Episode 205: Parents Can Handle Bad News WAY Better Than Surprise News

I don’t like surprises.

I know some people love them. They love walking into a room and hearing everybody yell, "Surprise!" They love mystery trips where somebody else packs the car and refuses to tell them where they are going. Not me.

I think most private school leaders don’t like surprises either.

We do not like walking into school on Monday morning and discovering that the heating system failed over the weekend. We do not enjoy learning at 7:42AM that the substitute never received the assignment.

Parents don’t like surprises either.

A parent may not be happy to hear that their child is failing Algebra. A parent may be upset to learn that a child has been unkind to classmates. But, you want to know what is WAY worse?

When the first time the parent learns about the failing grade is the report card or at Parent-Teacher Conferences.

Now the parent has two problems. They have the bad news, and they have the surprise. And usually the surprise becomes the bigger problem.

So, on today’s episode of The Private School Leader Podcast, we are going to discuss why Parents Can Handle Bad News WAY Better Than Surprise News.

Thank you for listening to the podcast every week. You are making a difference in the lives of the students, teachers and parents at your school. I know that what you do is difficult, exhausting and lonely. Your hard work inspires me to keep making weekly content to try to encourage and inspire you as you serve your school.

Thanks for all you do,

Mark Minkus