So with summer break quickly approaching and fully mapped out for our boys, we are now entering the dog days of the school year, the slide the movie in the dvd player and let the kids fidget until they simply can’t fidget no more.
It was an interesting school year for our boys. Tasman fully learned to read, which we accept as the sole reason for grade one and Hudson, well, Hudson will get through grade five without much incident. We are hoping for greater things next year. So is he.
I sometimes struggle with guilt over not being more involved with the daily machinations of my boy’s school life. I meet with the teachers a couple of times a year and only pick them up or drop them off occasionally, so my interaction with the teachers and the administration is limited at best. I wish I could plunge in, feel more part of the school community, but unfortunately, I do not have that luxury of time.
We really like the school and most of the staff. Some are more engaged than others, but teaching is a profession I respect and could never do myself, so I sometimes grit my teeth and smile sliently when I think more can be done.
But should I? What are my options? Do I offer up my concerns/suggestions via email and hope for a response? I know other more engaged parents would know what to do and others, like myself, think, just grind it out and see what happens next year.
Both my boys really liked their teachers and both teachers said the feeling was mutual. Hud is still going through some struggles that we are hoping to solve within our household and with some school support, but with summer peaking its head from around the corner, it will be hard to gauge any real progress.
I am looking forward to summer for them, a real mix of organized activities, family time and down time. Even though I believe they could have been challenged more at school, a summer of just being kid could offer some of the greatest lessons of all.
How involved are you in your school and the teachers?
As a teacher myself, I encourage you to reach out (via email is good) and just open a dialogue with your children’s teachers. I almost always appreciate hearing from parents, and email is a little less pressure than showing up at the classroom door when the bell rings and I’m late for safety patrol supervision.
I think most teachers would agree – more open two-way communication with parents can only be a good thing.
I wish I could say I was more involved, but truthfully, with my son at a completely French school, it’s hard for me to do a lot of communicating with his teachers. That said, I’m of a “no harm, no foul” way of doing… he’s okay, he’s not a discipline problem in any way, he’s well socialised and otherwise happy… he does the work. That’s good enough for me, really. (And I’m not sure that’s bad.)