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parents meeting the teacher

Talking to the Teacher

Having a positive relationship with your child’s teacher sets them up for greater success. In this session, we look at reasons and ways to talk to the teacher. Use the resource guide and the videos to create your plan for talking to the teacher.

Skill Segments

Skill Support

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1.

Introduction

This session explores reasons and ways to talk to the teacher about your child’s progress and learning.

Video Transcript
00:02
Hi parents, as a teacher, one of my most important goals was to
00:07
establish productive relationships with my students
00:10
parents. In this session, we’re going to look at reasons an ways
00:14
to talk to the teacher. So in the first segment, we’re going
00:18
to talk about why the parent teacher partnership is so
00:21
important. Then we’ll explore specific types of conversations
00:24
you might need to have in tools that have worked well for our
00:28
team. In our final segment, we’re going to challenge you to
00:33
use these tools and resources to talk to your child’s teacher.
00:37
Alright parents, put on your learning coach hat
00:40
and let’s get started.

2.

Your Partner, The Teacher

Partnering with the teacher means you and the teacher are on the same page about what your child needs to be successful.

Video Transcript
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00:02
When teachers and parents partner it positively impact
00:05
student success. Partnering with the teacher means you and the
00:10
teacher or on the same page about your child’s progress and
00:14
what your child might need to move forward and succeed with
00:18
school work. The only way to achieve this partnership is
00:22
through productive communication. For some, talking
00:24
to the teacher can feel intimidating. Trust me when I
00:28
tell you your child’s teacher welcomes the opportunity to talk
00:32
and partner with you, it makes their job so much easier knowing
00:37
that they have your support.
00:39
And while many teachers try to connect with every parent at the
00:42
beginning of the school year, you don’t have to wait for the
00:45
teacher to make the first move. Feel free at any point in the
00:49
school year, even at the beginning of the school year, to
00:52
reach out and begin to build that partnership in connection
00:55
with your child’s teacher. And if you’re already well into the
00:58
school year and you feel like you haven’t had an opportunity
01:01
to connect with your child’s teacher, reach out and invite
01:04
that teacher to talk when introducing yourself to the
01:06
teacher, we recommend using the aided approach a debt.
01:09
Is a tool that our team has been using an organizations for
01:14
years. A stands for acknowledge I stands for introduce D stands
01:19
for duration. E stands for explanation or explain and T
01:23
stands for. Thank you. Using ADA to introduce yourself to the
01:26
teacher. Might sound like this. Hi Mrs Smith, my name is Erica.
01:30
I’m pages Mom and I wanted to introduce myself and let you
01:34
know that I look forward to partnering with you to make sure
01:38
page has a successful year. I’m open to any recommendations or
01:42
ideas you have always to support her progress over the year, so
01:45
let me know how I can be helpful. Thank you for your
01:49
commitment to my daughter
01:51
success. You might have noticed that message can be
01:53
sent over email over the phone or even delivered face to
01:57
face, no matter which communication method you’d
01:59
like to use to establish a partnership with their child’s
02:02
teacher. I encourage you to take that step to set you and
02:05
your child up for a successful year.

3.

Check-ins

Checking in with the teacher helps you know how to best coach your child’s learning.

Video Transcript
00:03
Checking in with your child’s teacher over the course of the
00:07
school year is an effective way to keep track of progress as
00:11
well as to gather information that will help you coach your
00:15
child’s learning. For regular checkins, our team recommends a
00:18
parent teacher connection conversation. This conversation
00:20
is an opportunity for you to ask questions and determine how you
00:24
can best support your child, whether over video conference or
00:28
in person. Here are some tips for your connection conversation
00:31
before you schedule the
00:33
connection. Think about the purpose of the meeting. Your
00:36
overall goal is to support your child. Make a list of
00:40
questions. We recommend asking 3 specific questions for your
00:43
check-in, and you can of course add any others that
00:46
have come up since your last connection conversation. The
00:50
three standard questions are.
00:52
What is working well with my
00:54
child? How can I support my child to be successful in this
00:59
class, and are there any materials my child can use to
01:03
enhance learning? Remember, these questions are a starting
01:05
point. Feel free to modify as
01:07
needed. Then reach out and ask for the meeting. This is usually
01:12
done via email and in your message you would explain that
01:15
you would love the opportunity to connect and it’s also helpful
01:18
to go ahead and provide your questions or discussion items in
01:21
advance, so sending those in the email message works well and go
01:25
ahead and provide times that you’re available to meet. This
01:28
makes finding time easier for both of you. You’ll want to
01:31
thank the teacher in advance for taking the time to meet. This
01:35
shows respect for the teachers time, and it shows that you are
01:39
committed. To partnering with that teacher for your child
01:41
success during the connection, take time to connect with the
01:44
teacher on a personal level. This might sound like how is
01:48
your day. My child enjoyed the experiment. I’m sure that was
01:51
fun for you. This personal touch reinforces the relationship and
01:54
shows that you care about the teacher as a person and after
01:57
greeting the teacher with your personal connection. Keep the
02:00
conversation focused on your questions. Most of the time the
02:03
meeting is going to be scheduled for a very specific amount of
02:07
time, so you’re going to want to make sure you have time to get
02:11
through all of your questions.
02:12
At the end of your time together, consider asking the
02:15
teacher this question. Is there anything you need from me? This
02:19
question will be refreshing to the teacher. It shows that you
02:22
really are committed partner and that you are supportive after
02:26
the connection. Follow up on any actions you agreed to take and
02:29
ensure that the teacher has followed up as well. For
02:32
example, if you agree to check over your child’s homework that
02:36
night, make sure you write a note or initial the bottom of
02:40
the page to show that you did
02:42
your part. If possible, go ahead and schedule that. Next, check
02:46
in with your child’s teacher. Meeting regularly establishes
02:49
that productive partnership that best serves your child.

