Liberal Parenting

I have started working part-time as a high school teacher.  I am wondering what you (personally) expect teachers/schools to do for you/your kids.

Thanks for your thoughts :).

Interesting question!  Esp. since I work at a school myself :-)

I could more easily tell you what we expect from parents - LOL!

But as a parent of a college freshman, high school freshman and first grader - I expect their teachers to be fair.  Also - to not play favorites, to be kind and respectful, to encourage kids (my son's first grade teacher is SO sweet and encouraging), to be patient, to challenge the kids (more for the older kids!), to make the expectations in the classroom (and for assignments) clear and to be organized, to inform me of any concerns / issues with my child.  I also expect to have my questions / concerns addressed in a timely manner - for example, if I e-mail a question I like to hear back in a day or two.  I certainly don't expect a response immediately though!

I've been fortunate - we've had a LOT of great teachers for my kids!  I've only had two teachers between all 3 school aged kids that I ever had even a slight concern with - my daughter had a VERY conservative teacher that I felt over-stepped his bounds a couple of times (I do NOT think a teacher should push his/her personal beliefs on the class esp. when they are young.  My daughter was only a 5th grader at the time!) and my older son had a teacher who seemed to be very unhappy with her job and was just a very negative person all around. 

Good luck with your new job!

Did you know we have a teachers' board?  ;)

Teacher's Circle

Congrats on the new job, Michele!  That's exciting news!

Congratulations!  My husband teaches middle school (he's in his 20th year this year) and I taught 7 years. 

I expect a lot now that I have kids in school.

First of all I expect my kids' teachers to realize that they are kids first, students second.  You can't teach what you don't understand.  You must understand how a kid thinks and what moves them before you can teach them anything.

There are so many things to expect from a teacher.  I think when you have a teacher who is NOT doing everything you expect, you see what you want more than ever.

I expect teachers to get to know my kids and what motivates them.  I expect my child to be important to the teachers and not be forgotten or overlooked or brushed off.  How can a kid learn if they don't feel they can approach a teacher?  I have a child who marches to the beat of her own drum and teachers who don't bother to get to know her or even listen to her, so it's very important to me that a teacher take time to listen and respond to a student's needs and to take the time to get to know them. 

I expect teachers to communicate personally with parents.  A personal note now and then would be so nice.  I get tired of form letters and progress via internet. 

I expect teachers to take time.  I don't like hearing that my child tried to talk to a teacher about something and was brushed off and told it's not the right time - but no right time given.  My daughter was recently left in "time out" on the wall at recess for a full 30 minutes when she was initially assigned 5 minutes for being a tad chatty.  The teacher's explanation was brief and no apology - he must have gotten busy with something else going on on the playground.  Not acceptible. She's 7.  She served 6 times the amount of time she was assigned and the teacher then put it on her - it was her responsibility to tell them when she thought she should get off the wall.  No.  Not acceptible.

So - love those kids, get to know them, and then teach them what you are there to teach them.

I hope you love your new career!

I always loved the teachers who made learning fun and interesting. If they just read from a book and acted like a robot, then we all tuned out. The teachers that had the most impact, related what we were learning, to real life matters. Like when we were learning about history or civics.

I just want teachers today, to take an interest in their students and not to treat them like a number. I know it's must be hard with all the restrictions and expectations they have on teachers these days, but those that were "invloved" left a mark on me that I remember to this day. :)