How to (Virtually) Meet the Teacher
Now that the dust has (hopefully) settled, you should be a week or two into the school year. In normal years, schools would be preparing for a Meet-the-Teacher Night, or Open School Night, or Welcome Back Night, or some other version of an opportunity for families to meet this year’s teachers, see classrooms, and learn a little bit about what to expect this year.
This year? It’s a little different. Many schools are entirely virtual. Some schools have hybrid programs. Almost nobody is having an in-person event to mark this occasion. What can you do instead?
Attend your school’s virtual event. It won’t be the same, but it’s an opportunity to hear directly from teachers and school personnel. It’s a good way to get an idea of what your student’s whole school day will be like.
Read all the emails. You probably got what feels like a million emails before school started. Now that school has started and your students are somewhat settled into a routine, you might want to take a few minutes to read the emails in a little more detail. You don’t need to have everything memorized, but you might learn about how to best contact your student’s teachers and what each teacher expects from them.
E-introduce yourself. At this point, you probably have email addresses for your student’s teachers. Send each teacher a quick email to introduce yourself. This serves to make a good first impression and also to make sure the teachers have your correct contact information. It doesn’t have to be a whole essay; it can be something as simple as: Dear Ms. Teacher, I am Kid’s parent. Kid is in your 4th period Honors Biology class. If you ever need to reach me, you can use this email address or call me at XXX-XXX-XXXX. Thanks, Dr. Satty.
Ask your student. It never hurts to fall back on the classic: What is one thing you learned in school today? I can’t promise you’ll get an answer, but you might get some good information!
What ideas do you have for getting to know your student’s teachers? Comment below or email robinsatty@stemsmartconsulting.com.