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b'When we were kids, there weren\\u2019t any IEPs. There weren\\u2019t any teacher conferences (unless someone was in BIG trouble). There wasn\\u2019t any\\xa0school website. For better and for worse, the teacher/parent relationship was not something that our parents considered. It barely even existed.\\nToday our kids\\u2019 homework loads, the ever-beckoning online portal, the costs of a good education\\u2014 and okay, our perhaps sometimes-over-involvement in our children\\u2019s lives\\u2014 all mean that we are meant to have a much more direct relationship with our children\\u2019s teachers, and they with us, than our parents could have ever imagined.\\nWe think this is a good thing. We also think it\\u2019s complicated. We also think it\\u2019s a great episode idea, suggested by one of our listeners who is a teacher. So on our Facebook page we asked teachers:\\n\\u201cWhat do your favorite parents do (and not do) to support your work?\\u201d\\nIn this episode we discuss the advice those teachers gave us, including\\n\\nwhat teachers want us to understand as parents\\nthe beat-the-clock madness of back-to-school nights\\nhow to get the most out of a parent-teacher conference\\nthe things you need to make sure your child\\u2019s teacher understands (and they\\u2019re not all learning-related. Then again, maybe they are)\\nhow to email teachers without annoying them\\nhow to keep conversations productive even in difficult situations\\n\\nThanks to all the teachers who contributed their advice to this episode. Here\\u2019s two of our favorite answers. We\\u2019ll be keeping these in mind:\\n\\nELLEN: My favorite parents are the ones that follow through at home. They never blame the teacher. They choose to work with the teacher. You can openly and honestly address academic and behavior concerns with these parents because you know they have your back and you are in it together for the year. Finally, a simple note of thank you or support goes a LONG way. It doesn\\u2019t have to come with a gift. It simply needs to come from the heart.\\nLAUREN: I have been a K-2 teacher the past 10 years and the biggest thing that parents can do is listen to teachers and understand that most teachers have your child\\u2019s best interest at heart, are passionate about what they do, and are on your team. Those are the parents that I have always appreciated the most.\\n\\xa0\\n\\n\\n\\n\\nGreen Chef,\\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices'