Begin It Right

I trust that your child has a dedicated and loving teacher. I believe that most teachers are.  At least when they choose teaching as their profession, they have hopes of making a difference in the lives of the young people they are to educate.

Certainly, there are exceptions to every rule, and as in every other profession, there are rotten apples that tend to taint the good ones. What makes a good teacher? I have made a point of reading the comments on Facebook the past few weeks and should I be sending a child off to school for the first time, I’d have a pretty good idea of which one(s) I’d want my child to have (in several local county school systems).

Don’t get me wrong, there are certainly many good teachers who get no fanfare on social media. And those many great teachers who were in that category before there was even an internet likely never will get the kudos they so richly deserve through no fault of their own. Good teachers, in my opinion, get to school on time if not early. They have a good attitude and a smile on their face. They genuinely care about their students and indeed, about children in general. They are prepared for the day with lesson plans in place and copies made.

Good teachers pay attention to the physical and emotional needs of their charges and intervene when necessary. Teachers shouldn’t expect their students to come to class prepared and ready to learn when they aren’t prepared and ready to teach, and even very young children sense when their teacher isn’t. Good teachers attend PTO/PTA meetings whenever possible, and are fully ready to connect with parents at conferences with positivity and good attitudes.

How do you help insure that your child will have a good year in school? Put your child to bed early, clean, and with a full tummy. Plan ahead what she will wear the next day and lay it out to insure it’s ready and clean. Should she take a packed lunch to school, prepare and refrigerate it the night before. Older children should have homework assignments completed before bed and backpack/book bag packed and ready to go. Be sure she is up and ready when the bus arrives. If not eating breakfast at school, be sure she eats before leaving home. Parents should attend every parent/teacher conference, PTO/PTA meetings whenever possible, volunteer for field trips and other times a teacher asks for help.

This isn’t, by any means, a comprehensive list of things one may do to be as certain as possible a child will have a happy, productive, and great year of learning. If you still have young children at home, and you didn’t spend time reading, playing with, talking and singing with an older child, begin now to do so with the younger ones. There is no way to put a value on spending time with children from birth to school age. If a child hasn’t been prepared to learn, even the best teacher will have limited success with that child. Bless you, your child, her teacher(s), and the school year.                                                

©2016 Brenda Holland-Robinson