Your student’s teacher is a trained professional. They are the best possible people to recognize learning styles, social issues, learning difficulties, special talents and a wealth of other aspects associated with education. Your teachers have years of training and experience that give them a unique perspective, however, nobody knows your students as well as you do. It’s inadvisable to tell teachers how to do their jobs, but there is essential information you can both share with each other to make your jobs easier.
When parents communicate the special needs of students to their teachers, the teachers can adapt their techniques to achieve the best results. Teachers can also highlight areas that need work or behavioral issues so that parents can address them at home. When parents and teachers work together as a team, everyone wins!
Health issues
Disclose everything from allergies and asthma to ADHD. This will help the teacher to deal with a health emergency should one arise or provide extra activities for students who have trouble concentrating.
Changing circumstances
All families go through tough times and when there are issues at home or circumstantial changes, it’s really important to alert the teacher. This will help the teacher to be more understanding and sympathetic and will help them to recognize behavioral changes that may need to be addressed. Even if you feel like your child is adjusting well, they may act very differently at school.
Behavior issues
If your student is very shy, prone to moodiness or has other behavioral idiosyncrasies, its best to alert the teacher to the possibility so that they can deal with situations better when they arise.
Strengths and weaknesses
It’s a good idea for you to discuss these with each other on a regular basis so that you can present a united front at home and at school. If some behaviour is acceptable at home, but not at school (or vice versa), it will make both your jobs more difficult. Recognizing areas that need work will help you both to focus on these and help your child to improve.
Learning styles
Einstein said: “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” You probably have a good idea of your student’s learning style, but asking your teacher for their advice will show you the best way to present information to your students. If your teacher is not able to help you in this regard, it is essential that you get a tutor. Tutors are specially trained to recognize learning styles. They can then help to present information and teach skills in a way that your student understands. This will vastly improve their grades and their confidence.
