Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments parent to teacher advice

Okay, I am most likely going to be teaching 7 & 8 grade language arts next school year. I would love to hear all your suggestions of things you wish a teacher would do for your child(ren) and what are the things that really made you upset when they did happen.

I would like you to follow my child's IEP. Also, never call him lazy.

Please don't expect my PG kid to get perfect scores on everything and when he does not use that as "evidence" that he is not as "smart" as we think.

Love that you are asking. Best wishes in 7th and 8th grade! : )

please remember.. we all know remedial students need your extra attention.. so do the gifted students.. both types of students have special needs

Well, if you can make the kids happy and they're learning something you'll be everybody's favorite teacher. Talk to them by name like you know each one of them personally and mention and little identifying habits to make them feel noticed and included, like you're Mr. Captain Obvious. You'll be fine because that age is really into letting an adult be cool (friendly) if they act like they are. Just off the top of my head because I'm not a school-aged parent yet, just what I remember from that age plus I have nephews that are around that age. The teachers I remember that acted like that were like a fresh oasis in the day for everybody.

I've always appreciated teachers who, whether it be in elementary or middle school, provide parents with detailed information about what will be covered in the class, what is expected of the students, and how things are going throughout the year. I love teachers who focus on the strengths of their individaul students and, while acknowledging the need to work on weaknesses, don't focus on them. Please take the time to communicate to each set of parents the good things you see in their child. If you do this, then the students will be more likely to appreciate you and the parents will be more likely support you. Also, if parents feel like you value their children, then if they feel like the student has needs that are not being met, they will be more likely to come to you.

Thanks everyone so far. One of the things I am really hoping to accomplish is for my students to feel that the things we learn/do have meaning and relevancy in their lives. My own children border this age (8,10,20,22) but I have spent this past year in the middle school and I really love this age.

Look at each child as an individual. Don't pigeon hole or stereotype any kid. Have passion and joy for your topic.

Best of luck!

I wish teachers would read, and try: Notching Up the Nurtured Heart Approach - The New Inner Wealth Initiative for Educators by Howard Glasser with Melissa Block

My son is very susceptible to getting 'addicted to negative attention' when less than his optimal amount of positive attention is headed his way. And his optimal amount is much higher than I ever imagined anyone's could be.

I hate teachers who are mean or sarcastic to any child in the classroom, or who talk negatively about kids as if the child can't hear while the kid is in earshot.

To me, teaching language arts is a bit of a mystery - clear writing is a reflection of clear thinking and so important, but how to explain to a kid that they aren't building their case?

I think teaching children to write in terms of the sport of debate has a lot of potential.

I wish my middle school teacher had used this system of writing and reading instruction: Traits of Writing: The Complete Guide for Middle School (Theory and Practice (Scholastic)) by Ruth Culham (Jan 1, 2010)

I hate it when kids are discouraged from reading ahead in whatever book the class is torturing studying. I hate it when the whole book gets read aloud. I think providing audio presentations for home use to kids who benefit from listening to a book is a very good idea, so that kids can set aside difficulties in vocabulary and decoding and really engage in analyzing what makes the book live is a good idea, just like some kids aren't ready to memorize their multiplication tables, but they might still need to be learning the ideas of algebra, so we just give them a multiplication chart.

I hate that kids have to prove that they've read the book by annotating at least one highlight per page - but I don't have a better idea!

Smiles,
Grinity

Hi Grinity,

My boy is your boy - in the attention department. :-) And perhaps because of this I find myself really drawn to some of the kids that others have trouble with.

One of the things I plan to do is NOT have the whole class reading the same book (although some may by choice). I intend to choose a theme/genre/topic etc. and present a list of possible book choices as well as be open to student suggestions. Then our discussions in class will be a more natural type of sharing - discussing how different authors develop different ideas, how their writing styles etc. lend (or not) to the tone/voice etc. being discussed. These discussions will let me know who is reading and who is not, who needs to read something more challenging and who needs to stay put or choose something different next time.

I am full of ideas but I am sure that I will alternately fail and succeed, succeed and fail. What I won't do is stop trying.

As always you have great and thoughtful suggestions.