Corresponding with Teachers

There are 3 main ways to correspond with your teacher outside of scheduled meetings: phone, e-mail, and notes. Find out which your child's teacher prefers. By corresponding in the way that your teacher prefers, you are greatly increasing the chance that you will receive word back quickly. For example, some schools do not have phones readily available to teachers, and if they do, it is not usually convenient to answer the phone during school hours. Some teachers like notes because they have a hard copy that they can stack or file. Still others like e-mail because it is easily accessed on their computer desktop with no paper clutter. After you have found out the preferred method, keep these simple etiquette tips in mind:

• Be patient. Teachers are overbooked, and there is really nothing they can do about it. Realize that it may take a couple of days for your child's teacher to get back to you. Often, teachers do not even get a chance to read notes or e-mails until after school is over. Therefore, it may take awhile before the teacher can respond.
  
• Be brief. Again, teachers are overbooked. Get to the point of the message quickly. This will also help to ensure that your return message deals with the question you are asking.
  
• Be polite. Emotion does not always come through in written form as you intended it. If you are doubtful of how your message will be received, have someone else read it and give you their opinion. Be cautious about writing notes if you are upset. Teachers usually keep all notes on file for the entire year.
  
• Write legibly. This seems obvious, but I have gotten many handwritten notes that I cannot decipher.