How to Deal With Parents Who Are Angry, Troubled, Afraid, or Just Seem Crazy
Teachers' Guide
- Elaine K. McEwan-Adkins - The McEwan-Adkins Group
Corwin Teaching Essentials
Parents can be a teacher’s greatest advocate—and that’s why it’s important to know how to handle even the hardest parent situations. In fact, new teachers reported that parent communication is one of their biggest challenges. This teachers’ edition of the all-time best-selling How to Deal With Parents Who Are Angry, Troubled, Afraid, or Just Seem Crazy provides invaluable strategies that teachers can use to defuse angry parents and to work with all parents to advance the success of their children. Addressing a variety of educator needs and concerns, this resource
• Helps teachers get parents on their side with a set of proactive practices and policies
• Provides guidelines for teachers to follow when meeting with parents during annual reviews and IEP meetings
• Includes advice and vignettes that reflect challenges and concerns of today’s teachers
With resources that will remain relevant to teachers throughout their careers, this book provides a clear explanation of the complexities that interact to create dysfunctional parents and how teachers can most effectively problem solve, communicate, and learn from their relationships with parents.
Free resources
Assertive Intervention with Parents: Planning Form
Use this template from How to Deal With Parents Who Are Angry, Troubled, Afraid, or Just Seem Crazy by Elaine K. McEwan-Adkins as a guide for preparing what to say during an assertive intervention with parents.
"What I most love about How to Deal With Parents Who Are Angry, Troubled, Afraid, or Just Seem Crazy is Elaine McEwan-Adkins’ ability to focus on what really matters. A must-read for both experienced and novice teachers who are looking for a practical resource that gets to the heart of how to create positive partnerships with parents."
"Nobody writes a book for educators better than Dr. Elaine McEwan-Adkins. How to Deal With Parents Who Are Angry, Troubled, Afraid, or Just Seem Crazy is a commonsensical, go-to handbook for teachers, rich in data and anecdotes to inspire and guide difficult interactions with parents. Buy a copy for every teacher you know!"
"Once again Elaine McEwan-Adkins has captured the essence and wisdom from her own experiences, as well as those of other educators, in dealing with angry parents. The information and stories shared on these pages are sure to help that beginning teacher avoid pitfalls and help them be well prepared for that unexpected or expected confrontational parent. Knowing what to do in advance can help avoid making an enemy, and perhaps make a friend of the angry parent instead. I loved the 'What did the teacher learn from this experience?' feature after each story shared by the teachers! This book will be a wonderful resource for new teachers, as well as all educators."
"With a perfect balance of humor, examples (personal and from others), and concrete, practical advice that focuses on being proactive rather than reactive, Elaine McEwan-Adkins expertly guides teachers to finding satisfying solutions to even the most unpleasant 'close encounters of the parental kind.'”
"A must read for veteran and novice teachers to understand and respond to the angry, troubled, afraid, or just a little crazy parent. This book looks at the feelings and emotions that parents bring with them and offers a fresh perspective that provides valuable tips to ultimately diffuse the anger and work toward amicable solutions to best serve the student."
"Difficult parents got you down? Then grab hold of this book and breathe easy. You will find authentic scenarios depicting the dysfunctional behaviors that problem parents present, proactive strategies and insightful solutions that build productive parent-teacher relationships, and easy-to-access intervention charts and lists. Elaine McEwan-Adkins may have broken the 'be nice' rule with her honest portrayal of disagreeable parents, but the interventions presented will not only support teachers but parents as well."
