This is a quote from the Raising children website

All parents will have a different relationship with their child’s school. This relationship isn’t just about direct contact with the school, but also includes relationships with other parents, your child’s friends and teachers. The relationship might change as your child gets older, or when things change at work or at home.
This is the point - all parents have different forms of relationships with their children and their children's school - just because you haven't 'met' the teacher does not make you an un-involved parent, who doesn't care about their education Different teachers have different ways they prefer to work with parents, some may enjoy/desire frequent contact even when issues are not present, some may not - but whichever the teachers preference their shouldn't be the assumption that parents all know what is preferred for that teacher - parents need to be informed - and as I have said previously the fact that a communication book existed, tends to suggest that that is the preferred method - just like if there was no book, and the teacher gives out their email and says "is easiest to contact me via email, please email me for updates on your child's progress" you would know that it is what to do.

Yes it is easier often to deal with someone once you have met them face to face (is why businesses fly teams all over the place for project start-ups) dealing with someone once you have had some form of physical interaction (acknowledgement of them as real person) is always better - but if you haven't met them it doesn't mean you just dismiss them or make assumptions.

A few minutes spent making sure you are both on the same page and complimenting each others efforts instead of pulling in opposite directions or missing things would often actually decrease the time the teacher spends trying to work through issues, getting students up to speed and putting out spot fires with disgruntled parents. Time spent preventing an issue today is much better than the two or three fold time spent when it the issue rears comes to the surface bigger and trickier 6 months later.
All of the above is true - and all of the above could also be applied to the teachers lack of communication, and the added bonus is the teacher actually knows what the issues are and where is the best use of their time across a class of students. All this focus on the parent in this thread, all these judgements applied, where is the education given to the parent about the type of communication required? - teachers have under gone some training they know what is current way of thinking, what is the way their school works etc etc - there is plenty of guidance on how teachers should be communicating - many parents only have their own experiences to go on and often their own will have involved their parents (who may have been extremely involved in their childrens education, on parent committees etc) only being in touch with the school when there are any problems.

Obviously disruptive communication like breathing down a teachers neck, micromanaging and having unrealistic expectations about how a student is or should be travelling is going to be problematic for a teachers time, but there is plenty of room between 'haven't spoken to the teacher all year' and 'lengthy tongue lashing every week' for effective communication to happen and save time down the track.
I don't believe frequent communication is always disruptive (in most cases it probably isn't), I just don't believe it is always necessary or that teachers have the time to devote the amount of time as mentioned in N2L's example to every student in the class. I trust that the teachers will make sure the time they have is applied where it is needed most, I don't care whether that is my child or not (if there was something concerning me I would get in touch) - but making out that people who don't make frequent contact (monthly was an example given) are not involved in the education, not taking responsibility, don't see it as their job etc - is not only a unfair assumption but it also is likely to have the effect of placing more pressure on teachers as instead of being able to balance their time across the class as they see fit - they have to see everyone because everyone wants to see them because otherwise they are labelled as an un-involved parent.

If people want to have frequent meetings, emails, contact etc - go for it - but just because that is not someone elses style don't label them - people have many different approaches, a parents approach might be different with different children depending on their needs, different teachers etc. etc.

When DD starts school next year - I will be sure to find out exactly what sort of communication her teachers require (she will have more than one) - I am more than happy to comply with whatever their approach is - as I suspect most parents are - if only they are told.

I do find much of this thread disturbing though - the whole lets just ignore whether the school has done the right thing or not and blame the parent (if only the parent had met the teacher). It would be an interesting experiment to post the same thread elsewhere but instead of saying "I haven't met her before" say "I met the teacher once at beginning of year for 10 mins" - and see what different responses it might elicit.

People may have a 'bee in their bonnet' about parents who aren't involved in their childrens education, but it might be better to target this ire at people who actually aren't interested in their childrens education, rather than just those who might approach in a different way to you.