What Teachers Want Parents to Know About This Fall
I have written extensively here over the past few months about how this pandemic has affected our children and, in particular, their education. As fall approaches, I hope to help parents understand if their district is taking enough precautions and how to decide whether to send their children back to school in person (if they have a choice). We talked about training co-ops and creating jobs at home ; I predicted that schools would close again and wrote about how parents can talk to their children about all of this .
So when it came time to schedule content for this year’s back to school week (well, this year we call her back MTF- to-school), I had to ask myself: Where to start? What else parents may not know is important to consider as we enter what is arguably the strangest school year any of us have ever experienced? And then I thought, why don’t I ask our teachers? Who better to guide us and offer us wisdom and advice than those at the forefront of our children’s education?
I went to the Offspring Facebook group and asked our teachers: If you could talk (frankly) with your parents right now, what would you like them to know, understand, or ponder at the start of the school year? Here’s what they said.
Molly, high school teacher and parent of twin preschoolers.
First, distance learning is really hard! I need to completely overhaul the curriculum for all four courses I teach so that I can deliver content online. This is not a walk in the park at the end of the course – it requires a LOT of planning, learning new tools, and figuring out the best way to deliver content to students of different abilities.
Secondly, I would like the parents to know that we will all figure out together what works and what doesn’t. I’m going to solicit and rely on student feedback on which strategies I’m using work for them and which ones need to be refined or abandoned.
Third, I would like parents to know that their children should definitely ask their teachers for help if and when they need it. The school where I teach has dedicated working hours and intervention periods when students can receive one-on-one assistance, and while I plan to make appointments with students I see are having difficulty, students will need to be proactive in setting up and meeting time. However, at the same time, I would like parents and students to remember that many teachers also have children and that we may not be able to answer questions right away outside of regular hours. I’ll probably check my email in the evenings after my kids go to bed, but between the end of the school day and then, students likely won’t get an immediate response if they send an email.
Finally, I would like both students and parents to remember that the school will not last forever. It sucks right now – for everyone – but we all do our best to stay safe and healthy, and the more we can do that, the sooner we can really get back to personal learning for everyone.
Sarah, a high school teacher and parent of a third grader and preschooler.
One thing I noticed from both the parents and the teacher is that the student should be the primary communicator.
There is nothing wrong with checking or registering because sometimes children need to be checked. But we need to make sure we give them communication, teach them to use them, and then expect them to use them.
I want my third grader to feel comfortable emailing her teacher a question, and I want my students to do the same.
Jordan, Grade 6-8 School Counselor
I would like everyone to remember that this is a very fluid time, and it is very important to know that what happens in the first few days (or maybe even the first few weeks) of school is not representative of the whole year. Attendance can be fixed if there are problems connecting to remote login, assignments can be changed if the student needs additional support. Communication with teachers and other school staff is key. We work hard to help hundreds and sometimes thousands of students and families, and unfortunately we cannot foresee all the problems.
If your student has a problem, ANY PROBLEM, small or large, please report it to his teachers, counselors, or administrators. We desperately want to help all of our students succeed this year. All we ask is for everyone to remember that we are all doing this together and your school staff are doing their very best.
David, music teacher and parent of an 8-year-old and 10-year-old.
I do everything 100% online because doing anything else would be irresponsible. I gently tried to explain to my parents that we all want everything to be normal. But this is not so and cannot for a while. I tried to make things as positive as possible and to help support students and parents alike. We are all tired. But giving up now means that all the work we’ve done up to this point is a waste.
We must be strong for each other. Check with your kids. Check yourself. Allow yourself to be angry, cry, sad, embarrassed, or whatever other feeling you feel. Give the kids the same permission no matter how hard it is to watch. They are going through the same fresh hell as we are, with less life experience and less understanding. They will equally succeed and fail. All we can do is support.