I am a believer in key questions-clearly thinking out what you want to know or do sets a clear route to sourcing the key information to answer the question.
As you know, because children are being taught doesn’t mean they are learning. So, you are sitting across the table from the teacher of your child. For me this is a key scenario.
I am struck by the relative absence of comment on this fundamental meeting. What are the key things you want to know-the key questions you come in seeking answers to ?-
How’s he/she doing? Are they behaving themselves?
The first question means to begin with-how is my child doing relative to their peers-this is a measure of their development and their prospects.
Beneath that it means
-What does my child know and what can they do?
-What can they not do and what don’t they know?
- Are they progressing? -this means, of course,,the school must know what the children knew and could do at the start.
-What is the school doing to help?
- What can I do?
Is the teacher/school set up to answer these questions?
Is evidence available to answer the second question?
Addressing these key questions empowers the teacher and the school, it professionalises the dialogue.