As teachers across the country go back to school, they are gearing up for a year of managing students ... and their parents. While most parents have the best of intentions and want to be as helpful as they can be to teachers, sometimes their efforts are errant.

I chose to publish this article as AnonyBetty because the teachers who gave me the suggestions for it did not want to be associated with it. . . so not only will they not tell you these things, they won't let me tell you that they told me to tell you. Get it?

Here are a few things they wish you knew:

1. Your child is not gifted. Well, I don't actually know your child - he might be gifted. But knowing how to read when you get to kindergarten does not mean you are gifted. Really, it doesn't. The average kindergarten class has 27 kids in it (actually, I just made that number up, but it's gotta be close). The parents of roughly three-fourths of those children believe their children are gifted. Two to five percent actually are. You do the math. If you're gifted enough.

2. Teachers really do not want _________________. Fill in the blank with any of the following you feel necessary to force upon your child's teacher: things with apples on them, coffee mugs, framed pictures of your child, to hear every cute story about every cute thing your child ever did. They love your kids, they really do. But come on. Would you want any of those things at this point in your life?

3. Sometimes ... every once in a while ... teachers actually know slightly more about what they're teaching, how they're teaching, and/or what is going on in their classroom than you do. I'm just sayin.

4. If your child is repeatedly getting into trouble for fighting, a smart mouth, chronic tardiness, whatever, you might want to take a look at yourself and the example you're setting. We often teach our children certain behaviors without even realizing it. I had no idea how sarcastic I was in everyday speech until I heard my son repeat my biting phrases. It shocked me to hear how ugly they sounded. And the apple doesn't fall far from the tree ... pun intended.