WORK WITH THE TEACHER FIRST IF YOU ENCOUNTER A DISAGREEMENT
Don't like homework assignments? Don't think the teacher has been fair
to your child? Think her approach to teaching isn't working with your child?
There are others at school who can help you resolve a problem with your
child's teacher-the principal or the school counselor. But the FIRST person
you should always talk to is the teacher.
Following these steps can help resolve a problem quickly:
*Contact the teacher by e-mail or phone. If necessary, set up an
appointment. Problems can usually be resolved with a short
conversation or meeting between parent and teacher. Also, most
teachers appreciate the chance to discuss issues or problems with
students and parents before getting a counselor or administrator
involved.
*Seek the facts. Talk to your child. But try not to draw conclusions or
assess blame until you've talked with the teacher.
*Look for misunderstanding. Sometimes the teacher isn't aware of a
child's difficulty or confusion about a rule or assignment. Or your
child might misunderstand the assignment.
*Avoid criticizing the teacher or school in front of your child. This
confuses children, and might make them become defiant and rude to
teachers.
*Discuss possible solutions. What might you, the teacher and your child
do to solve the problem at hand?
*Talk about how best to proceed. Try to work something out with the
teacher. But if you can't agree on a solution, discuss who you will
talk to next.
Source: Lilian Katz, "Preventing and Resolving Parent/Teacher
Differences."