4.

Finding Solutions

As challenges surface, collaborate with the teacher to find solutions.

Video Transcript
00:03
From time to time you’re going to need to collaborate with your
00:07
child’s teacher to find solutions to challenges that
00:10
have surfaced. One approach for working with the teacher to find
00:14
solutions is to have an impact conversation and impact
00:18
conversation is a problem solving discussion. It’s
00:20
intended to build relationships and communicate a supportive
00:23
stance like the other communication methods we’ve
00:26
outlined before initiating an impact conversation with your
00:29
child’s teacher, you want to be sure that you are clear on the
00:34
goal. And the challenge or concern the structure for an
00:38
impact conversation is describe the Challenger concern.
00:43
Describe the impact, determine a solution and ensure a mutual
00:46
commitment. Let’s use an example to further define each part of
00:50
the conversation. I just discovered that my child has
00:53
received low grades on several recent assignments. Some of the
00:56
assignments were classwork assignments and some more
00:58
homework assignments. When I asked my child about the
01:01
assignment, she says she finished everything and didn’t
01:04
know why she got so much wrong. I look over the work and suspect
01:08
that she is rushing through the work. I know I need to meet with
01:13
the teacher to do two things.
01:15
Confirm my suspicion that she is in fact rushing through the work
01:19
and make sure there are no other
01:20
issues. And then determine solutions to this problem during
01:24
the meeting I use the impact conversation structure. So first
01:27
I’m going to describe the challenge and concern. Thank you
01:31
for meeting with me. As you know, Pages received low results
01:35
on the last four assignments. When I asked her about the
01:38
information, she seems to give me accurate answers. I’m
01:42
beginning to suspect that she is rushing through the work and
01:45
just being careless. Then I described the impact.
01:49
I know if she continues this pattern of rushing through she
01:52
will eventually miss key information and receive a
01:54
series of low results which might also impact her
01:57
confidence down the road. I’d like to nip this in the Bud
02:00
right away. I then suggest that the teacher and I work
02:04
together to determine a solution.
02:06
I’d like your help with this problem. I was thinking we could
02:10
do two things for classwork and homework. We can set a minimum
02:13
amount of time before she can turn in her work, or say that
02:17
she’s finished. I’ve notice she usually says she’s finished with
02:20
homework in about 15 minutes. I could set her time minimum to 25
02:24
minutes, and while she’s sitting there with an extra 10 minutes,
02:27
she can begin to use that time to look over her work.
02:31
Also, we could both begin to ask her if she is double checked her
02:35
work as she turns in every
02:37
assignment. Do you think I’m on the right track as far as this
02:42
being a rushing issue, what do you think about these ideas and
02:46
do you have any other ideas that have worked with other students?
02:50
And once the teacher and I have discussed the possible
02:53
solutions, I ensure mutual commitment so it sounds like
02:56
we’re in agreement. That will set a time minimum for turning
03:00
in assignments, and we’ll both ask if she’s double checked.
03:03
Each assignment. Is that right? Remember, when challenges or
03:06
concerns arise, stay focused on
03:07
your overall goal. Which is to support your child. Also
03:11
remember the teacher has the same goal.

5.

Talk to the Teacher Challenge

Use our recommended strategies to talk to your child’s teacher.

Video Transcript
00:03
Hi parents, in this session we’ve looked at ways to
00:07
introduce yourself and establish a partnership with your child’s
00:11
teacher. We’ve looked at how to have a check in conversation.
00:16
And how to have a solution? Finding discussion with your
00:19
child’s teacher. Now we want you to put these strategies into
00:23
action. Decide which type of communication you need to have
00:27
with your child’s teacher. If you haven’t introduced yourself
00:30
or met your child’s teacher yet, go ahead and start with Ada to
00:34
introduce yourself. Then use the talking to the Teacher Resource
00:38
guide to prepare for your
00:39
interaction. Then talk to the teacher. Once you do, give us
00:44
an update. We’d love to hear how it goes. Email us at
00:49
parentaslearning.coach@stoudereducation.com. We look forward to hearing
00:51
from you and have fun talking to your child’s teacher.

Tools and Support

Talking to the Teacher Resource Guide

Download the Resource Guide PDF to get the tools mentioned in this Skill Session.

Parents talking to the teacher

Connect With A PALC Expert

Have a question about this Skill Session? Submit your question and one of our Parent As Learning Coach experts will get back to you within 48 hours.

A parent learning coach podcast.

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