What your teacher really thinks

What your teacher really thinks
Getty Images

A look inside a teacher’s mind could help you understand lesson plans and maybe even guide your child to perform better.

Don’t hesitate to reach out

Don’t hesitate to reach out
Getty Images

If you have a question, reach out to us. We want your child to succeed just as much as you do. Open communication between families and teachers builds bonds that help students do their absolute best.

Create rules at home

Create rules at home
Getty Images

Creating a system of incentives and consequences at home can help students behave in school. Rewarding them for having a good day at school can make those days more frequent.

Their homework isn’t going to look the same as yours

Their homework isn’t going to look the same as yours
Getty Images

Teaching methods have changed a lot over the years, so don’t be shocked when your child’s homework looks unfamiliar to you. Don’t tell them not to use a certain math strategy just because you learned something different. Do research or reach out to your child’s teacher to familiarise yourself with newer methods so you can help when your child has a question.

Have your child keep a journal

Have your child keep a journal
Getty Images

It’s a good idea to have your child keep a journal from a young age. Have them draw pictures and jot down notes about their day. It’s a good way for students to reflect and set goals. It also serves as a safe place to process their emotions.

We have your child’s best interests in mind

We have your child’s best interests in mind
Getty Images

If we make a call home or give your child a recommendation, it’s not to put them down, it’s to help them succeed. Most teachers have their students’ best interests in mind and will go out of their way to make sure they are helping them in any way they can.

Come back from holiday earlier

Come back from holiday earlier
Getty Images

It’s never a good idea to send your kids back to school the day after a long flight. They’re wiped out and can’t function properly most of the time. Also, don’t schedule a vacation that runs into the first few days on the school year. It puts a lot of pressure on your child to play catch up once they get back and causes a lot of stress for both the student and teacher.

Don’t miss these essential tips for travelling with children.

Play time is just as important as time in the classroom

Play time is just as important as time in the classroom
Getty Images

Many parents don’t realise how much their kids are learning when they are playing with other kids. Play has many developmental benefits. Kids are learning social skills such as negotiation and communication, understanding their bodies, and learning through trial and error.

Our jobs aren’t cute

Our jobs aren’t cute
Getty Images

If we teach small children, don’t tell us that our jobs are “so cute” and that you wish you could glue and colour all day long. Children express a whole new side of themselves when they’re outside of their home.

I’m not a marriage counsellor

I’m not a marriage counsellor
Getty Images

At parent-teacher conferences, let’s stick to your child’s progress, not how your husband doesn’t help you around the house.

Here are 14 things you should never say to your spouse. 

We hate testing too

We hate testing too
Getty Images

We’re sick of standardised testing and having to “teach to the test.”

Here are 5 great tips to help your child deal with ‘exam stress’. 

Technology has changed kids’ behaviour (for the worse)

Technology has changed kids’ behaviour (for the worse)
Getty Images

Kids used to go out and play after school and resolve problems on their own. Now, with computers and TV, they lack the skills to communicate. They don’t know how to get past hurt feelings without telling the teacher and having her fix it.

Learn how to talk to your kids about online safety. 

We notice your kid’s manners

We notice your kid’s manners
Getty Images

When I hear a loud belch, I remember that a student’s manners are a reflection of his parents’.

Here are 17 forgotten manners every parent should teach their child. 

Every kid is special… But…

Every kid is special… But…
Getty Images

Your child may be the centre of your universe, but I have to share mine with 25 others.

Here are 7 ways kids can be annoying… and what you can do about it. 

Mobile phones can be a huge distraction

Mobile phones can be a huge distraction
Getty Images

Please help us by turning off the texting feature on your child’s phone during school hours.

Why aren’t we compensated more?

Why aren’t we compensated more?
Getty Images

Guys who dribble a ball for a couple of hours a game can make up to $20 million a year. We educate future leaders and make about $51,000 a year.

We wear a lot of hats

We wear a lot of hats
Getty Images

We take on the role of mother, father, psychologist, friend, and adviser every day. Plus, we’re watching for learning disabilities, issues at home, peer pressure, drug abuse and bullying.

If you talk about it at home, we know about it

If you talk about it at home, we know about it
Getty Images

Kids dish on your secrets all the time: money, religion, politics, even Dad’s vasectomy.

