Improving Classroom Management Issues by Building Connections with Families: Part 1

Abstract

Experienced teachers often know the value of partnering with students’ families to help students gain the most out of their time in school. Elementary general music teachers occupy a unique place in this triangle among students, families, and teachers because, unlike their other elementary school colleagues, they often see hundreds of students each week, year after year. Such circumstances can lead early-career general music teachers to feel overwhelmed about making connections with families. This column, the fifth in a series about classroom management and the first of several about the particular topic of students’ families, contains three techniques for making meaningful connections with students’ families and its benefits toward preventing classroom management issues.