As a parent
What are things that you find helpful/useful in your child's classroom and what are things that drive you crazy?
I have been teaching for 7 and a half years. 7 in a regular ed class and 1/2 a year in a resource classroom. An opening came up in the Autistic 2 classroom and I took it. I am so excited for this upcoming experience as I know some of the kiddos that were mainstreamed into my regular ed classroom. This class has had a history of having flaky teachers that have done little to nothing as far as IEP's,didn't show up for middle school transition meetings, forgot about re-evals, have been out often and not really done much with the kids or parents. I just want to make sure that this is a totally different year and that parents have a great year too.
Thanks for all your input.
Re: As a parent
I'm coming at this from a bit different angle. I am a teacher and a parent of a SN child (not yet in school obviously). One thing that will do wonders to help you in this situation is to really listen to the parents. Sounds like the situation has been less than ideal for a while so they might be a bit defensive, negative, etc. As auntie said, parents do know their kids best and most are advocating for the best situation that fits the needs of their child. If you sit down and let them know that you respect them and are coming to them for advice and support, they are more apt to open up to you and work with you. It needs to feel like and be a partnership between the two. Both parties come in with information and experiences the other does not, so working together is key for the success of the child.