How to Get the Most Out of Your Parenting Meeting
Parent-teacher conferences are a new word in the world of education. You sign up for a 10 minute interval (15 if you’re lucky), the teacher pulls out a timer, and off you go. How does his reading skills develop? Does she handle transitions well? Have you noticed a problem between him and Bryden? You. It is better. Talk. Fast.
Yes, they are short. After all, the teacher has 21 other parent groups to meet over the course of two evenings, so they should be short. But this does not mean that they cannot be effective.
Come prepared
Before arriving, think carefully about any questions or concerns you might want to resolve. You may need a teacher’s perspective on the problem between your child and another classmate. Or maybe your math homework is taking your child more time than it should, and you don’t know how much you should intervene. It’s time to ask.
You don’t have to come up with a list of placeholder questions to ask just to ask a question; you won’t have time for that anyway. Or maybe you don’t even have questions or concerns – even better! But this is not the time to think about it in the 7th minute of the conference when the teacher asks you if you have any questions. The teacher came prepared, and you must do that too.
Get your child’s opinion
Talk to your child before the conference. If they are young and new to the idea, explain that these conferences are useful for both the teacher and the parents to make sure everyone works together to have a better school year. And then ask them if there is something they think is important to discuss, Gracemarie Rozea, New York State Regional Director for the Parent Teachers Association, says Scholastic :
Ask how she is doing in class, what happens during lunchtime, during recess, and when she goes to special classes such as music or the gym. “You want to know both the positive and the negative,” says Rosea. If you don’t like what you hear, do your research. Talk with other parents to see if their children are expressing similar concerns. “You need to find out if your child is taking things right or misunderstanding the situation,” she says.
After that, tell your child about all the wonderful words his teacher said about him, as well as all the problems you talked about and the solutions that you can all try together.
Ask this question
Special education teacher Amy Litzenblatt writes for Motherly that one of her favorite questions as a parent and as a teacher is simple: “How can I support my child at home?”
This gives teachers the opportunity to talk about academic or social areas in which your child can receive help or support. It will also allow the teacher to see that you are working as a team and want to work with your child to help him succeed.
Stick to a schedule
If everything is going well and your child is doing well both academically and socially, a 10-15 minute conference is likely to be sufficient. But if they struggle at all, they won’t have nearly enough time to brainstorm solutions. However, remember that this may be the beginning of the conversation, not the end.
If you’re having an issue that requires more conversations than you can accommodate, make a plan to respond by email, phone, or other face-to-face meeting in the coming days. (Ask the teacher for their preferred communication method and follow their directions.) This is not your only opportunity to speak with your child’s teacher until the end of the school year.
Plus, someone is already waiting in the hallway for their own speed conference to begin. Don’t be the parent who resets the dates for the next ten appointments.