Fake it till you make it
You're new. The parent still needs to see that their child is in good hands.
With Tammy Striler · 1:24 · Filmed fall 2020
What to take away
- A teacher has students, and students belong to parents.
- That child is the most precious thing they have, and you're in charge of them for the day.
- Nobody knows everything — be firm, be respectful, and be confident anyway.
- If you don't know the answer: say you'll find out, pull in a colleague, and come back to them.
Why it works
Confidence here isn't bluster, it's reassurance. A parent handing over the thing they love most needs to see that the person receiving them knows what they're doing — the same way you'd want from a doctor walking into the room.
Tammy Striler
Founder · classroom teacher
Thirty years in the classroom, most of them with the door open and a student teacher in the back. Tammy started these tips because the best things she learned came from other teachers over lunch, and nobody was writing them down.
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