What types of questions should I ask my child's teacher?

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Lee Dorman
President of the Arlington Education Association, Member of the Board of DIrectors of the National Education Association and the Virginia Education Association, Arlington, Virginia
703-379-1650

I am a middle school science teacher in Arlington, Virginia with over 35 years of teaching experience.  I have taught in elementary, middle and high school and have experience teaching and endorsements in special education and gifted and talented. Currently I am serving on both the National Education and Virginia Education Associations Boards of Directors as well as president of the Arlington Education Association.

What types of questions should I ask my child's teacher?

 

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Host: What types of questions should I ask my child's teacher?

Lee Dorman: Some of the questions that you need to ask your child's teacher center around the classroom routine for that teacher. You need to ask the teacher, do you assign homework every night? If you assign homework every night, is it posted somewhere in the room. If you have a book that needs to come home, does it come home every night, or can I have my child leave it at home, is there a classroom copy at school?

You need to ask your child's teacher, do you have a way of communicating with me as a parent through this child? Lots of schools have gone to using agendas. These are books that keep all the things in one place, in usually a spiral bound agenda, and it has Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and most teachers have the routine of having kids get out their agenda and writing down the assignments.

Many times as a parent, you can write back on that agenda, and if you tell the parent, write me a note on the agenda and then have the student to show me that agenda, that's a good way to communicate. You need to find out what's the best way for me to write to you or to contact you as a teacher and how can you contact me.

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