PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES

As parents or future parents we need to take a very active role in the education of our children.  One of the biggest tools at our disposal are the regularly scheduled parent teacher conferences that are offered at the school.  This is like any other meeting, the more prepared you are the more effective the experience will be.  Here are some good suggestions I recently found in a newspaper article:

Teacher tips for Parent-Teacher Conferences

Do more than talk about grades.

Figure out a way to seat parents comfortably and expedite lines.

Let parents tell things about their child.

Share stories about what each student does in class, and display items that demonstrate student learning.

Ask parents how they want to stay in touch, including emails, phone calls and texts. Keep communicating.

Source: Nancy Flanagan, Education Week

Parent tips for Parent-Teacher Conferences

Talk to your child before the conference about how things are going at school.

Make a list of topics you want to discuss.

Give personal insights at the conference about such things as medical issues and emotional upheavals that might affect your child's school performance.

Be open-minded. Parents and teachers form a partnership, so their relationship should not be adversarial.

Leave on a good note, and let the teacher know how to contact you. 

We have had three children graduate from high school and another will do so in a couple of years.  We have experienced the good and the bad, but it is safe to say that in our experience the vast majority of teachers are very effective and very interested in student success.  Poor teachers are few and far between.  Here is a TIP FROM A MAN... do all you can at home to teach children to respect and trust their teachers and to actively participate in class discussions.  This will instill confidence in the student and will help the child to enjoy school.  Whenever one of my children seemed shy about asking questions I'd say something like, "Hey, ask the question... the teacher gets paid to answer questions.  They want to earn their money."  I have witnessed some parents openly question the competency and motives of teachers in front of children.  I have never seen this be successful.  It only works to undermine the teacher student relationship.  If you as a parent have a concern, request a private audience with the teacher and calmly explain the concern.  I'm confident that you will be very happy with how aggressively the teacher will work with you to resolve the issue.

Obtaining a quality education is more important today than ever.  As parents we need to ensure that our children gain their education through work, personal responsibility and attention to detail.  Conspiring with the student to help them get out of work or assignments will only do harm in the long run.  Almost every evening for the past twenty years we have been at the table with our children helping and supporting them with homework.  We are a team and we hope you will make education in your family a team effort as well.

Enjoy life!