5 Qualities a parent appreciates in a teacher

Today for National Teacher Appreciation Day I wanted to touch on 5 qualities a parent appreciates in a teacher. 

There is nothing better than a teacher that really cares for your child because all parents want their child to learn with their self-esteem intact.   

I often here these comments from parents of children with special needs when they talk about what they appreciate about their child's teacher.

To my child's teacher - Thank you for...

• Never giving up on my child.  Learning is not easy for my child and he can give up quickly but you have always been there to encourage him and motivate him to persevere.   

• Leaning about my child's disabilities.  I can't tell you how much it means to me that you are willing to spend your extra time researching the most current information about my child's disabilities so you can empathize and teach her based on her own individual needs!

• Having the courage to stand up for my child.  Because of my child's disabilities he cannot advocate for himself and needs adults around him to be his voice.  

• Not letting my child fail.  My child's brain does not process learning like the brains of other children and it takes her much longer to learn.  Thanks so much for being patient with her and using all your tricks and techniques to assure that she is learning the curriculum.

• Communicating with me!  I love my child and want him to learn and be successful.  I cannot be at school with him to know what he is learning and what he is not learning so thanks for keeping me informed.  There is nothing worse for a parent than thinking your child is fine and learning only to discover that they have been failing for weeks and you didn't know.  Those are weeks that are now lost and causes me, as a parent, to panic. Thanks for keeping me updated.  It makes me feel more secure.

Teachers have a lot of impact on the lives of our children so I'd like to leave you with a video and some pictures I posted today on all the different Facebook pages I admin.

This video I posted on my Forest Alliance Coaching FB page is a collection of clips from the Movie "Temple Grandin." Temple is a hero of mine and someone you should know no matter what disability you and/or your child has!