Finding Right Time to Talk to Teachers

Question: Both my husband and I work long, long hours at jobs where we can never get away for conferences with our children's teachers. Do you have any suggestions about ways that we can talk to their teachers? -- No Conversations

Answer: Talking with your children's teachers is very important. When it is simply impossible to visit with them in person, the best alternative is to talk on the phone. Use email or the school website to contact the teachers to arrange a convenient time to talk to them. It might even be possible to use Skype so the conversation will seem more personal, as you are looking at each other.

Also, if you attend school events in the evenings, you may find it possible to communicate ahead of time with teachers and arrange a time to meet before or after an event. Another possibility is trying to arrange time before school starts to come in early and talk to teachers.

When you have immediate questions that need answering, email is often the best way to get the answers you need.