Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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!

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.

I think that this book is a good read for anyone who has intentions of going into School Administration. It is important because it gives good examples of how to deal with parents who make lives difficult.

This book is fantastic! She deals with many problems which face teacher relationships with parents. I highly recommend it to all teachers, especially new teachers!

The book haas some great advice and insight as do other books I have read on the subject. When I received the book I was a bit shocked as the price tag being $61.95 and the book itself is abut 7 inches in length and five inches wide with 169 pages total. I read this book during my lunch. While the author included some nice tools to measure your school's climate or
overall health, I felt the book was seriously over priced. I can't get past the dollars I paid for this book. I would loan it out but not recommend anyone purchasing the books for such a price.

I find the term "helicopter parent" insulting. As a doctor, and the father of a son with dyslexia and LD, I am sure that I have been called a "helicopter parent" in teachers' lounges and administration offices, but for all the teachers out there, try to imagine what YOU would do if your child was falling more and more behind and the school seemed unable or unwilling to address their needs.

What would you do if your child had dyslexia, couldn't spell, and then was told the solution was to make him or her "spelling exempt" rather than place your child in an Orton-Gillingham based instructional curriculum that would help them. What would you do if you were told year after year "oh, just give it time, they will grow out of it."

If this happened to you, YOU would become the "helicopter parent" or the "crazy parent" which just means that you were a fierce advocate for your child and wouldn't take no for an answer. If I wrote a book about "helicopter patients" I ought to be drummed out of the medical profession.

Oh, and by the way, in my school district in Sackets Harbor, NY, they spend $14,217 per pupil and 45% of 8th graders FAIL to show basic proficiency on the NY State ELA exams. If more parents knew that, there would be "helicopter parents" landing on our superintendents front yard.

David Smith, MD
Sackets Harbor, NY
Founder, READ (Reading Experts and Advocates for Dyslexia)
Member, United New Yorkers for Choice in Education
"A Union of Parents"