Want to get us a gift?

Want to get us a gift?
Getty Images

Please, no more mugs, frames or stuffed animals. A gift card to a book or stationary store is more than enough. A thank-you note: even better.

Thank goodness for public holidays!

Thank goodness for public holidays!
Getty Images

We love three-day weekends as much as your kid does.

These are the best students

These are the best students
Getty Images

The students we remember are happy, respectful and good-hearted, not necessarily the ones with the highest grades.

My rule for hormonal middle-schoolers:

My rule for hormonal middle-schoolers:
Getty Images

Keep your hands where I can see them.

Follow this advice on how to have a happy teenager. 

My first year of teaching, a fifth-grader actually threw a chair at me

My first year of teaching, a fifth-grader actually threw a chair at me
Getty Images

I saw him recently, and he told me he just graduated from college. That’s what makes it all worthwhile.

You do your job, I’ll do mine

You do your job, I’ll do mine
Getty Images

I have parents who are CEOs of their own companies come in and tell me how to run my classroom. I would never think to go to their office and tell them how to do their jobs.

We don’t arrive at school ten minutes before your child does

We don’t arrive at school ten minutes before your child does
Getty Images

And we don’t leave the minute they get back on the bus. Many of us put in extra hours before and after school.

We are not the enemy

We are not the enemy
Getty Images

Parents and teachers really are on the same side.

Kids lie

Kids lie
Getty Images

The truth is simple: Your kid will lie to get out of trouble.

Encourage your child to keep reading

Encourage your child to keep reading
Getty Images

That’s key to success in the classroom at any age.

Here are 10 books we bet you never knew were banned. 

It’s their homework, not yours

It’s their homework, not yours
Getty Images

We can tell the difference between a parent helping their child with homework and doing it for them (especially when they’re clueless in class the next day).

Teaching is a calling

Teaching is a calling
Getty Images

There’s not a teacher alive who will say she went into this for the money.

Check their homework

Check their homework
Getty Images

Just because your child says he did his homework doesn’t mean it’s true. You must check. Every night.

We get jaded too

We get jaded too
Getty Images

Teaching is not as joyful as it once was for many of us. Disrespectful students and belligerent parents take a toll on us.

Talk to your kids

Talk to your kids
Getty Images

Parents give their kids the pricey gadgets and labels, but what kids really crave is for you to talk to them. Kids want to know you are interested in their lives.

Here are 10 things about raising girls that mums wish they knew sooner. 

We spend money out of our own pockets

We spend money out of our own pockets
Getty Images

Teachers often buy things our students need, such as school supplies and even shoes.

Don’t be a helicopter parent

Don’t be a helicopter parent
Getty Images

Supportive, involved parents are crucial. But some are “helicopter parents” – they hover too much.

Summer isn’t always a picnic

Summer isn’t always a picnic
Getty Images

Having the summer off is great, but many of us have to take on extra jobs – teaching summer school, tutoring – to make ends meet.

Academics aren’t everything

Academics aren’t everything
Getty Images

Success is not achieved by just making kids memorise flashcards and prepping them to get into the university they want. Sensible parents know there is a tertiary education for every kid and responsibility and good citizenship are what really drive success.

These are today’s homework excuses

These are today’s homework excuses
Getty Images

Nobody says “the dog ate my homework” anymore. But we hear a lot of “I left it on the kitchen table.” And then Mum will send in a note to back up the story.

Don’t make us the bad guys

Don’t make us the bad guys
Getty Images

Don’t ask us to do your dirty work. We wish parents would make their kids own up to their actions instead of pressuring us to bend the rules.

Let your kids make mistakes

Let your kids make mistakes
Getty Images

We know you mean well, but please stop doing everything for your child and allow them to make mistakes. How else will they learn? Kids are not motivated to succeed because they feel their parents will bail them out every time.

Good kids make all the difference

Good kids make all the difference
Getty Images

There are days when I just want to quit. But then that one smile from that one kid changes it all.

Sign up here to get Reader’s Digest’s favourite stories straight to your inbox!

Source: RD.com

Never miss a deal again - sign up now!

Connect with us: