We’re all aware of increasing budget cuts for our schools which means fewer positions for teacher assistants and other support staff. However, a lower number of staff positions does not mean a lower number of students in a classroom. Needless to say, teachers need your help!
There are many advantages to helping your child’s teacher. The biggest advantage is the benefit it gives your child.
When you are involved in your child’s classroom and school it communicates to her that she is a priority and that you care about the place she spends so much of her day. This gives her the security she needs to make good choices and excel academically. It also models for her how to serve others and be responsible.
So how can you help your child’s teacher?
There are many ways to help your child’s teacher, and most of them are very simple and do not even require you to physically be in the classroom!
1. Be organized with paperwork, permission slips, and money, and return each of these on time!
It sounds like it wouldn’t be a big help, doesn’t it? Well, trust me, this is a huge help for a teacher. With sometimes 25 plus students in a classroom every extra email or phone call that has to be made to retrieve paperwork can be a burden. Your child will also feel good when the teacher doesn’t have to ask him more than once, “So-an-so, did your mom return the paperwork I need today?”
2. Read newsletters, emails, and other forms of communication carefully.
Again, sounds simple. But with a lot of students it truly helps when information doesn’t have to be repeated more than once.
3. Follow the classroom and school procedures for communication and visitation.
Remember that when a lesson is interrupted by an unscheduled phone call or visit, the students are the ones who suffer. Teachers spend a lot of time preparing for each lesson they teach. It becomes distracting when there are interruptions, and this has a tendency to throw the entire classroom off kilter.
4. Find out the teacher’s needs for volunteering in the classroom.
Every teacher is different with different needs. Some appreciate and welcome a lot of in-class volunteers. Others prefer to not have as many volunteers. Respect the teacher’s wishes as far as how often you can volunteer in the classroom. Ask her what her specific needs are and honor those needs even if they’re not what you would prefer doing.
5. Come to your volunteer appointment on time and call to cancel if necessary.
In classrooms every minute there is a change. A change of subjects or lessons or it’s time for lunch or a restroom break. It is important to come to your scheduled volunteer appointment on time. Many times teachers schedule the time for you to come when they will have a minute to explain the directions of what you’ll be doing. Coming even five minutes late can interrupt a lesson she’s started.
And there’s another giveaway starting today and ending on Monday!
Enter to win your choice of personalized labels or a personalized bag tag from Country Huddle! These are great for bookbags or lunchboxes! They can even communicate special needs such as allergies! You choose!
Be sure to read the other posts in this 10-day series and check back for more fun giveaways!
Day 1: The Night Before Party
Day 2: Creating a Relationship of Teamwork with Your Child’s Teacher
Day 3: When You Don’t Like Your Child’s Teacher
Day 4: How to Help Your Child’s Teacher
Day 5: Communicating Your Child’s Needs
Day 6: How to Have a Parent-Teacher Conference
Day 7: What Your Child Doesn’t Tell You about School
Day 8: What Your Child’s Teacher Doesn’t Tell You
Day 9: Being Christian in Today’s Public Schools
Day 10: Your Child’s Education is Your Responsibility
What are your ideas for helping your child’s teacher? Share with us!
