At a local elementary school, parents were lingering in the classroom past the start of the school day, making the emotional transition harder for their children

Question

The parents were also crowding the limited physical space within the classrooms and doorways. Olivia is asked to draft a notice to be distributed to the kindergarteners' parents to rectify this problem. Discuss Olivia's draft and how to improve it.

"Attention kindergarten parents: do not remain in your children's classrooms for too long, as this is causing problems."
What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answer: This notice is too blunt and too vague. The parents are probably lingering as they are worried about their children starting school, and want to stay and support them. This message will likely suffer from a psychological barrier, as it fails to take their emotional state into account. Wording the message more gently, and explaining that this request is aimed at making things better for their children, would likely make parents more willing to accept the message and comply with it. A semantic barrier is also likely. The message says parents are remaining for "too long," which is vague and still leaves it to parents' judgment as to what is long enough. To ensure that parents comply, specifying a particular time limit is ideal. Another problem might be a language barrier. Some parents might not be native English speakers, so translating the message into other languages might be wise.

To improve the message, make it strategic, professional, and adaptable. The message should be audience-oriented and parents' concerns should be taken into consideration while designing the message. The notice should also be specific as to the behavior the parents are expected to adopt. Issuing a solution-oriented message would make it more likely for the audience to comply. To be professional, Olivia should remember that this message is directed at parents, not students, so it shouldn't talk down to them or treat them as if they are children. It should also be appropriate to the situation. The original message is vaguely accusatory, blaming the audience. It is not clear if the parents have already been told that their behavior is problematic, so expecting them to follow a rule that they may not know and chastising them for it will likely anger the audience. To be adaptable, the message should be available in English and in any other language spoken by the school community. It should be available as a flyer handed out to parents, as a posting on the school website, and also as an email to the kindergarten parents, etc.