Each school year we have parent conferences. It's a time to meet with parents and discuss the overall progress that their child is making during the current school year. When I was a newer teacher I would feel apprehensive about the entire process. After all, there were times when I was younger than the parents themselves and I wanted to make a good impression as a teacher, a professional, as the guardian to their child each day. Now...not so much.
I mean, it's not that I don't care anymore it's just that, like my students, I have learned from my mistakes or omissions. Therefore, as time progressed so did my skills as a trained "conference-er". So much so that I now have my own checklist prepared and am able to gather the items necessary to ensure a successful pow-wow.
Sign-in sheet: Check.
Report card: Check.
Grade book: Check.
Work samples: Check.
Name of student BOLDLY in front of your face at all times: Having called someone's child the wrong name I now have created this simple solution...Check.
Kleenex: Sometimes for them, other times for me. HA! Thought I didn't think of it, huh? Check.
Aspirin: With the amount of students in my class this conference thing can go on FOREVER so you never know when a migraine can appear. Check.
So let the games begin!!!
After becoming a parent I realized that most everyone wants the best for their child academically but more importantly they want others to like their child. Parents hope other adults feel the wonder and awe that they do by (even if it isn't on a regular basis) just knowing their kid. It is because of this belief that I greet each parent with what I mean as a truly sincere statement, "I am so glad to see you, I just love your child." Sometimes I follow it up with a small anecdote that recently occurred or sometimes they in turn will share a clever ditty themselves. But one of the most memorable response I ever received was, "Really? I have never heard that before in my life. You know Bozo was expelled from his last school for putting a cherry bomb in his teacher's desk. She just never understood him." Ummmm, ok. Not sure I ever did either but the following day Bozo's mother treated me to some homemade jambalaya-yum! And, oh yeah, no cherry bombs that year either.
Either way, these conferences seem to bring out the agony and ecstasy of teaching and parenting and at those moments the twain shall meet-enjoy!
I mean, it's not that I don't care anymore it's just that, like my students, I have learned from my mistakes or omissions. Therefore, as time progressed so did my skills as a trained "conference-er". So much so that I now have my own checklist prepared and am able to gather the items necessary to ensure a successful pow-wow.
Sign-in sheet: Check.
Report card: Check.
Grade book: Check.
Work samples: Check.
Name of student BOLDLY in front of your face at all times: Having called someone's child the wrong name I now have created this simple solution...Check.
Kleenex: Sometimes for them, other times for me. HA! Thought I didn't think of it, huh? Check.
Aspirin: With the amount of students in my class this conference thing can go on FOREVER so you never know when a migraine can appear. Check.
So let the games begin!!!
After becoming a parent I realized that most everyone wants the best for their child academically but more importantly they want others to like their child. Parents hope other adults feel the wonder and awe that they do by (even if it isn't on a regular basis) just knowing their kid. It is because of this belief that I greet each parent with what I mean as a truly sincere statement, "I am so glad to see you, I just love your child." Sometimes I follow it up with a small anecdote that recently occurred or sometimes they in turn will share a clever ditty themselves. But one of the most memorable response I ever received was, "Really? I have never heard that before in my life. You know Bozo was expelled from his last school for putting a cherry bomb in his teacher's desk. She just never understood him." Ummmm, ok. Not sure I ever did either but the following day Bozo's mother treated me to some homemade jambalaya-yum! And, oh yeah, no cherry bombs that year either.
Either way, these conferences seem to bring out the agony and ecstasy of teaching and parenting and at those moments the twain shall meet-enjoy!
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