When the School Calls: Reacting to News About Your Child
The phone rings and it's your child's teacher. The four questions to ask, in order, so you know what happened, how bad it is, and what you need to do.
Your phone rings in the middle of the working day and the screen says the school. Every parent's stomach drops, in every language.
Then it turns out to be a scraped knee. Most of these calls are minor, and Swiss schools call precisely because they are careful — they would rather tell you about a grazed knee than have you discover it at supper.
But minor or not, you need to understand the call while your heart is racing. So the trick is to know the questions in advance and ask them in order.
Key phrases to know
- Ich rufe an, weil Ihr Sohn hingefallen ist. – I'm calling because your son fell over.
- Ist er verletzt? – Is he hurt?
- Er hat sich das Knie aufgeschürft. – He grazed his knee.
- Muss ich ihn abholen? – Do I need to come and get him?