schools

Facet 4: The Things Teachers Do That Irritate and Inflame Parents

Facet 5: A Variety of Types of Parents

Chapter 2. Proactive Ways to Get and Keep Parents on Your Side

Chapter 3. Defusing and Disarming Out-of-Control Parents

What Is Anger?

How to Deal With Angry Parents

How to Deal With Very Dysfunctional Parents

Using Your Encounters With Parents to Learn and Grow

Chapter 4. Solving the Problems That Make Parents Angry, Troubled, Afraid, and Seem Even Crazier

The Pervasive Problems That Will Plague You

Solving the Problems That Plague You

Chapter 5. Advice From Teachers Who Have Seen It All

Chapter 6. Putting Your Best Self Forward

Pay Attention to Your “Emotional Immune System”

Nurture Your Best Self Around a Set of Personal Traits That Signify Character

Affirm, Bridge, Communicate (ABC)

Lead by Example

Conduct an Assertive Intervention

Take the A Train

Deposit Trust in Your Relationship Trust and Savings Bank

Become an Assertive and Self-Differentiated Teacher

Tend to Your Health

One at a Time or All at Once

Conclusion: 10 Goals to Help You Deal With Difficult Parents

References

Index

Reviews

"What I most love about How to Deal With Parents Who Are Angry, Troubled, Afraid, or Just Seem Crazy is Elaine McEwan-Adkins’ ability to focus on what really matters. A must-read for both experienced and novice teachers who are looking for a practical resource that gets to the heart of how to create positive partnerships with parents."

Chandra Williams, EdD
Center for Student Achievement Solutions

"Nobody writes a book for educators better than Dr. Elaine McEwan-Adkins. How to Deal With Parents Who Are Angry, Troubled, Afraid, or Just Seem Crazy is a commonsensical, go-to handbook for teachers, rich in data and anecdotes to inspire and guide difficult interactions with parents. Buy a copy for every teacher you know!"

Lydia M. Zuidema
Oasis International schools

"Once again Elaine McEwan-Adkins has captured the essence and wisdom from her own experiences, as well as those of other educators, in dealing with angry parents. The information and stories shared on these pages are sure to help that beginning teacher avoid pitfalls and help them be well prepared for that unexpected or expected confrontational parent. Knowing what to do in advance can help avoid making an enemy, and perhaps make a friend of the angry parent instead. I loved the 'What did the teacher learn from this experience?' feature after each story shared by the teachers! This book will be a wonderful resource for new teachers, as well as all educators."

Lola Malone
Springdale, AR

"With a perfect balance of humor, examples (personal and from others), and concrete, practical advice that focuses on being proactive rather than reactive, Elaine McEwan-Adkins expertly guides teachers to finding satisfying solutions to even the most unpleasant 'close encounters of the parental kind.'”

Allyson Burnett
University of Houston Downtown

"A must read for veteran and novice teachers to understand and respond to the angry, troubled, afraid, or just a little crazy parent. This book looks at the feelings and emotions that parents bring with them and offers a fresh perspective that provides valuable tips to ultimately diffuse the anger and work toward amicable solutions to best serve the student."

Salli Mahaffy
Bayer Private School, Gendale, AZ

"Difficult parents got you down? Then grab hold of this book and breathe easy. You will find authentic scenarios depicting the dysfunctional behaviors that problem parents present, proactive strategies and insightful solutions that build productive parent-teacher relationships, and easy-to-access intervention charts and lists. Elaine McEwan-Adkins may have broken the 'be nice' rule with her honest portrayal of disagreeable parents, but the interventions presented will not only support teachers but parents as well."

Cathie E. West

Other Titles in: Parent & Family Involvement | Teaching Methods & Learning Styles

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