footballjerseysfromchina

1. What are the behavior expectations in your classroom? Are the classroom rules posted and consistently enforced? It is very important that classroom rules and behavior expectations are clear to students. The rules need to be posted and referred to during the year. The classroom rules need to be consistently enforced. The teacher should teach the rules, they should not be just “made up as we go along”.
2. What is your classroom behavior management system? (This should be more than just punishment for breaking rules.) A behavior management system should include teaching and consistently enforcing rules and expectations mentioned above as well as routines. There should be many routines: Coming into class, lining up, transitioning from one activity to the next, getting ready to go home, collecting and passing out papers, (this is just a short list). There should be privileges such as computer time or free time for reading/art/writing, or some other reward that is in place that can be earned or lost depending on whether or not rules are followed. An office referral for breaking the rules is not a behavior management system.
3. What kind of homework do you assign and how often? This lets the teacher know that you are interested in making sure that your child's homework gets done. Additionally, you will know how often to expect homework (every day, twice a week, on Fridays only). Children are more likely to do homework if they know that their parents are expecting it to come home and be done.
4. What will my child be learning this year (or what goals do you have for my child this year)? This will give you some idea as to what you can expect your child to know by the end of the year. Don't expect a detailed list of every skill and topic that will be covered. You should expect to hear, things like, “We will learn to multiply. We will learn to write a book report. By the end of the year, your child should be able to read this book (insert example book here)”. You should have some idea of what your child is expected to learn so that you will know whether or not your child is learning what is expected.
5. What can I do to help reinforce school rules at home? Teachers love to hear this question and it's counterpart “What can I do to help my child learn at home?” It demonstrates that the parent intends to be involved with the child's learning. Education is a partnership between home and school. This question demonstrates that you are willing to be a partner with the teacher. It also lets your child know that you will be expecting to talk with the teacher regularly and expect your child to learn and behave at school.
6. What are your views about parents visiting the class? Parents are always allowed to visit the school. However, most schools have policies regarding visitors. Visitors are nearly always required to check in at the office so that the school can keep track of who is there and why. From a school safety standpoint, that makes sense. Additionally, unexpected visits can sometimes disrupt a lesson. The teacher may prefer that you not enter the classroom until there is a break in the instruction or that you enter as quietly as possible. It is nice to ask and shows the teacher that you respect the class instruction time but of course parents can come to school as often as they like.
7. Can I stop in to talk to you anytime? Do you prefer certain times? Should I call for an appointment first? Teachers welcome communication with parents. However, parents often forget that teachers' days do not end when the kids go home. There is grading to do, lesson planning, staff meetings and other meetings. Often that is the only time that teachers have to return phone calls. If you come during the school day, the teacher will likely not be able to stop and talk because he or she is conducting class. Some teachers do not mind parents stopping by after school without notice, others would prefer knowing that you are coming (even if it is just five minutes ahead of time). It is good to ask because not all teachers have the same work style. However, you may want to keep in mind that calling first ensures that you will be able to talk to the teacher, if the teacher is in a meeting with another parent, district personnel, or a staff meeting, you may not be able to speak with them just then.|
8. Will I be contacted if my child falls behind or has other problems at school? How soon will I be contacted, as soon as you notice there may be a problem or sometime later? This question serves as notice that you want to be kept informed of your child's progress and notified if there is a problem. I should add that you may want to ask that you be notified as soon as the teacher suspects a problem (your child is falling behind, not catching on, having trouble with a bully, or is becoming a bully). Teachers often notice patterns. You will not likely be contacted after just one poor score on a spelling test but it would be reasonable to ask that if the teacher notices a pattern, that you be notified as soon as possible.
9. Are there after school programs such as sports or tutoring available? Schools vary in the programs that are available after school. If after school programs are something that you are interested in, you will likely need to ask to learn about them.
10. Is there a school or class website where I can go for information and announcements? This, again, lets the teacher know that you are an interested and involved parent. Many teachers and schools are now using the internet as a way to keep parents informed. It is good to ask for that information even if it would have been offered anyway, just to be sure that you have it.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 at 12:36 am and is filed under My Diary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.