Put your best foot forward at meet-the-teacher
Whether you’re heading into your first parent-teacher meeting or not, it can be nerve-wracking. We all worry about making the best first impression, especially when meeting our child’s teachers.
To help ease the stress of an upcoming parent-teacher meeting, we’ve put together some tips below on how to navigate through these meetings with ease.
- Know What the Meeting is About
A teacher may ask you to meet with them for a number of reasons. This can be for a specific or a more general reason, such as getting to know more about you and your child. Specific reasons for these meetings aren’t always about something negative, either! Essentially, the best course of action here is to keep an open mind when going into a parent-teacher meeting.
- Think of Big Questions Before the Meeting
Putting together a list of topics you want to discuss is helpful for parent-teacher meetings. For example, you can ask questions about your child’s progress in class. This can just be a general question or relate to something specific you are curious about.
If your child has struggled with a subject in the past, you can ask how they’re doing now, for instance. It’s ok if you can’t think of every question you want to ask before the meeting, but it can help a meeting flow better if you know what you want to discuss beforehand.
- Talk With Your Child
Telling your child you’re meeting with their teacher can help as well. Maybe your child has their own questions to ask their teacher. This can also help you know what topics you want to focus on during the meeting. Along with any questions your child has, you can bring what you’ve noticed about your child.
These important topics can include things like a topic they’re struggling with or how they feel about school in general. By sharing this perspective, you’re helping your child’s teacher understand your child, and thus, understand how they can help them at school. Additionally, you can ask for ways you can help your child at home too. Naturally, you’re building and maintaining your child’s support system inside and outside of school.
- Share Important Events With the Teacher
Don’t be afraid to share more personal things during these meetings. The teacher wants to get to know you, after all! However, make sure they stay on topic with the meeting. This can include big life events like getting married or having a child.
This can be helpful to share not only for getting to know each other but for getting to know your child too. For instance, getting a new sibling is a big change in a child’s life and yours! By knowing this context, the teacher is better equipped to help and further support your child and you during moments like this, not to mention celebrate with you!
- Keep in Touch After the Meeting!
After a parent-teacher meeting, you may be unsure if you should reach out again. Just remember that there is no harm in reaching out, especially if you have further questions or want to schedule another meeting.
Plus, keeping in touch with your child’s teacher can keep you up to date on how your child is doing in classes. This can definitely help you know what, if anything, you should speak with your child about.
Support Your Child and Their Teacher!
These are just a few things to keep in mind when preparing for a parent-teacher meeting. That doesn’t mean you need to cram any information the night before, though! Sticking to the basics of what you want to cover is key to a successful meeting.
No matter what type of school your child goes to, these meetings are important. This is illustrated best by a guiding statement for AMS Schools, one of Arizona’s top charter school networks. With the mindset of how “it takes a village to raise a child,” schools like AMS understand the type of support system your child needs to succeed. This takes not only teachers who are dedicated but parents who are as well.
