How to Deal With Parents Who Are Angry, Troubled, Afraid, or Just Plain Crazy [Paperback]

Elaine K. McEwan-Adkins (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0803965257 | ISBN-13: 978-0803965256 | Publication Date: March 30, 1998

A practical, quick-read resource to help school principals and teachers at any level gain the skills needed to deal with disgruntled and unhappy parents.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Here are tips for dealing with parents diplomatically, and for acquiring the skills to disarm emotionally charged behavior. The book features over two dozen strategies for defusing angry parents, 50 practical ways to build parental support, along with annotated resources to help administrators deal with parents. (The High School Magazine, National Association of Secondary School Principals )

About the Author

Elaine K. McEwan is a partner and educational consultant with The McEwan-Adkins Group, offering workshops in instructional leadership, team building, and raising reading achievement. A former teacher, librarian, principal, and assistant superintendent for instruction in a suburban Chicago school district, McEwan is the author of more than thirty-five books for parents and 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.

Product Details

• Paperback: 104 pages
• Publisher: Corwin Press (March 30, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803965257
• ISBN-13: 978-0803965256
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,433,713 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great resource for new and future teachers, November 12, 2002

By 

Araxiel (Boca Raton, FL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Deal With Parents Who Are Angry, Troubled, Afraid, or Just Plain Crazy (Paperback)

This book contains so many helpful ideas that it ought to be required reading in teacher education courses. One of the biggest problems new teachers have is learning how to deal with parents of all stripes. New teachers ought to have a book like this at home or at school for ready reference.

In my own courses for teachers, I cover information that McEwan describes so effectively in her book. She's been there, done that, and new teachers can benefit from her experiences. It is well written, practical, and to the point with many wonderful examples. A worthwhile investment by any account.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Resource!, February 21, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: How to Deal With Parents Who Are Angry, Troubled, Afraid, or Just Plain Crazy (Paperback)

This book is fantastic! It breaks the issues down as to why parents are angry, troubled, afraid or just plain crazy, what staff does to cause it, and solutions for each. I would highly recommend this book to all school staff that work with parents on a regular basis!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great resource for principals and teachers, May 27, 2007

By 

C. A Taylor "catdanse" (CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Deal With Parents Who Are Angry, Troubled, Afraid, or Just Plain Crazy Second Edition (Paperback)

I enjoyed the book thoroughly. The author has a great sense of humor, which makes the book an easy read. I liked how the author pointed out the frustrations parents have with schools and teachers, as well as pointed out the different types of parents teachers and principals have to communicate with. There are tips on how to deal with angry, troubled, afraid, or just plain crazy parents, as well as tips on how to make your school more open to parents. Communication is the key in this book, and the more communication parents have about what is going on, on campus, the better the culture at the school will be. I also liked the back of the book that has a section for staff development. I think the reason many teachers avoid talking to parents is because they don't always know the right way to approach parents. The reason I could not give the book a perfect "5" is because I would of preferred a chapter specifically on examples of the "situations" and the different things that could be said in these situations. Listing the ways to handle a parent is great, but I also need several examples to help me practice.