I have had good email exchanges with parents. But, I have had also had email experiences that make me lose sleep. What is the balance between positive communication and overwhelming emailing?
What are your rules for parent emails? What boundaries have you made for yourself or your students' parents for emailing?
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Emailing with parents can be tricky. While convenient for minor contact needs, the risk of miscommunication on important issues or receiving way too much information on not-so-important issues can turn emailing into a headache and a time waster.
ReplyDeleteI'd would recommend laying ground rules with parents from the get-go when you exchange email addresses. Let them know that you'll use email only for minor housekeeping issues and that you'll keep emails short and direct so as not to take too much of their time (and hopefully they'll do the same). Also inform them that you don't feel comfortable talking about any major issues via email due to possibilities of miscommunication or even confidentiality reasons and that you'd be happy to address such issues in person or over the phone. Hopefully being upfront with parents about what you expect from the emailing relationship will negate any conflicts or email problems that may pop up down the road.
One more thought: Make sure parents know when you'll be checking and responding to email messages (i.e., before school until 8:15 and after school until 5 pm Monday through Friday) so they know when to expect a response and so you can keep a firm line drawn between work time and home time.
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