How to Communicate Effectively With a High School Teacher

At long last, your child has entered high school. This is an exciting time for both you and your child, and you want to make sure that your child does well in high school. Part of your child's success includes communicating effectively with your child's high school teachers while at the same time enabling your child to begin the process of becoming an adult.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Meet your child's teachers as soon as possible. Before school starts, attend the Meet and Greet and introduce yourself to every teacher. Provide each teacher with your phone number and email address.
2. Attend Open House or Curriculum Night. Your child's teachers have presentations to show you and you may have opportunities to speak to them regarding your child's particular needs and individual situation.
3. Make your child the first point of contact when it comes to personal responsibility. For example, if you discover that your child earned a bad grade, instead of calling or emailing his teacher immediately, question your child about the situation. He may confess to blowing off the assignment and you can provide him with the appropriate consequences. If your child cannot provide a decent explanation for his bad grade, contact the teacher. Remember, high school is about nurturing personal responsibility.
4. Sign up for your district's online grade monitoring system. Many larger school systems have this capability. Teachers can link their grade books to a secure website and parents can log in and see their child's grades. Remember the above caveat. If you see a zero, ask your child about it first; do not email the teacher right away. Give your child a chance to defend himself first and make the proper restitution.
5. Limit your emails and phone calls to teachers to once a week or less unless there is a true problem with a child's performance. High school students should deal with most problems on their own. You do not want to gain the perception of a high-maintenance parent who badgers teachers with constant demands, as this could negatively influence a teacher's opinion of your child.
6. Assume that no news is good news. Many schools require that high school teachers contact parents if a student is failing a class or if her grade significantly slips. If you have not heard much from your child's teacher, do not take it personally. Chances are your child is doing just fine. After all, most high school teachers teach 150 or more students each day, so individual reports to every parent are impossible.