Meet The New Teacher
One of the best ways to get the school year off to a great start is to get to know your child’s teacher. Breaking the ice early will calm your child’s fears. Children want to be liked by their teachers. Getting to know your child’s teacher sends the message that you are very much involved in your child’s education. When teachers see that you are involved, they will engage you in the learning process, which opens the door for collaboration throughout the school year. Take advantage of your child’s school open house or back-to-school night to make an in-person introduction. If you can’t meet in person, send an email introducing yourself to each of your child’s teachers. When you meet your child’s teacher, whether in-person or e-meet, you want to:
- Set the expectations regarding communication, e.g., let the teacher know that you would like to know about issues immediately. Ask the teacher to let you know early if your child is struggling in their academics. Emphasize that you don’t want to learn about their struggle through a progress report or report card. Knowing early about your child’s difficulty will allow you to get academic support for them sooner than later.
- Provide any information about your child that will be helpful for their teacher to know. Such information could be, regarding your child’s health, how best your child learns, seating position in the classroom that would be most conducive to their learning, etc.
- Offer your assistance/support. It is important to BE NICE to the teacher! Teachers are usually open to going the extra mile for parents/guardians who are friendly.
Try to keep the lines of communication open throughout the school year. Given the time constraints that most parents face, sending an email every two months would be great! You can also send one email to all the teachers if it is a general check-in email. Remember to let your child know that you are in touch with their teacher.