Honestly? I started doing it because it was something I
really wanted and longed for when my child was in middle school. Let’s face it, middle school is scary for
kids, for parents, and many days for teachers too. Parents no longer trust one adult with their
precious child. They’re expected to put
them on a bus or drop them off and let these little people navigate their way
through a school day with six or seven teachers telling them six or seven different ways to
do something. It’s tough for parents to
be out of the loop, but frustrating for all parties when things don’t go
right. These kids are too old to be
babied, but too young to be in charge of it all. So a weekly email to my parents letting them
know what's going on in math class seemed like a great idea.
The
big surprise was that the great idea to help parents and kids have a better
week actually ended up being the best thing I ever did to ensure I had a better
week too. It saves me time, energy,
angst, and sometimes I get a little good will in the process. It wasn’t the goal, but we teachers need all
the help we can get, so I’m spreading the news.
I rarely start my days anymore with angry emails about assignments not
done, failed tests, deadlines missed, supplies missing, or the excuse of the
day for why homework was not done. I
have found that parents truly want to help their kids step up to the new
responsibilities and accept the consequences as long as they know the
expectations were clearly given and they had an opportunity to help remind
them.
My
emails are not long or fancy. Nobody has
time for that. I may share something
that went well or was fun the prior week before outlining the plan for the
upcoming week, list out homework assignments, tutoring schedule, and important
upcoming assessment dates. If special
supplies are needed in class, I try to give them a week or two notice of
it. Personally I spent too many evenings
running to Walmart after a full day of work to get supplies that my kid forgot
to tell me they needed (before I learned that having a supply of poster boards,
markers, glue, etc. was a necessity for all homes with secondary
students). I don’t expect parents to
reply to my emails, but am happy if they do.
I
hear the most positive feedback from parents about the emails at
conferences. Our school does team
conferences, so if the parent is meeting with one teacher we all attend. We have found that problems are rarely
limited to one classroom and it’s best to meet together with the parent and come
up with a plan together. Maybe it is
the nature of the conferences, but parents typically are extremely thankful for
the communications and feel it makes their lives easier too.
That’s
a win-win we can all be happy with. The
hardest part is typing in all the email addresses, but the benefits are well
worth it. Last year our guidance counselors
asked to be added to my email list. They
told me it makes their job easier too. Communication. It may be the magic key to surviving middle
school for all of us!
Happy
teaching!!
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