Moms and Dads:
Some parents shuffle in and out without many interactions. Others ask a slew of silly questions that don’t matter or are already answered in handouts or online. Still other parents bring individual agendas to the evening or launch into their annual tirade of what’s wrong with education in America.
In each classroom you visit, I recommend you sit a few rows back, listen politely, and nod and smile a lot. Your mission is to read between the lines of everything that is being said or not said. Is this a well-organized, happy place? Do the teachers like their job? Is there a healthy hierarchy of respect for the principal and administration? Is there an oppressive amount of rules and ultimatums? Conversely, is there zero discipline and low expectations?
When the floor is open for Q&A, you’ll probably have the chance to ask only one question. After dozens of back-to-school nights, I discovered one question that seems to reveal quite a bit about a teacher and his or her passion for what they do. “Mrs. Penny, what’s your favorite part of the school year?”
The standard answer seems to be, “All the units are important. I try to make them all interesting for the students.” That’s a boring response from a teacher who may have lost their passion. Ideally, you want a teacher who lights up and begins talking enthusiastically about something he or she cares about.
Over the years, I remember a middle school science teacher answering my question by talking with contagious energy about timber wolves. It was fantastic.
Another teacher spoke with passion about journaling and how she loves to see the progress in her students’ writing skills through the year. Other teachers have spoken fervently about poetry, bats, the Colonial period, the 1960s, and local history. And it was my question that allowed them to reveal that passion and give parents something to look forward to — and even engage their own children on the topic later that year.
Back-to-school night is actually a pretty big deal for teachers. They know how to handle students, but parents can be intimidating. That’s all the more reason, you want to put them at ease. Teachers remember parents who make their job easier and those that make their job more difficult. If you can, help them remember why they got into teaching in the first place.
Maybe think of Back-to-School Night as one more opportunity to set your own son or daughter up for success.
So make sure you have “BTSN” on your calendar. It’s one of those rare instances that you are actually invited to enter your children’s world.
Helping you build your legacy,
/jay
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