A healthy school environment must be composed of three contributing components: teachers, students and parents.  If communication between these three pillars is ineffective then the student's well-balanced future is at risk which is the ultimate failure of a school.

Communication between teacher and parent is paramount and can not be simply reliant on the student being the messenger. There needs to be regular interaction between parent and student, parent and teacher and obviously teacher and student.  Fortunately, technology offers many vehicles for these discussions.  Programs such as Schoology, Edmodo, Wikis to name a few, allow parents to quickly catch up with the events of the day. It also promotes a more meaningful connection with the daughter/son regarding what transpired during the day along with what is upcoming.  Naturally, there will always be a place for face to face meetings as well as emails and phone calls but technology has improved the communication between parent and teacher as well as improved the accuracy of the information.

Make no mistake, the life of a student is hectic. There are academic pressures and social pressures that can often be overlooked or underestimated.  It is important to not be blinded by academic performance but also emphasize balance, encourage non-academic pursuits and interests.  The teacher may need to play a crucial non-academic role, becoming a life coach.  This may at times conflict with the views of the parents or society however, building well rounded, life-long learners is also part of the teacher's job description.  Teenage years can be frustrating and confusing but they can also be impacting and memorable.

Teachers facilitate between parents and students but also between student to student and perhaps ever student to teacher. School is dynamic and thus the teacher needs to be adaptable, open-minded and willing to listen.  Having open lines of communication between all three aspects of the school community lowers the risk of student failure and will improve the learning experience.