Writing Pad Dad - Your Relationship With Your Child's Teacher

"When you get a report saying your child is misbehaving or isn't getting homework done,
don’t call the teacher. You're the parent!" - Writing Pad Dad

   We've been on the front lines of some school related stuff these past few weeks. While our 'Lil Miss flourishes in her 2nd grade class, there are several experiences and stories that have graced our lives that beg several questions. As we sit around the parental "water cooler", The Wife and I have both heard various reasons and excuses as to why little Johnny/Jenny are not doing well in class. I was always brought up to believe most of it had to do with what happened at home. 

   So you can imaging the fortuitous moment when I got The Writing Pad Dad's latest post in my Inbox.  Entitled How To Have An Awesome Relationship With Your Child's Teacher, I tore through each point and found affirmation in how we are handling things at home. While this IS America, and we're all free to form our own opinion, I appreciate those offered by The Writing Pad Dad because they have a lot of teaching experience in their home. With that background, I found myself looking at each advice point carefully to see how it might help our little family.

My own thoughts on The Writing Pad Dad's Tips: 

1. Don't judge your child's teacher by how much fun your kid is having in his/her classroom:  
He's right. Fun is a byproduct, and isn't the first priority of school (while it is a nice bonus).
2. Let the teacher do his/her job. 
Imagine random people coming in to complain about how you're doing your job.
3. Hold Your child accountable. 
If you don't do this, you've got more problems.
4. Don’t believe everything you’re told. 
We listen to our 'Lil Miss with the child filter on. It's a must with kids.
5. Attend Back to School Night & Parent/Teacher Conferences. 
We attend and it's CRUCIAL to understanding what's going on overall.
6. Don’t run to the principal. 
Bypassing the chain of command never got anyone anywhere, ever.
7. Buck up, Buttercup. 
This is a work in progress in our home. A long,.....long.....road.
8. Remember that teachers are human beings.   
Though not all can be as cool as you,.....we're all human. Remember that.
9. Don’t gossip or speak negatively about the teacher. 
Our kids pick up on EVERYTHING. Smack talking the teacher will result in a poor child/teacher relationship.
10. Learning is a choice:
"My taxes pay for this!" That doesn't fly, and we should be thankful we have teachers who want to teach our children. We need to help with the desire and success of that.

   Thanks to The Writing Pad Dad for some great insights. I hope we can all work at a great relationship with our teachers. Our children will benefit from it, and so will we.

J.