5 Questions to ask your child's teacher

If your student is struggling with one or more classes, chances are good that the teacher isn't considering all of your student's needs. A tool that may help the teacher to diagnose and respond to those needs is your child's IEP, or individual education plan. Most districts and even private schools keep these forms on file, and the documents reveal how your child learns best. A quick glance through the IEP will tell the teacher exactly what approaches need to be taken to ensure your child's success in school.
When your child comes home with a "bad" report card, schedule a conference with the teachers whose grades are the lowest. Without being judmental or accusatory, you may wish to pose the following questions:

1. Are you familiar with my child's IEP?
2. What accommodations, modifications, or differentiations are you using to address his/her needs?
3. How do you reach learners with varying exceptionalities? What are some of your classroom practices to address these students?
4. How can I help you to help my child? What other information do you need?
5. Academics aside, how is my child behaving in your class? Are there any behaviors that need to be addressed?

By posing these five questions, a parent should be able to tell just how professional and how credible their child's teacher really is. A teacher who stammers and stutters over the answers to the above is probably poorly prepared, or just incapable of handling the responsibilities of diverse learners. However, a parent should not rush to conclusions about a teacher based strictly upon their child's grade. By talking out any issues that are present in the classroom, parents, teachers, and students can find greater contentment with school and home life.