Letter to Parents from ADD Teacher
Dear Parents:
I am very pleased to be your child's teacher this year
and look forward to working with both you and your
student. Before beginning the year, however, I wanted
to give you some information that might help us both
during the coming months. I am sure you are familiar
with ADD (ATtntion Deficit Disorder). Many students
today have to deal with this difficult disorder. I am
very able to empathize with them because I, too, suffer
from ADD. Because of this I hope that you will be
willing to make certain accommodations that will help
me to be successful.
Please consider the following accommodations:
-
Use a variety of techniques to communicate with me
about your child. I may not remember to respond to a
phone call, but repeated efforts by mail, telegram
and fax are sure to elicit an eventual response.
-
When you write notes to me, consider using various
colored markers to write your message. These help me
to focus my attention.
-
Do not expect weekly progress reports on the ability
of your child. Such reports require organizational
skills that are beyond the ability of ADD subjects.
-
Please excuse any errors I might make in grading your
child's paper. My attention wanders from time to
time. I will be happy to re-grade papers with more
than five significant errors, although it may take me
several weeks to get to such papers.
-
Understand that I only grade a small percentage of
your student's work so that I may be motivationally
encouraged and predisposed to comply with my task.
-
I may occasionally mix up students grades. If you
feel this has happened, please notify me, (in the
manner suggested above). If I am able to discover
where the error was made, I will be happy to correct
your student's grade.
-
Consider placing your child in one of my morning
classes. I am much better focused before 10:00 am. If
your child is in an afternoon class, do not be upset
by the fact that one-half of our classtime will be
"free-time' due to the fact that I can only focus for
short periods of time in the afternoon. Instead,
consider this time as an opportunity for your child
-- a built in "study hall."
-
Be prepared to teach the novel Lord of the Flies and
Quadratic Equations to your student at home. Because
I am frequently unable to reach these units by the
end of the year, you may need to cover this required
material yourself. I will be happy to provide books
and handouts.
-
Forgive me if I am late in arriving for parent
conferences. I sometimes lose track of time. If I
forget to come at all, do not hesitate to reschedule
by contacting me (in the manner suggested above).
-
When we meet for parent conferences, please remember
to:
(a) Maintain proximity to me;
(b) Establish eye contact;
(c) Be concise;
(d) Use an appropriate rate of speech;
(e) Use visual aids (e.g. students papers, charts,
pictures, etc.)
Your effort to comply with these accommodations is
greatly appreciated. I know that together we will be
able to create a rich and rewarding learning experience
for your child. If you have any questions or comments,
please feel free to contact me (in the manner suggested
above). Again, many thanks.
Author Unknown
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