Questions to Ask Your Child’s Teacher at the Start of Every School Year – Secondary School Edition

Your children spend more hours in the classroom during the weekday than they do at home. Having prior knowledge about your kids’ learning process will help you maximize your child’s education and help them develop in an age-appropriate manner.

The start of the school year is always exciting and breathtaking. From meeting new classmates and new teachers to preparing the kids for school every morning, the whole day can be stressful.  But you can help ease your child’s transition by speaking to their teachers and educators.

These questions for their teachers on the first day of school will maximize your child’s education and help them develop in an age-appropriate manner.

How can we work together to support my child’s success?

Even though older children tend to be more autonomous than their younger peers, they still need our guidance and help. Parents should begin to step back from their students’ academic careers to allow their children to learn valuable skills needed for high school. However, since classes tend to be overcrowded and children mature at their own pace, teachers should remain involved. Parents are encouraged to keep in constant communication with their student’s teachers. Ask your kid’s teacher how you might be of help so they can offer suggestions, guidance, and support.

What can I do at home to reinforce what you teach at school?

Your child will get the most out of their education if you help them stay focused by teaching them organizational, time management, and interpersonal skills. For instance, if your child does not like working with others but the class involves group projects, talk to them. Listen to their frustrations and struggles and then help them solve it. Be present in your child’s life. Be curious about their interests, struggles, desires, and feelings…and then encourage and support them. Students fail, but knowing they are not alone makes all the difference.

Is your curriculum designed to prepare my child for their post-high school career?

Good teachers know that while grades matter, education is about more than reading, writing, and taking tests. Schools are meant to prepare students for college and life after high school, ask teachers how they support their students both inside and outside the classroom; learn what technologies the school employs, ask if basic life skills like debating, resume writing, and interviewing are taught, and inquire about extracurricular opportunities.

Letting students know they’re part of the world outside the classroom and that adults outside the home and school care about their thoughts and experiences can make a real difference in how they imagine their future, and thus their present decisions to get there.

And lastly, ask your child’s teacher to share ideas or insights you didn’t consider, you might believe you’ve thought of possible questions.