Ahhhhh It's my favorite time of year. I've always loved
Back-to-School time. I've made more successful changes in my life at this
time of year than at all of my New Years combined. It's such a fresh
start.
There's also the
fact that I'm a school supply junkie. I loved setting up my classroom. I
loved going to Target and buying 10 spiral notebooks for $1. I STILL have
black marbled composition books that I bought at 15 cents apiece over 8 years
ago. This year, I enjoyed checking off each of the items on the teachers’ wish
lists so much so that my husband was starting to think about sending me to OCD
camp. I just had to get EXACTLY what was on the list. That's one of the ways I
show my kids' teachers that I love them.
You may recall a
post where I was falling apart because I was the "Bad Mother of the
Year" sending my son to the school walk-a-thon without sunscreen or a
water bottle when I suddenly saw all of these perfect moms walking
with bouquets of balloons and arm loads of Starbucks and wrapped
gifts for the teachers because it was Teacher Appreciation Day. I felt like complete crud. I dropped
the kids off and pulled out of the parking lot with tears streaming down my
face.
It was then that I
snapped out of it and realized that I DID show the teachers appreciation. They
knew it and I knew it.
Having been on
both sides of the classroom door, I want to share what I think are the 10 best
ways to show appreciation to a teacher:
1. Get
your children to school prepared and on time.
2. Attend Back to School Night and
conferences. Unless you
attend these informational meetings, you are relying only on your child to
communicate what the teacher expects. That leaves a lot of room for
misunderstandings and creates more work for the teacher to play catch up on the
things you missed.
3. Create a calm home life that meets your
child's emotional and physical needs so they aren't worried while at school.
This may mean making sure there is enough time in your morning scheduled to not
be running around stressed out and yelling at everyone (guilty of that myself)
or keeping things between you and your ex as amicable as possible so the child
isn't at school worried about his mom and dad fighting with each other.
4. Feed your child real food. You can't deny that what we eat and
drink affects our moods and brain function while you are standing there talking
to me with your double vanilla latte in your hand. A morning breakfast of Cap'n
Cruch is not equal to oatmeal or eggs with fruit. Lunchables are not real food.
Children's motors don't run well on bad fuel.
5. Respect the teachers and their job. When you do have a problem with a
teacher, deal with it constructively by communicating with her before
complaining to anyone else about the issue.
6. Be a reader. When your children are young, read
to them every night. As a tutor, I've seen what a HUGE difference this makes in
a child's ability to learn. If the children are older, be a good role model.
Unplugged from electronics just a half an hour each day and have reading time.
Let them catch you reading a book. Fiction, non-fiction, a newspaper, any
type of quality reading. If you don't love reading, fake it 'til you make it.
7. Support the rules. The rules are there for a reason and
even if you don't care for some of them it is very important that you support
them. The rule that homework is to be turned in on time is like us getting our
bills paid on time. You don't pay your electric bill, the electricity
gets turned off. There are dress codes in the working world too. When you don't
follow the dress code at work, you get fired. Learning and practicing
these rules now will give your children a much easier life as adults. Later on,
they will thank you.
8. Don't bail the kids out or do their
homework for them. Forgetting their homework once a year is
one thing but bringing their backpack to the front office every time they leave
it at home is enabling them and won't help them in their adult life. Doing
their homework for them? It's a much better lesson to let them get an F on
something they didn't do and deal with the consequences (take away their phone?
TV? Video games?) Plus it’s lying and we don’t want to make liars of our
children right?
9. Believe the teacher. I had NO good reason to call and tell you
a child cheated on a test unless the child actually cheated on a test.
There is no motivation for me to make up a lie and cause more problems
for myself. I can spend my time and energy doing one hundred other
things, but students will lie if they think it will save their behinds.
10. Give a compliment. I kept a file in my drawer called
"The Happy File" where I kept notes and emails that were positive.
If your child is coming home with work you admire, send a quick email to
the teacher letting them know. My Kindergartner had little rhymes her teacher
taught her to remember how to write her letters and numbers. I thought that was
fabulous so I let the teacher know. You would be surprised by how much harassment
teachers have to put up with from parents. Your kind words could be the ones
that keep a teacher going on a bad day.
Notice none of the above cost money? Well buying real food does,
but that’s kind of our job by law anyway.
As this school
year gets rolling, keep these tips on mind.
I rather have parents do the things on this list than spend one day or
one week buying me things. But hey, if you want to show appreciation on top of
what is listed here, (might I suggest gift cards to office supply stores or
Target) go for it! You would surely deserve extra credit!
