Parents Engaging in Schools With Social Media

As a parent, you want to know what is going on in your child’s life at all times. A large part of your child’s life, of course, is spent at his or her school. A great way for  you to stay in touch is through social media.

For a long time after social media emerged onto the scene, it was used by people on a personal level and in businesses. Personal use actually came first. However, it took a while before parents’ connection to their child’s (or children’s) school caught on. However, it has been gaining a great deal of momentum lately and the connection between schools, teachers, school administrators, and parents is definitely here to stay.

Transparency is key

For a very long time, it seemed as though parents didn’t have the right to information about their child and they did not have any way of gaining information. Transparency was not a part of the experience. With the sophistication and openness of technology nowadays, that has all changed and parents now have a much more open line of communication and the relationship that they share with the school is much more open and much healthier. It is better for everyone concerned.

Technology as an open avenue

Statistics say that a high percentage of families use mobile devices to connect with the Internet, communicate with the school, communicate on the various social media channels, etc, is is a wonderful opportunity for parents and schools to start talking to each other. In most cases, it is not only the parents who wish to communicate with the child’s school. The school has just as much desire to communicate with the parents and the benefits on both sides can really be extraordinary. Many schools are encouraging parents to reach out as much as they like and in whichever way they wish to communicate. The goal of the school’s encouraging parents to communicate with them is to foster transparent, collaborative discussions that will improve everyone’s experience.

A discussion of issues

There are many different reasons why parents and schools should communicate with each other. They should communicate to discuss issues concerning the child or children. They should communicate in the instances when collaboration is needed. They should communicate to share feedback. Of course, there are other reasons to communicate as well. It seems as though many schools now recognize the importance that technology plays in improving the relationships that the school and the parents share for the good of the child.

The fear of communicating through social media

On the other side of the coin,there are those people (schools and parents) who are fearful of the can of worms that will be opened up if parents and schools start to communicate regularly through social media. Social media has made it extremely easy to say whatever the person wishes to say and the bad thing is that others will always have access to that infomation. And, guess what? The person will never be able to take back whatever he or she said and the negative impact (if there is one) may damage the reputation of the person who posted the information as well as the reputation of the person who it was about. When you think about it in those terms, it is understandable that some people may be sceptical about communicating through social media.

Keeping up with the Joneses

As much as the scepticism is understandable, the other side is also something to consider. There are many educational institutions that communicate through social media and other available technology tools. The person who refuses to jump on that particular bandwagon may be left behind in the dust. That may be a negative consequence that will cause them to stagnate. That is the last thing that they need.

Conclusion

The idea of parents and schools encouraging open communications through technology tools, such as social media is a great one in principle. However, it is important to keep in mind that the use of technology should not be abused in any way. It will only work if both sides cooperate and realize that whatever they are doing must be in the best interest of the child.