New Athenian Academy

“I see your mom sit down nervously, then hear her sigh when I explain that you are so well behaved in class.  I catch the corners of your dad’s mouth go up when I tell him how much your English has improved, and see his chest swell when I show him the 100 percent on your addition test.”

How do I handle Parent Teacher Conferences?  Veeeerrrryyy carefully!

There are three types of parents that a teacher may encounter on conference nights.  Let’s explore:

Type #1 The Helicopter Parent — Ones who have to be involved in everything their child does.  I like involvement really!  But you have to be constantly in contact with your senior’s teacher, it’s time to cut the apron strings.

Type #2 The I Don’t Care Parent — Anything you say will bounce right off them.  They come out of some sense of obligation, but don’t really listen or care what you say.  Things will continue just the same, doesn’t matter if the same is bad or good.  They just exist.

Type #3 The Actually Helpful Parent — These parents are a teacher’s dream, but very elusive… kinda like unicorns.

Type #4 The Arguer/Angry Parent — Anything you say they will argue with you about.  You could say that their child is doing great and they will respond with the fact that the child never picks up his room.  If you say their child is disruptive, they respond with “my child is just not like that.”  I think these parents just like to argue.

And I’m not even going to mention those that choose not to show up…

The answer varies, but the overall feeling is the same — dread.  I just don’t get those warm and fuzzy feelings like Mr. Done.  I get the stomach twisting and the nausea before every conference.  What do I say?  I have to make small talk with these parents (some of whom I have never met before).  It’s a horrible experience for me.

Usually I have of two situations to lay out: A student or F student.

For the A students, what do I say?  ”Your student is doing everything great.  Please continue doing whatever you’re doing at home to keep this behavior up.”  After that great 20 seconds, what do I say?  Usually I end up making awkward small talk with them for the next 10 minutes.  I am so uncomfortable.

For the F students, what do I say?  I can’t start with the bad news.  Rule #1 with talking with parents: never begin with the negative.  So I have wrack my brain for some tidbit of positive information about their failing student.  ”Little Johnny gets along with everyone.”  Unfortunately Little Johnny spends all his time socializing and not any time actually doing work or paying attention to me.  So how do I make the transition?  Don’t really know.  It usually comes out awkward and by the end of the conference these parents hate me.  I just know tomorrow their child is going to turn into the devil  in class because they got into trouble the night before.

The only situation I somewhat enjoy during conferences is the C students.  I can always come up with something positive about these students and then break the news of the grade.  And then I can always offer some useful way that we can fix the situation.

But overall, I just feel dread…

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Uncategorized by Tobe