At the start of the school year, give the teacher a week to learn the students' names and get the classroom operating smoothly before introducing yourself. Keep hellos brief at the classroom door. If, instead of complaining about school, he comes home excited about what he's learning, his teacher would also appreciate hearing the good news. As children mature, homework helps them become independent, taking more and more responsibility for their own learning. Parents need to know what a teacher's expectations are around homework.
Most parents have clear memories of their own positive or negative experiences of homework.
As well, they need to be aware of how the concept of homework has changed since they were students. For example, not all eduactors see value in homework before the middle years of elementary school. Knowing what a particular school's policy is on homework helps parents support their kids at home. Parents can expect teachers to be clear about how much time children need to spend on homework. For example, a child in grade one or two may have five minutes of reading a night.