How to Enroll Math the Teacher to your child's Team: A parent's perspective

Parents who work with me give me an opportunity to learn from them as much as they learn from me. In this particular case, "Mira", a mother of a 9th grader, was extremely effective in working with her son's math teacher, who was also the math department head. Needless to say, having the teacher "on our side" was invaluable to her son's math success. Here's what "Mira" had to say:

This is the circumstance.  You need to talk to your son or daughter’s school teacher about issues that Dr. Pan has concerns about as well as inquiring about the structure and lessons being taught in the classroom.  The immediate thoughts that come to mind; finding a way not to jeopardize your open line of communication with this teacher; inquiring without the teacher feeling threatened, worrying that the teacher is wondering if you are questioning their abilities as a teacher. Will you and your child be despised?   I believe most educators have the child’s learning needs at heart, but sometimes human nature takes over and inquiries take on a form the other party views as an insult to their personal attributes.

I found a couple simple rules to follow for myself that led to a teacher becoming a strong part of my son’s math team.  The communication didn’t come without frustrations at times, but for the majority of the time and the end result…these rules kept the lines open and helpful feedback was returned.  The first rule I made for myself, to have the teacher know first and foremost how much I appreciated his time and input.  I never started out a conversation or an email without first recognizing how valuable his time was and how grateful I was that he would take time to explain certain items with me.  Rule number 2, I never approached a question in the form of an accusation. Every question was written or voiced as an inquiry.  This meant that I would like to let the teacher explain his process of teaching instead of telling the teacher why Dr. Pan or I didn’t agree with him.  This allowed Dr. Pan to understand the teachers approach without me threatening his method of teaching.  A third rule was to make sure the teacher understood why my son was doing a problem differently than the teacher might have explained the process in class. I always reaffirmed with the teacher that my son’s process was still acceptable for tests and homework.  This made the teacher feel that he still had a major influence in his classroom work and that we were all on his side supporting him.

The teacher and I still stay in contact and he appreciated how hard he could see my son working.  He made sure that my son was on track and kept me informed of concerns he had.  The teacher made me aware that he was going to be teaching a class next year that my son would need and offered to get him into his class so he could continue to monitor and help. 

The teacher is the Math department chair at the high school and has become an intricate part of my son’s math team.  We have developed a respectful relationship that allows communication to flow freely in both directions without personal attacks becoming an issue. 

HOME

© 2002-2007 Door-2-Math Inc. .

We will never give, lease or sell your personal information. Period!    Contact Us