Reply to ISO: advice for MCPS 8th and 9th grade families

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Recently at a gathering, parents with kids in 9th grade and "upper" middle school asked parents with older students how to get their kid ready for four years of high school in MCPS. One of the suggestions made by a few was to have your kid learn to email their teachers/reach out if they have questions or concerns about their classes. [i]Isn't that obvious?[/i] Don't students already know in middle school (taking seven or eight different classes) to reach out to their teachers either in-class or by email?

What if student contacts teacher in-person and follows up by email but teacher doesn't respond? Unnecessary stress on students. Yes, teachers have many students but teachers have a duty to respond to students within a few days. Sometimes a kid is just asking a yes or no question or for a simple clarification. Unfortunately when dealing with some teachers, follow-up by a parent is necessary.

What GREAT advice can you share with parents and students about high school in MCPS?[/quote]

If I had a dollar for every time that I responded to a student’s email within hours and they didn’t read it, but asked me the same question in person the next day, I could retire six months early.

I’ve responded to students and cc’d their parents, but the student has still asked me the same question the next day.

If I’m going to take class time to answer the question, I’m not also taking planning period or personal time to craft an email.

Worse, I’ve looped a parent in, but still been alerted by guidance or admin that the parent said I haven’t responded to their or their child’s email and they need me to call them or have a face to face meeting. I’m not the only teacher I know having that experience.

As a parent, my advice is to have your high school student treat school like it’s a “real job”.  Prioritize the learning over social life and extra curricular activities. Do the assigned tasks. Fix mistakes when you make them.

Everything else is really subjective. There’s no OSFA approach to which courses to take.  For some subjects,  even which sequence is negotiable. This is where you as the parent can advocate for your child. [/quote]

+1. If this thread really is about MS, most 6th graders I know never use email. I always encourage my child to see teachers one on one during student hours. That way they can ask follow up questions, as well as just get to know the teacher.[/quote]

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