Dealing with Difficult Parents: And with Parents in Difficult Situations

This text was in good shape, no bent pages, marks, etc. It also came quickly before I needed it for my class...and I'm based in China too. So was a good purchase overall!

The authors of this book have provided excellent insights for educators, both at the administrative level and the classroom level, for dealing with parents. One of the key benefits to this text is that it provides clear and practical ideas as to how to prevent parents from being difficult to begin with.Most educators are keenly aware of the critical nature that early communication plays in maintaining parental support for the school's role in their child's life. However, many, due to time constraints don't follow through and things wait until issues have become emotional. As a result, dealing with parents can be an unpleasant experience. Whitaker and Fiore show how with a calm nature, teachers and principals can defuse these situations. Some of the ideas require that the educator remain calm and not become emotional themselves, a difficult task to say the least, but not becoming emotional, as the authors point out, is one of the keys to being viewed as a professional.In my opinion, no teacher education program should let their students get by without having read this book.

As a new principal, I wanted a book to give me more confidence in dealing with parent conflicts. This book teaches practical scenarios for commonly experienced parental conflicts that produce a win-win outcome. The scripted dialogues and tips in nerve-wracking situations are clear and adaptable.

Dealing With Difficult Parents (And With Parents in Difficult Situations) by Todd Whitaker (Associate Professor of Educational Leadership, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Indiana) and Douglas J. Fiore (Assistant Dean of the College of Education, State University of West Georgia) is a straightforward guide written especially for teachers, principals, and others who share a mandate to educate young minds. Individual chapters capably address how to deal with parents that prove difficult in any number of ways including abrasive personalities, hard to reach, excessive anger, and a host of other ill traits and situations. Dealing With Difficult Parents is a solidly recommended emotional and verbal self-defense manual for fostering the best possible learning environment.

Do you find it challenging and frustrating to deal with the parent who is- bossy?- argumentative?- apathetic?- intimidating?What's the best way to deliver bad news to parents?Written for teachers, administrators, and other educators, this book will help you work with the most difficult parents in the most challenging situations. It shows you how to:- avoid the "trigger" words which serve only to make bad situations worse- use the right words and phrases to develop more positive relationships with parents- deal with parents who accuse you of not being "fair"- build positive relationships with even the most challenging parentsWith vivid examples, this book will show you how to:- handle a parent's complaint when the parent is right- use body language to influence the way parents react to what you say- make it easy to contact parents during the day to inform them when their children have done something worthy of praise (achieved a high grade, helped another student, etc.)- increase parent involvement in their children's education both at school and at homeDr. Todd Whitaker, a former middle and high school principal is currently Assoc. Prof. of Educ. Leadership at Indiana State University. He is the author of several best selling books. He has keynoted state, national, and international conferences and is a highly sought presenter for teachers and principals. Dr. Douglas J. Fiore, a former teacher & principal, is currently on the faculty of the State University of West Georgia.