Parent Teacher Conferences!

For schools who follow a traditional school year, the first set of parent teacher conferences are occurring or will be occurring soon. How can parents and students prepare for conferences. Are they scary? What information should you be learning about your child? What can you expect? If you have a child in lower elementary you may be getting ready to attend your first conference. For some parents these meetings are a walk in the park… their child is progressing, they are kind, they are class leaders. For other parents they hear for the first time that their child is having behavior issues or academic issues. For other parents these meetings are stressful due to their own experiences when they went to school. What to expect can vary from school to school and from grade level to grade level. Here are some things to consider before arriving at Parent- Teacher Conferences.

1. Should my child attend? If you are unsure if students are expected to be in attendance. Ask!! Some teachers will have student lead conferences others would rather discuss progress without the student at the meeting. If you feel strongly that you would like for your child to attend, then advocate for that to happen. Sometimes kids feel left out if they know their parents and teachers are talking about them. Sometimes… they want to be in the know.
2. What are my child’s strengths? This is the first questions that I ask when I attend my child’s conferences. I want to hear what the teacher sees as his strengths. This information not only tells me what he is good at but also how the teacher sees him in the class. Is he a leader? Is he a good role model? Does he help around the classroom? It is a great first question because it sets the meeting in a positive tone. If you feel your child is struggling in school I would highly suggest that you start with the positives. It always helps to start on a positive note.
3. What would you like to know about my child that will be helpful? Educating a child is a team effort. As they say, “It takes a village.” Some parents feel intimidated by teachers. Maybe due to their own school experience, maybe due to the teacher, and maybe just because… Consider yourself part of the team. You are an expert on your child. You have valuable information that will be helpful for the teacher to know. It could be about their learning style, leadership style or that they are color blind. The more the teacher knows about your young learner, the better prepared they are to help him or her achieve success during the school year.
4. How are my child’s social skills? As a parent this was always very important to me. Is my child and includer? Is he a leader? Is he being mean to other kids? How does he handle conflict? These are excellent questions. If you don’t feel you are getting the information you want, ask for examples. The more you know about your child while he is at school is also very important.
5. What does my child need to improve on? Not only is this great information to have about your child. You need to know his weaknesses. But this will also tell you what to focus on at home. If he needs extra help on math, then you can provide that at home. This teacher can also give you some tips on how to help your child improve in the specific area.
6. Ask Questions. If you are hearing about problems your child is having for the first time. Try to take pause and ask questions. For example: If the teacher informs you of academic or behavior problems ask the following:

• How long has this problem been occurring?
• When did the problem start?
• Is there a pattern to the problem?
• How different is his performance from others in the class?
• Do you have any thoughts on a solution?

The majority of teachers in the world want the absolute best for your child. And often… they are also a little nervous about conferences. So always be your child’s advocate but also try to remember you and the teacher are probably on the same team.