Most parents love their children and work hard to be the best parents they canbe but teachers and parents often find themselves in conflict resulting inhostilit... » 

Most parents love their children and work hard to be the best parents they canbe but teachers and parents often find themselves in conflict resulting inhostility defensiveness distrust and communication breakdowns. Contributingto the problem are media images public policy professional commentary andinformal conversations that portray parents as deficient particularly when theparents may already be marginalized through poverty or language barriers.Working from research in three key areas parent development and parentingskills social and historical influences on families and parentschoolrelationships teacher and parent Gwen Rudney offers teachers a more usefulinterpretation of parent beliefs and actions designed to lead to communitytrustbuilding collaboration gratitude and friendship.Straightforward chapters offer teachers theory practice case studiesworkshop exercises and common sense strategies and reminders for working withparents to improve life and learning for all children. «