63: Building Powerful Learning Environments with Arina Bokas

How can we all work together to build a community that supports our children? Our school-aged children spend most of their week at school, so our job as parents is to support and cooperate with the teachers they are spending that time with. Ideally, this process would be as collaborative and compassionate, but sometimes those teacher relationships can be challenging. This is why I am excited to have Dr. Arina Bokas with me today. Her book Building Powerful Learning Environments: From Schools to Communities is directed towards teachers but applies to everyone. She is going to talk about her book, her experiences as both a teacher and a parent, and then give us some strategies to use as our children grow and learn at school.                  Building a good relationship with our teachers is essential for supporting your children through the school years.  Any good communication you can set up early will help pave the way to success. Dr. Bokas encourages us to approach communication with compassion and curiosity. She has such useful tools to share with us today, with wisdom directed at Solo Parents, who sometimes feel even more pressure to be involved in their child’s education. You definitely do not want to miss out on this excellent interview! I certainly got a lot out of my conversation with Arina, and I know you will too. More in this episode: Hear all about Arina’s experiences with school communities. The book was built around a need. There was a breakdown in communication and understanding, which leads to a divisive nature in our ability to teach our students. Parental concerns v. Teacher concerns. Understanding the whole child means we have to work together. The conflict between adults in the child’s life can affect them. Be proactive. Connect with your teacher at the beginning of the year. Teachers need to know you are a single parent. Do not be afraid to ask for help. Organizing time, allowing your child to struggle. Show curiosity in what your child is learning. Assisting students who are older. How to communicate what your child needs to your teacher. What happens when things don’t go the way you want them to. Don’t go over the teacher’s head to the principal. Be careful about our language. We can collaborate without playing the blame game. Resources: Kids Standard Magazine: http://www.kidsstandard.org/ Dr. Arina Bokas http://culturesofpartnerships.com/ Twitter @ArinaBokas Link to buy Dr. Bokas’ Book: Building Powerful Learning Environments