Building Trust Through Parent-Teacher and Parent-Parent Dialogues

For schoolteachers, one of the biggest concerns is often how to build good relationships with parents. In this interview, we spoke with Mr. Takayuki Kenmochi (pseudonym), an elementary school teacher with 13 years of experience, about how to organize effective parent-teacher meetings that foster mutual trust and connection.

• The Value of Parent Meetings
• How to Organize a Parent Meeting
• Encouraging Parent-to-Parent Interaction
• The Heart Behind Parent Meetings

The Value of Parent Meetings

— Today, we’d like to talk about parent-teacher meetings. How do you personally view their purpose?

I believe that building trust between teachers and parents through these meetings is extremely important. But I also want to emphasize the significance of helping parents connect with one another. When parents are connected, many positive outcomes follow.

— Could you give some examples of those benefits?

For instance, when there’s trouble between children, if the parents already know each other, the issue can be resolved more smoothly than if they were complete strangers. Parents also tend to solve minor questions about homework or notices among themselves, which reduces the number of inquiries to the school. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, connections among parents have become weaker, so meetings are now an even more valuable opportunity. As a parent of three elementary school children myself, I’ve found interactions and information exchange with other parents very helpful.

Source: Compiled by the author

How to Organize a Parent Meeting

— Could you tell us how you typically organize these meetings?

Let me describe the most recent meeting I held at the start of the school year. On the day, I used an app called LoiLoNote, which students also use, to display the meeting agenda and guide the session. I began by showing the table of contents and introducing myself—my years of teaching experience, that I’ve taught all grade levels from first through sixth, and that I now teach in the same city where I grew up. Some parents were graduates of the same schools, which created an instant sense of familiarity. I also talked briefly about my favorite subjects, family, and hobbies.

Agenda of the Parent Meeting

Source: Materials provided by Mr. Kenmochi, partially modified

— Did you connect the meeting to your classroom teaching?

Yes. Since the meeting was held right after an open class, I explained the purpose behind that lesson. Because it was April, I also invited parents to introduce themselves—sharing their names, their favorite subject as a child, and one “special quality” or strength of their own child. Everyone seemed shy at first but spoke warmly and proudly.

— How did you present handouts and your classroom management plan?

Some meetings simply involve teachers reading printed materials aloud, but I think it’s important to actually leave time for discussion. So I only summarized the key points of the handouts briefly. I also talked about my classroom management policy and shared the class goals. While I sometimes set those goals together with students, that year I presented my own vision as the teacher. I also discussed homework procedures and closed by saying, “I will care for every student in this class as if they were my own child.”

Encouraging Parent-to-Parent Interaction

— How did you encourage parents to interact with each other?

After my presentation, I set aside time for parent discussions. The theme was “How do you handle preparation for the next day and supervise homework?” Since I was teaching second graders, this was especially useful for parents with their first child in school. For higher grades, topics like “rules for games and smartphone use” also work well.

— You also mentioned arranging the seating intentionally.

Yes. I seated parents near others who lived in the same neighborhood so they’d have shared topics to discuss—since their children often play together. I grouped them in fours for discussion and moved from group to group, listening and chatting. I took notes on good ideas and later shared them with everyone, rather than asking each group to present publicly, which would have been burdensome. When I was still a new teacher without parenting experience, I used to join their conversations saying, “Please let me learn from your parenting experiences.”

*The photo above is for illustrative purposes only.

The Heart Behind Parent Meetings

— After organizing meetings like these, what kind of results have you seen?

By discussing specific themes, parents naturally got to know each other, and it became a truly meaningful time. Holding these sessions at the beginning of the school year helps lay the foundation of trust between teachers and parents.

— Finally, what message would you like to convey to parents?

Children grow richer in character through relationships with diverse friends. And of course, every parent wishes for their child’s happiness—that’s universal. When conflicts occur, it’s natural to believe in your own child, but I ask parents to remember that the other child also has a parent who loves them just as deeply. I encourage everyone to keep that in mind as we spend the school year together.

— Thank you very much for your insights.

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