Building Respect

Insist your child show respect to teachers, staff

Being respectful is just as important at school as it is at home. Encourage your child to show respect to her teacher by:

• Being courteous. She should say “please” and “thank you” to her teacher.
• Doing what’s expected. Everyone in school has a job to do. If the teacher didn’t plan any lessons, no one could learn anything. If students don’t do their jobs— homework, listening to the teacher—it makes it more difficult to learn.
• Addressing the teacher by name. Just saying “Good morning, Mrs. Jones” is an easy way to show respect.
• Listening to the teacher’s comments. Teachers want students to learn more. That means they have to point out mistakes. Your child will do much better in school if she can hear the teacher’s concern as she’s pointing out ways she can improve.

Reprinted with permission from the September 2007 issue of Parents make the difference!® (Elementary School Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2007 The Parent Institute®, a division of NIS, Inc. Source: Ruby Payne, Understanding Learning: The How, the Why, the What, ISBN: 1-929-22904-6 (aha! Process, Inc., 1-800-424-9484, www.ahaprocess.com).