Sending your child off to school can be daunting whether it’s the first time or the 7th time.
Starting off on the right foot with your child’s teacher can help both you and the teacher understand and get to know one another and together contribute to what is best for your child academically, socially and emotionally in a school setting.
As someone with a lot of experience teaching and working with kids from birth until 8 years old, I always welcomed parents who made an effort to ask not just the right questions, but any questions and who strived to communicate effectively.
And as parents, we now get to ask those same questions and open effective lines of communication with our children’s teachers.
We will break up the questions in two categories:
- Questions to ask a teacher in the Beginning of the School Year
- Questions to ask a teacher at parent teacher conferences or throughout the school year
At the end, we will also touch on three ways to effectively communicate with your child’s teacher.
Here are some smart and important questions to ask your child’s teacher.
Questions to ask a teacher in the Beginning of the School Year
1. How do you deal with a distracted student?
2. What does the social & emotional engagement look like in the class?
3. How do you assess each student and build on their strengths and areas to work on?
4. What is your educational philosophy?
5. What is the school safety protocol? -pick up/drop off, Lock-down, medical emergency
6. What is your classroom management style?
7. What is your classroom ratio?
8. What positive reinforcement strategies do you use in your classroom?
9. What are the main academic markers you use in the classroom?
Questions to ask a teacher at parent teacher conferences
1. How is my child doing socially and/or emotionally with his peers and teachers?
2. What can we do at home to extend his learning along with the lessons in class?
3. What is the greatest strength/weakness you see with my child?
4. How do you work with my child in the areas he/she has weaknesses?
5. Are there any important academic markers/exams that will be happening this year?
Tips on how to communicate and build a positive relationship with your child’s teacher
Always introduce yourself
Make it a point at the beginning of the school year to send an e-mail introducing yourself. Tell them you are the parent of (child) and are looking forward to working together.
Appreciate their position from the beginning. Teachers appreciate parents who know how tough their job is, and hey…at the end of the day, they are with your kids for 6-8 hours daily so building that positive relationship from the beginning is key.
Catch up with them frequently, but don’t be overbearing.
Make sure to send follow up e-mails monthly to see how your child is doing. Again, it is about building that communication with their teacher and catching up to see what your kid is up to, not only academically but socially as well. Always thank them, and don’t be too overbearing.
Unless there is a pressing concern, E-mails more than once a month for every little issue can take a toll on a teacher.
Be open and receptive about what the teacher is telling you.
The teacher may not always be right, but neither is the parent.
Listen constructively to what the teacher is telling you and have an open mind. Thank them for their input and if you truly and strongly disagree with an important issue, respectively explain your point of view.
However, it is a fine line. Learn to know what you to take at face value and what deserves more digging on your part. You can’t get on your child’s teacher for every single little thing you do not agree with. At the end of the day, they are the teacher and it is their classroom.
In conclusion, these questions and communication strategies can help develop and strengthen the relationship with your child’s teacher. This should be of paramount importance since he or she spends a majority of their time with that teacher.
Don’t be afraid to ask the right questions, but also appreciate and respect a teacher’s profession.