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

Elaine K. McEwan is an educational consultant with The McEwan-Adkins Group, offering professional development for educators to assist them in meeting the challenges of literacy learning in Grades Pre K-6. A former teacher, librarian, principal, and assistant superintendent for instruction in several suburban Chicago school districts, Elaine is the award-winning and best-selling author of more than three dozen books for educators. Her Corwin Press titles include Raising Reading Achievement in Middle and High Schools: Five Simple-to-Follow Strategies for Principals, Second Edition (2006), Seven Strategies of Highly Effective Readers: Using Cognitive Research to Boost K-8 Achievement (2004), Ten Traits of Highly Effective Principals: From Good to Great Performance (2003), Making Sense of Research: What's Good, What's Not, and How to Tell the Difference (2003), Seven Steps to Effective Instructional Leadership, Second Edition (2003), Teach Them ALL to Read: Catching the Kids Who Fall through the Cracks (2002), and Ten Traits of Highly Effective Teachers: How to Hire, Mentor, and Coach Successful Teachers (2001). McEwan was honored by the Illinois Principals Association as an outstanding instructional leader, by the Illinois State Board of Education with an Award of Excellence in the Those Who Excel Program, and by the National Association of Elementary School Principals as the National Distinguished Principal from Illinois for 1991. She received her undergraduate degree in education from Wheaton College and advanced degrees in library science (MA) and educational administration (EdD) from Northern Illinois University.

Preface Acknowledgments About the Author Chapter 1. Why Are There So Many Angry Parents? Facet 1: The Increasing Variety of Today's Family Units Facet 2: The Range of Needs, Issues, and Problems of Today's Students Facet 3: A Continuum of Types of Schools Facet 4: The Things Teachers Do That Irritate and Inflame Parents Facet 5: A Variety of Types of Parents Chapter 2. Proactive Ways to Get and Keep Parents on Your Side Chapter 3. Defusing and Disarming Out-of-Control Parents What Is Anger? How to Deal With Angry Parents How to Deal With Very Dysfunctional Parents Using Your Encounters With Parents to Learn and Grow Chapter 4. Solving the Problems That Make Parents Angry, Troubled, Afraid, and Seem Even Crazier The Pervasive Problems That Will Plague You Solving the Problems That Plague You Chapter 5. Advice From Teachers Who Have Seen It All Chapter 6. Putting Your Best Self Forward Pay Attention to Your "Emotional Immune System" Nurture Your Best Self Around a Set of Personal Traits That Signify Character Affirm, Bridge, Communicate (ABC) Lead by Example Conduct an Assertive Intervention Take the A Train Deposit Trust in Your Relationship Trust and Savings Bank Become an Assertive and Self-Differentiated Teacher Tend to Your Health One at a Time or All at Once Conclusion: 10 Goals to Help You Deal With Difficult Parents References Index

"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." -- Chandra Williams, EdD "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!" -- Lydia M. Zuidema "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." -- Lola Malone "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.'" -- Allyson Burnett "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." -- Salli Mahaffy "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." -- Cathie E. West