TheApple

How does your school handle parent-teacher conferences?

Quite smoothlty, thank you. And yours?

At my son's suburban middle school, and now at the high school, we are given schedules so that we can meet with all his teachers. We are supposed to get about five or six minutes with each, and when we and the teacher are organized thay is usually enough. If more time is needed we are encouraged to arrange a separate appointment or two communicate with the teacher by email or telephone. It usually works pretty smoothly.

At the urban high school at which I teach, there arw not appointments, Teachers set up chairs outside their doors, have sign-in sheets, and take parents on a first-come first-served basis. The past two years, as a teacher for a self-contained classroom, I had parents of fewer than half my 12 students show up at any conference (we have them on an afternoon and on an evening). This year I am a reading enrichment teacher for the six self-contained classes and it will be intertesting to see how many of the 72 students I teach have parents show up at our conferences.

johnslat says ...

Ah, yet another advantage of teaching inmates at the penitentiary: no parent/teacher conferences.

I don't know John, they might be very interesting.

 Well, here's an interesting tidbit. Yesterday, as I was leaving, the guard at the gate told me he'd had a woman arrested that day. This lady was trying to get in to visit her husband, but her drivers license had expired. So, the guard got on the phone to the State Police and discovered that there were outstanding warrants on the woman. Well, she did get into prison, but not the one she was trying for.

Criminal behavior so often seems to be a "family affair." Many of my students have close relatives - mothers, father, sisters, brothers or wives - in lock-up, too.

It seems much easier in elementary!  We schedule times.  The children are out of school next Thursday and Friday and that is our time to dedicate to our scheduled conferences.  We had half days many years ago; but many teachers expressed how hard it was to get the children settled and in a learning environment for half a day.  Parents also argued that it was easier to find daycare for two days as oppossed to 5 half days; so now we're closed for teaching for two days and conference instead.  It works out pretty well!

Do they ever ask you to speak to parole officers...when they get out... to see how they can become productive members of society?

johnslat says ...

Ah, yet another advantage of teaching inmates at the penitentiary: no parent/teacher conferences.