Parent Teacher Conference Tips

by Sue Spongberg

March 01, 2010

Parent Teacher Conferences

How to make them work for you and your child

Surveys show that parent teacher conferences can be big stress produces for parents. They can also be extremely helpful and important to your child.

Let’s try to cut back on the stress and look at the positives which can be found.

A parent teacher conference can help answer your questions: Is my child getting along well with his or her peers and teachers? Does my child participate in class? What exactly are grades supposed to measure? How are my child’s work habits and attitude? What are his or her strengths and weaknesses?
A parent teacher conference gives you the opportunity to meet and get to know your child’s teachers, ask those questions, exchange information about your child and discuss how you can work together to improve your child’s progress at school.
A little pre-planning before the conference can make all the difference. Write down your questions in advance to keep the conference on track and professional. If possible, both parents should attend the conference. Having both parents builds a stronger partnership and better communication between home and school.
Freely communicate any goals and expectations you have for your child with the teacher. If the teacher states something that you do not understand, ask. As with any profession, teachers have their own jargon and sometimes tend to slip into educational terminology. Don’t be embarrassed to ask for clarification when needed.
It is also important to find out what you as a parent can do at home to help your child do well at school. Before you leave, summarize the plans you and the teacher have made to help your child. That helps eliminate the chance of misunderstanding.
Try to be on time, and know the limitations on the conference. Regardless of the length, the teacher has probably other parents waiting. Approach the conference with a positive, cooperative attitude. Teachers want to work with you and your child. The best way to do that is for the child, teacher and parent to form a team to make sure the child achieves at the highest possible level.
Be prepared to talk about your child as a whole person, including his or her own interests, activities and strengths outside of school. You might also bring up significant family situations that could affect your child’s performance at school. If a teacher notices a student behaving differently and knows that Grandma is ill or that the beloved pet just dies, the teacher can react more appropriately.
Be sure to tell the teacher that you want to be involved in your child’s education regularly and frequently. Request that the teacher contact you whenever there are concerns or to tell you positive news.
Before leaving the meeting, be clear on the next course of action. Be certain to talk to your child about what happened at the conference, the positive aspects of her or her school work and the areas where improvement is needed. Then follow up on your action plans immediately. As early as possible your child should come to see that education is a joint effort of parent and teacher, family and school.