Episode 118: What To Do When The Parent Group Chat Becomes A Problem
The Private School Leader Podcast
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Show Notes
Technology is absolutely amazing.
Smartphones, internet, facial recognition software, AI, self-driving cars, artificial hearts, 3D printers, robots, GPS, wearable devices, the cloud and virtual reality have helped change our lives for the better.
We also know that technology comes with its share of challenges.
A parent group chat on WhatsApp, Facebook or a Smartphone can be an awesome place for sharing information about school events, giving reminders about spirit week and communicating changes to the time that the basketball team will be getting back to the school.
But, these chat groups can also go down the wrong path and quickly devolve into teacher-bashing, judging parenting styles and critiques of the 4th Grade Math curriculum.
On today’s episode of The Private School Leader Podcast, we are going to discuss What To Do When The Parent Group Chat Becomes A Problem.
I hope that you will listen to the podcast for your weekly dose of motivation, inspiration and PD. Thanks so much for listening and thanks for making a difference!
Mark Minkus
Is it just me or are the parents at our schools getting more demanding and more intense, more often? Dealing with parents is part of the job as we lead our private schools, but it can quickly lead to stress, anxiety and feeling overwhelmed.
That’s why I created Parent Academy! Now you have a step by step framework that will help you go from feeling stressed and anxious to feeling confident and calm. Over the last 33 years, I have built successful relationships with thousands of parents and I have packaged that knowledge into an online course. Not only that, but after I teach you, I am going to teach your teachers these strategies as well! Parent Academy contains two, 45-minute webinars that are Teacher PD’s with a printable notebook, guided notes and discussion questions. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parentacademy to learn more!
What is your biggest problem right now? I want to hear more about your biggest problem and I want to help you solve it.
Whether your problem is feeling guilty that your family gets what’s left of you at the end of the day, relentless parents, difficult teachers, a lack of boundaries between work and school, feeling overwhelmed, Imposter Syndrome, enrollment or teacher morale, I can help
I would love to hear more about your biggest problem and I would love to be your coach. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/coaching to learn more about working with me 1-on-1.
Being a private school leader is a VERY difficult job. You have to make hundreds of decisions every day, and you have to keep everyone safe, increase enrollment, keep the parents happy, keep the board happy, motivate the teachers, deal with student discipline, beat last year’s test scores and come in under budget.
That can lead to you feeling tired, discouraged and stressed out. I’ve been there. That’s why I created THRIVE Academy just for you. THRIVE Academy is a digital course that will help you get out of survival mode and get back to feeling energized at school. To learn more, go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/thrive
I am excited to share with you a new resource and I want to give this to you as a FREE GIFT to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. It is called The 7 Secrets To Improving Teacher Morale. As private school leaders, we are always looking for ways to improve teacher morale at our schools, but it is hard to know where to start. Well, now you have a step by step plan and you can grab it at theprivateschoolleader.com/morale
I want to give you a FREE gift called 7 Strategies To Effectively Deal With Difficult Teachers. Sometimes we need some courage and confidence to deal with difficult teachers. What you need is a plan! This guide is a step by step plan that you can use to help one of your difficult teachers improve their performance and improve their attitude. Go to theprivateschoolleader.com/difficult to grab this free guide!
I’ve created a free resource for you called “The 6 Things That Every Private School Teacher Wants From Their Leader”. This guide is a 6 page pdf that will be a game changer for you. I guarantee you that if you do these 6 things, the teachers at your school will be happy to follow you. You can pick up your free guide by going to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/guide
I want to give you a gift to say “thank you” for listening to the podcast. I have created a FREE guide for you called “5 Strategies To Help You Work With Difficult Parents”. We know that working with parents is part of the job and most of our parents are great, but some of them can be very demanding and emotional and difficult. This guide will give you the tools that you need to build better relationships and have better meetings with the difficult parents at your school. Go to www.theprivateschoolleader.com/parents to grab the guide. Thank you again for listening every week!
