I noticed thats where the read work begins! Reading and math get more intense. My 2 oldest are in 5th and 3rd this year so second grade is very fresh for me. 
Hmmm, there are a lot of things. What I find most helpful, though, is if a teacher seems to genuinely like and care about my child. All kids have special needs of one kind or another, and the willingness and ability to respect those needs while still being able to help them follow rules and direction is really key. I worked at my son's preschool last year and I noticed that the teachers who could keep good order in the classroom while still being nurturing and approachable to all the kids had the best results. Individually as a parent, I would say that open communication and teamwork between the teacher and me on the best approaches to help my child succeed is extremely key. I have the same discussion with each teacher my kids have and it basically goes like, "My kid has this particular issue -- it's likely to cause XYZ challenge in the classroom and this is what has worked best at home. Please let me know if you are having these or other challenges and how I can support you as a teacher and help my kid in class." We have excellent teachers at the kids' elementary school and they have all been in very good contact via email or in person or by phone. I'm not a particularly defensive parent, though, so I really welcome hearing the challenges as well as the good stuff.
Me too Amy. I can''t say I never do it, but at one of the kid''s preschools they did it all the time. He came home with candy every day, and he ate more while he was there.Date: 8/21/2007 11:20:07 AM
Author: amylikesrocks
I have no issues with occasional treats for bdays or whatever. Its the using it for rewards that bugs me. One of my kids favorate rewards in 2nd grade was when the teachers would do group rewards, rewarding the class as a whole with maybe 10 minutes extra recess, or something the whole class could enjoy. Or maybe an extra book read aloud or extra chapter if you in the middle of a chapter book. Or 10 or 15 minutes of time for the kids to play a game or something. Those types of rewards are the best . Something the kids love and look forward too, and encourage good habits.
2nd graders, tough bunch but also a sweet age
Good luck!
Both, but in the first few grades more socialization, community and empathy. It''s just as important to be able to get along with others (if not more so) than being highly educated. However, they also do need the academics. It starts getting harder by 4th grade and they need to be prepared. By middle school there''s just a huge amount of homework, at least here, and the kids don''t get much help from the teachers by that time. If they don''t have the basics down pat it''s harder for them. In second grade, though, I was definitely more concerned about the kids learning appropriate social interaction and conflict resolution skills. I can help teach them the basic stuff at home -- the socialization with other kids from diverse backgrounds, not so much. Getting the right balance between social skills and academics is touchy, and probably varies a bit between one class''s makeup of students to another''s. If you have a classroom full of already empathetic, easy going kids, academics is probably where to focus more, but if you have a classroom full of kids who behave badly, it''s going to get in the way of them learning their academic subjects until the behavior is managed. Is that a vague enough answer???Date: 8/21/2007 8:59:41 PM
Author: zoebartlett
Ephemery and Indy, you crack me up! Sure, I''ll be your future kids'' children if you''ll move to my state.
Lumpkin, thanks for the compliment! I try to get to know the parents and families of my kids, and I appreciate everyone''s feedback. We have a parent survey that goes out at the end of the year, basically asking parents what they thought of their kid''s teacher, school, principal, etc. There are a number of questions that parents answer and then we get the results after the prinicpal looks over the results. I haven''t seen last year''s survey yet, but that must have been what I was thinking about when I posted. I agree with both you and Amy when you said how important it is for there to be open communication.
Amy, I totally agree that for the most part, healthy snacks and lunches should be served the majority of the time. I don''t understand why certain teachers reward their students with food either. Extra recess? Maybe a fun movie relating to something kids are learning in class? Free choice time in the class if everyone has finished his/her work? No problem! Bribing kids with chocolate candies or whatever, not okay.
Here''s another few questions: How do you weigh academics and the socialization aspect of teaching? Do you focus on how well a teacher taught your child certain academic concepts or do you focus on how well a teacher built a classroom community and reinforced and expected respect, compassion, and empathy, etc.?
I find that while yes, of course parents care about the academic aspect of their child''s schooling, at the end of the day, they really want to know that their kids are treating others well and are working hard. Sometimes it seems that in my conferences, much more time is spent on the social part of educating someone and less on the academic skills and concepts.
)PLEASE do not make it obvious...kids sense and know this stuff even if we think they do not. Be professional, you are entitled to your own thoughts, but do not have a kid feeling terrible because you make it so known in the class. 
I have yet to give my kids an assignment or project (other than regular spelling and math homework) that has to be done at home. I know the older grades do that, so I don't feel the need to. I don't assign reading a certain amount at home but I do encourage kids to read as often as they can, whether it's with their parents, siblings, to their stuffed animals, etc. Our school has a rough homework rule -- about 10 minutes per grade. So for me, it would be assigning homework that should take 20 minutes to complete. I've heard that homework is often given to appease parents who feel that their child should be practicing particular skills at home. I've also heard that homework doesn't REALLY do much to improve learning. I'm not sure what I believe. I give homework primarily so parents know what skills we're working on in class, and also to help develop in my kids the sense of responsiblity and the habit of doing it. Third grade comes quickly and it's often a shock, in terms of projects and assignments. Easing them into it before hand seems to be going okay so far.
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