Approaching a Difficult Teacher

My second-grader has great grades but is always losing recess time or having to sit by himself at the back of the room. Almost every day, he comes home with some tale of being in trouble. Admittedly, he's no saint, but sometimes he doesn't even know what he has done.
I see this teacher at school every day, but she never has time to explain what is happening in the classroom and is quite abrupt with me. How can I find out why my son is always in trouble? -- Misbehaving
Answer: Conferring with the teacher on the fly is not the way to get any good explanations of your child's behavior. Schedule a conference with this teacher. If you are absolutely convinced that you and this teacher won't be able to communicate with each other effectively, ask that a counselor or the principal be present.
You must have an idea of some of the things that your son is doing to get into trouble. How are you reacting to this? Are you supporting the teacher? Are you talking with your child about how to avoid misbehaving? You also admit that your son doesn't always behave well. For his behavior to improve at school, home and school need to cooperate with each other. Some type of behavior plan with consequences for misbehavior that extends to the home needs to be developed. Incidentally, children who generally behave well at home also tend to behave well at school.