Please check out all of the free resources on my website that can help you serve and lead your school community. There are "Plug & Play PD's" (45 minute webinars with guided notes) as well as Top 10 Lists of Leadership Books, Productivity Books and TED Talks over at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/resources. You can grab the show notes for today's episode at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/episode118
Please write a review of this podcast and help the algorithm push this content out to more leaders. I would love to get your feedback about the podcast, ideas for future episodes and hear about how you are implementing these strategies in your life and at your school. You can email me at [email protected] Thanks!!
I’ve created a FREE RESOURCE for you called “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit”. This is a 10 page pdf that will help you to keep your staff and students safe and help keep your school out of court. Litigation is expensive, time consuming and extremely stressful. This common sense guide will help you to be more intentional and proactive when it comes to protecting your school. You can grab “The Top 6 Ways To Protect Your School From a Lawsuit” at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/lawsuit. Thanks!
I am excited to share a brand new resource with you. It is a 9 page pdf called: “How To Use Verbal Judo To Have Better Conversations With The Parents At Your School” What is “Verbal Judo”? "Verbal Judo" is a communication strategy that focuses on using words effectively to de-escalate conflict, resolve disputes, and achieve positive outcomes in various interpersonal interactions, particularly in high-pressure situations.
George Thompson and Jerry Jenkins wrote a book called Verbal Judo: The Gentle Art Of Persuasion. So, I have taken several important strategies from the book and applied them to your life as a private school leader. Grab your free copy of “How To Use Verbal Judo To Have Better Conversations With The Parents At Your School” at www.theprivateschoolleader.com/judo
TRANSCRIPT:
Welcome to the Private School Leader podcast, • where private school leaders learn how to thrive and not just survive as they serve and lead their schools. I strongly believe that it is possible to have a long and happy and fulfilling career as a private school leader. And my passion is to help you figure out exactly how to do just that right here on the Private School Leader podcast. And I'm your host, Mark Minkus. • • • So a couple of years ago at school, um, there was a sixth grader, • • and I think it was at lunchtime or recess, and they walked up to me and they said, Mr. Minkus, how old are you? • • And so I have a standard answer for that. And I said, I was born before man walked on the moon. • • • • And I got the desired reaction, um, you know, from their facial expression. And also they, of course, said, oh, you're so old. • And, you know, when you think about what happened on • • that July day in 1969, the fact that we could put a man on the moon, men on the moon, and return them safely to the earth with the technology that was available in 1969, it's just incredible. But what's even more amazing • is the technology that we have today. And much of it just really took off, um, in the last 10 years, last 15 years. And I'm talking about smartphones and the Internet, • facial recognition software, • • artificial intelligence, self driving cars, • • 3D printers, robots, GPS, artificial hearts, wearable • • technology, the cloud, virtual reality, and the list goes on and on. And we've just become so used to it. • • • Technology is amazing, but technology also comes with its own set of challenges. And that's certainly true when parents at your school connect on WhatsApp and, you know, Mu'and dad's Facebook group or in a text group. • • And these groups can be awesome for sharing information about school events and reminders about spirit week and changes to the time that the basketball team will be getting back to the school from their away game. • • • • But these chat groups can also go down the wrong path and quickly • • devolve into teacher bashing and judging parenting styles and critiquing the fourth grade math curriculum. • • So on today's episode of the Private School Leader podcast, we are going to discuss what to do when the parent group chat becomes a problem. • • •
Parent Academy is an online framework for building effective relationships with parents
But before we jump into that, I'm really excited about something • • and I want to start, I want to tell you briefly about it, but I want to start by asking you a question. • • What's the name of the parent that's living rent free in your head? • • • • • • • What's the name of the parent that's Living rent free • in your head. • • • • And I want to tell you I've been there. • • I used to have parents living rent free in my head 24 7. And when I was in bed or at the dinner table or driving to work or even in the shower and I used to get super anxious and sick to my stomach just thinking about talking to certain parents. • • • Parent issues dominated every aspect of my work as a private school leader. And I was stressed out all the time and I didn't know what to do. I didn't have a plan. • And all I had was anxiety and fear and insecurity. • • And so that's why I created Parent Academy, because I want to give you a plan. • • And with Parent