When a child is experiencing conflict in school, her grades, emotions, behavior and social life may suffer. If your child is distracted and worried about a difficulty with a teacher or another student, she may not be able to meet her academic potential. Keep the lines of communication open with your child and let her know that you will help her overcome school-related conflicts so that she can do her best.
Student vs. Teacher
Occasionally your child may have a teacher whose personality does not mesh with hers. These situations come up for various reasons. In some cases, a teacher may demand and expect more than your child is willing to give, either academically or behaviorally. A loud, extroverted child may clash with a quiet teacher, or vice versa. Sometimes a teacher may have a preconceived negative feeling about your child based on the teacher's experience with an older sibling or cousin. In all of these cases, you can and should meet with the teacher to discuss your concerns. The Public School Parent's Network suggests scheduling a time to meet with the teacher when your child can be present, and to ask for a written plan for a resolution to the conflict. Help your child to uphold his end of the resolution. If this does not help, ask a guidance counselor or the principal to intervene.
Learning Style vs. Teaching Style
Sometimes your child's learning style does not correlate with the teacher's teaching style. This can arise when a student has a learning disability or learns differently from the majority of the class; when a teacher is inexperienced with teaching students who do not learn easily in a traditional manner; or when the curriculum itself is inflexible. According to the Internet TESL Journal, such conflicts can cause boredom, discouragement, poor test performance and low test grades in students. Teachers may feel discouraged, critical of their students and doubtful of their own competence. Teachers can try integrating activities that appeal to students with various learning styles into their curriculums. In some cases, parents can request a teacher with a different teaching style for their child.
Student vs. Student
Bullying is a problem that is common to school children worldwide, states ERIC Digest. A child who bullies others may taunt, tease, threaten, steal from or hit his victims. Aggressive girls tend to socially isolate their victim along with or in lieu of these behaviors. A child who is being bullied may be afraid of going to school, and distracted from his schoolwork. He may be anxious and may not have any friends. A child who is a bully may be defiant and antisocial, and may have a greater chance than other children of engaging in criminal behaviors as an adult. If your child is bullying someone or is being bullied, contact his teacher, guidance counselor or principal for help. Many schools have a protocol in place to prevent and eliminate bullying.
