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Classroom confidential: Teachers’ tips for parents

Four fellow teachers tell Sarah Giddens how parents can help their kids do well at school

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Originally published in Today's Parent September 2011

As a high school teacher, I sometimes fantasize about giving a week of early-morning detentions — to my students’ parents. I’d sit them in tidy rows and encourage them to mull over their behaviour: not helping their kids develop good study habits, believing them when they claim they have no homework, not paying them the right kind of attention.

But, seriously, teachers don’t like handing out detentions; we’d much rather help you help your kids do the best they can at school, from kindergarten on up. After all, we all want the same thing — to see students succeed and grow to their potential. Many of us are parents ourselves and we understand the juggling act. With that in mind, I sat down for an electronic chat with some experienced and thoughtful fellow teachers to gather up their top tips for parents.

Read, read, read

Yes, yes, yes, you’ve heard it before, but for teachers, this is always number one. There’s no better way to build literacy, vocabulary and general knowledge. Get to the library monthly or more often, says Holland, and help your kids select books that expose them to different genres. No time to read with your child? Ask him about his book — what he likes or doesn’t like about the plot or characters, what he’s learning. Holland also urges parents to let kids see you reading too; it’s a bigger influence than you think.

No cheating

By all means help, but don’t do your child’s homework for her. Trust me, teachers can tell when parents lend a hand or when students have plagiarized. When working with your child, if you find a question or assignment confusing or even incorrect (we are human), contact the teacher. Holland sums up parents’ role in homework neatly: “Encourage independence, but support the learning.”

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