I remember being so nervous as a teacher at back to school night as I prepared to meet the families of my students. It was a big deal as it was the first impression that I would make on many of the families that I would interact with. Although I felt at ease with the kids, the families somehow put me on edge.  I wanted them to feel excited about having their child in my class. I also wanted them to trust me and see that I was a good teacher.
I have had many teachers share these same feelings with me as well. More often than not, they also have shared that they feel the need to give an overview of the year and cover all the things that they assume the families want to hear. What this often translates to is sharing a list of supplies needed, the standards that will be covered, the textbooks that the students would be using, and classroom expectations.
Now that I am on the other end as a parent I have a different perspective and what I care about and want to hear on back to school night has very little to do with the supply list or the textbooks. As I think about what I have appreciated as a parent and what matters to me most, there are 5 things I want to know from my child’s teacher at the beginning of the year (and throughout the year too).

1. Who are you and why do you care about being an educator?

As a mom, I appreciate when teachers share a little about who they are and why they are passionate about being an educator. The human connection is important to me, especially as I entrust you each day with my kids.

2. Will my child be spending their days in a safe and caring learning environment?

Just as I want to know about who the teacher is, I want to know that when I send my kids to you that they will be spending their days in an environment where they feel safe and cared about. I want to know that they will be in an environment where they are valued and it is safe to take risks. I hope to hear they are encouraged to ask questions and supported when they make mistakes in an inclusive and respectful environment.

3. Will you see my child’s unique gifts and talents and work to meet his needs?

My kids are my everything (as are everyone else’s kids). I want to know that my children are spending their day with teachers who see how special they are and the strengths they do have, not just what they don’t know yet. I want to know they are spending their days with teachers who care about them as people and will try to connect with them and find ways to grow them each day.

4. Will my child be developing and practicing skills that will set them up for success now and in their future?

As the world continues to change rapidly, I want to know that my child’s teacher understands the skills and mindsets that are desperately needed to work with diverse people and solve meaningful problems that are critical to their success in life. I want to know they get to spend their days doing things that matter to them and others.

5. How can we best work together?

I know that to best meet the needs of my children that we have to work as a team and I want to know how we can best communicate to understand and reach our collective goals.

Finding Common Ground

The more I engage with groups of parents, teachers, students, and administrators I realize how many assumptions we make about what  others want or expect from us. When we act on those assumptions without spending the time to find common ground, often we only further our traditional way of doing things rather than coming together to better understand and communicate our collective goals- what we really want our students to know, do, be- and then figure out how we can all work together to meet those goals.
I have been on both sides of this and my goal is to keep asking questions and avoid making assumptions to better understand all perspectives. So, I’m curious, as a parent what do you want to know from your child’s teacher at the beginning of the year? Teachers, what do you want parents to know? I’d love to hear examples of how you start the year off to successfully work together as families and educators.