Kyle Blackmer on Building Parent-Teacher Rapport

In the broader society, mistrust increasingly defines the parent-teacher relationship. But it doesn't have to be this way.

As a Heights parent and seventh grade core teacher, Kyle Blackmer shares a practical vision for sound parent-teacher relationships. It begins with understanding parents and teachers in their true, cooperative roles for a child's good. And it ends with developing real friendship between parents and teachers as they pursue this good together.

Chapters:

1:29 Decline of the parent-teacher relationship

4:51 Parents' true role as primary educators

10:18 How teachers relate to parents

13:40 How parents relate to teachers

18:28 Shared understanding of the goal

20:52 School as a community

26:39 Building parent-teacher relationships

Links:

We Need to Talk About Parent-School Relationships by Daniel Buck

Also on the Forum:

Partnering with Parents: Some Implications for Parents as Primary Educators by Michael Moynihan

Communicating with Parents by Kyle Blackmer

The Role of Parents in the Conspiracy for the Good featuring Alvaro de Vicente

Order and Surprise: Lionel Yaceczko on Beauty and the Western Tradition featuring Lionel Yaceczko

Humility and Teaching: On Leading While Walking Backward by Joseph Bissex

Parents as Primary Educators by Michael Moynihan

Featured Opportunities:

Headmaster's Lecture on Freedom in the Home at The Heights School (October 4, 2025)

Fathers' Conference at The Heights School (November 1, 2025) link coming soon

Convivium for Teaching Men at The Heights School (November 13-15, 2025)