Within a month, parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, siblings, neighbors, and interested bystanders will trundle down the halls of their child’s school and try to fit into desks and chairs that are way too small for bigger people. They were invited to experience a bit of their child’s schedule, meet the teachers, and find out what the kid will be learning this year.

Considering you get—at most—ten minutes with each teacher, how do you maximize that time?

Bring the kid…this time

I’ve written earlier about how unprofessional it is to bring the child to a parent conference, but Open House is quite different. You want the view of the student as you work through the schedule. First, it’s just easier to have them guide you rather than relying on a written schedule. Second, the experience with them can tell you a lot about their daily life.

You’ll find out that they really don’t have much time to get across campus for 3rd period, which is why you’ve been getting tardy notices. Sitting in the class, you can see a bit of their interaction with the teacher and other students, if they happen to be there. Finally, just like during the day, they’ll be excited to go to the classes they like and will trudge to the ones they don’t.

But don’t talk about them

This is not the time for an impromptu parent conference. Frankly, it’s rude. The teacher has 10 minutes to get through their spiel and answer any questions that might come up. Between class changes, everyone wants to introduce themselves. Now is not the time to talk about Jimmy’s low grade on the last quiz.

Here’s what you can do. In that between-class time, preferably as you’re walking in rather than walking out, introduce yourself and drop off your business card. Smart teachers will have a sign-in sheet that asks for contact information. If they ask for help in any way (room mother/father, supplies, volunteers for fields trips..), seriously consider it and, if possible, let the teacher know that you’re willing to step in.

Then go sit down.

Take notes

Very few parents think to take notes at Open House, which is surprising considering the wealth of information that is made available.

Think about it. Discipline plans are probably discussed. Curriculum certainly is. Contact information is given. Even if that information went home on the first day, changes or elaborations might have been needed. Bring a notebook.

There aren’t many things our phones can’t do these days. With an idea and a little bit of coding, you can solve a variety of problems.

Take one of the primary complaints of parents of the digital age: when their kids ignore texts and calls from them. As the saying goes, there’s now an app for that.

Ignore No More

Sharon Standifird from Houston, a veteran of the Gulf War, came up with Ignore No More, an app for Android phones that locks down a kid’s cell phone remotely if a parent feel the need for the child’s attention. The app costs $1.99. An iOS version is in the works.

Only a four-digit code provided by the parent can unlock the phone. If locked, the phone can only call the parent or emergency services. No games. No texts. No calls.

The downside

Although parents being ignored is definitely an important issue—one that has potential safety ramifications—other parents and some child psychologists aren’t sure that forcibly taking the phone away remotely is the right answer.

Instead, parents should consider openly talking with the child before even handing them a phone, explaining what the phone is supposed to be used for and what the expectations are. Only if those expectations aren’t being met should the parent consider alternative strategies like Ignore No More.

How we move forward

What this conversation does do, however, is bring up the larger issue of technology safety and how to raise a child in this brave new world. Gadgets like phones and tablets are featuring parental controls that are more comprehensive while also being more granular. Amazon’s Kindle tablets feature FreeTime, an app baked into the system where parents can set specific time limits on certain activities like games and movies but leave reading for an unlimited time.

And though, like everything, some moderation when setting these limits is probably a good thing, there will always be parents who go overboard in their helicopter parenting. Perhaps they ignored your text or call because they were in a movie. They walk out and their phone is locked down?

The key to this issue, like most topics in parenting, is the relationship you have with your child. Unless they have given you reason not to trust them when it comes to technology, you should leave room for negotiation for any device abilities. It’s important socially and academically for them to be able to use technology wisely, maturely, but also independently.

What education issues will you see in your child’s classroom this year?

It seems these days that the new school year is surrounded by question marks and issues that affect everyone from administrators to teachers, students to parents. In particular, it’s important for a parent to be aware of what might be coming down the road so they can formulate opinions and figure out courses of action.

Here are the issues in education that you might hear about during this upcoming school year.

New standards, new assessments

For many states, this year marks Year One in the Common Core implementation. Everyone who signed up has installed the standards and has supposedly been using them to prepare students for the past few years. If your state did not join the Common Core, or withdrew itself during the process, they will also be implementing new standards soon (or risk losing federal funding). This year, the rubber meets the road.

Of course, coming along with the new standards will be new, redesigned assessments. Tests from PARCC and Smarter Balanced are, with few exceptions, computer-based and take up the technology resources of every school during the testing period. They were field-tested last school year without any major issues. They will now be used in most Common Core states.

BYOD

With existing technology resources stressed in most districts due to the new tests, many are coming around to the idea of Bring Your Own Device, or BYOD. Under this policy, students are not only allowed to bring their devices to school (let’s be honest; they were anyway)—they are encouraged to use them in class.

Smart districts have very strict guidelines and appropriate-use policies when they implement BYOD. You’ll want to read these when they come home. Also, protect your child’s device as much as possible with a case, screen protector, and extra charger.

Student-centered learning

Student-centered learning first took shape in the 90’s under the concept that students should learn in their own individual tendencies and interests rather than strictly going through a subject-based curriculum. As more and more mandates came down from the politicians, the idea was judged as not feasible and was abandoned.

Although the mandates haven’t gone away, the idea is back mainly because the next generation of standards call for more real-world learning examples and because technology is allowing for more differentiated learning without taking as much of a toll on the teacher. If your child finds itself in a student-centered classroom, expect things to be a little less structured and self-paced. This might take a little more monitoring to make sure they are following the guidelines.