Sharing Feedback After Sunday School

Teachers often ask, “How much should I tell parents about their child—the good and the challenging—after Sunday School?” This question comes from a desire to share what’s really happening in the classroom, but often teachers also want to give parents of special needs kids a break from hearing about the challenging behaviors. And they want to build trust with parents that their child really is being taken care of.

Patterns often develop around these positive desires. Teachers filter what they share or perhaps share less as time goes on, until one day when all other possible helps have been exhausted, they approach parents about a serious situation. This catches parents off-guard and makes them feel like teachers only communicate when there are problems.

The goal in teaching situations is not to filter information, share less, only share hard things, or protect parents from challenging situations. The goal is to develop genuine relationships that are not exclusively based around problems and that have a mutual interest in supporting students so that they thrive relationally and grow in Christ.

In this Q&A with Engaging Disability, Ashley Belknap gives practical advice for every Sunday School teacher and parent, with a few added tips for kids have unique needs. She discusses how to build mutual, genuine, balanced relationships between teachers, parents, and students.