Interpersonal and Non-verbal Communication

Things Teachers and Parents Should Do to Bridge the Gap Between ThemBy Cheryl MooreSpecial to CSMS NEWSAccording to Interpersonal Communication, relating to others, “non-verbal communication is hard to categorize and interpret…a challenge for all people involved.”  As an educator, knowing when and where not to use emblems (behaviors that have specific, generally understood meaning) will be appreciated amongst ESOL students and parents, and they will also appreciate the verbal conversations. Another gesture that could impair an encounter is an illustrator (cues that accompany verbal messages and provide meaning for the message), which sometimes sends mixed signals to others like yelling over other people that are talking, most teachers have signals and rules to cover these issues.In addition to body languages that sends a mixed signal, your facial expressions or affect display also tells non-verbal behaviors that are communicated through emotions. Although looking someone in the eye is regulatory in the United States, many cultures will mistake this and view it as disrespectful to the elders of their culture. In the same way that moving around, focusing on appearance, and actions of comfort (adjusting) may be our ways of adapting, to some cultures it depicts impatience and arrogance. Many in the United States should try to remember that these people are adjusting on a broader level concerning language, culture, and acceptance. Non-verbal messages are ambiguous, and can be categorized and studied to reveal the codes to our unspoken communication.  And there are culture-based differences in the ways people learn and interpret unspoken messages, and no man or woman can tell how these studied interpretations can affect our future. For the many people that have children, it is a different topic; but it always has one focus. “Parents tend to trust children before they trust us; they have lost faith in teachers” says The Time article posted February 21,2005. It is not that parents truly hate teachers, but teachers know the “curriculums” they have to follow such as classroom manners, and rules & regulations, whereas parents only see their child. Most parents view their children as their life; this combination does not leave much room for the teachers’ comments or points, whether it be right or wrong. “Parents are passionate and protective when it comes to their children, as nature designed them to be”. Teachers, on the other hand, have to portray the opposite in a classroom setting. “If parents are searching for the perfect teacher, teachers are looking for the ideal parent, a partner but not a pest, engaged but not obsessed, with a sense of perspective and patience”. Non-verbal communication will need to be almost perfect before these encounters. From pre-kindergarten through the twelfth grade, surveys have statistically stated that parental involvement is crucial (ninety percent of teachers agreed). Although the numbers are not the same when attitudes and expectations from the parents and students are created and/or presented. These and other improvements with technology increase a teachers’ job, making it harder to manage. According to Time magazine, “many new teachers leave the profession within five years, referring to this as the most treacherous part of their jobs.”On the contrary, if parents would work together with teachers, the goals shared by both will be easier to accomplish. For instance, asking about homework more than once a week, showing an interest or letting your child see you read, or simple question that generate a yes/no answer. There are many things that we can do to aid and help children to reach their full potentials in education and growth (maturity) as we watch them adjust to the usual peer pressures of the world.