sam_gordon
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 26, 2010
That's my point.I doubt teachers, year after year, would be like “I suspect Johnny has a learning disability, if only his parents would show up for open house so I could let them know.”
That's my point.I doubt teachers, year after year, would be like “I suspect Johnny has a learning disability, if only his parents would show up for open house so I could let them know.”
Which is why I said it's part of the reason.But you CAN be involved in their education and not go to the P/T conference. Help them with homework. Make sure they have a good place to study. Make sure they attend school. Give them "life lessons". Show how what they're learning relates to the "real world". Showing up or not has no bearing on whether the parent is interested, involved, and should have nothing to do with getting good grades.
No one noticed because he still got As despite of his reading disability. I don't know if my parents getting to talk to his teachers would have helped him get an earlier diagnosis, but it certainly wouldn't have hurt.Presumably the teachers didn't notice? If they did, why did they not inform the parents? Or do you think if your parents went to the conferences, they would have informed them then?
Yes, exactly. Teachers have an impact on their students. I want to know the people who are part of my child's daily life and who help shape their thinking. If nothing else, it gives me context when my child talks about their day.That's not what has to happen in a parent/teacher conference. For many who know their kids are doing well, it's more about getting to know their child's teachers when there are so few other opportunities to do so.
I get to meet them at Meet the Teacher Night. I don't feel the need to go to parent teacher conferences. All of their grades are online in real time. I can email or call teachers if I have any questions or concerns and vice versa. It doesn't mean I'm not involved in their education.Yes, exactly. Teachers have an impact on their students. I want to know the people who are part of my child's daily life and who help shape their thinking. If nothing else, it gives me context when my child talks about their day.
There is no such thing as Meet the Teacher Night at some schools, including ours.I get to meet them at Meet the Teacher Night. I don't feel the need to go to parent teacher conferences. All of their grades are online in real time. I can email or call teachers if I have any questions or concerns and vice versa. It doesn't mean I'm not involved in their education.
For us, parent teacher conferences ended in elementary school (5th grade). No conferences in middle or high school.
Our district used the terms "meet the teacher" and "back to school night" interchangeably. It's typically held in the first few days of school so the teacher doesn't have feedback on your child yet. I view it as a chance to see the classroom and say hi to the teacher and hear a little abut classroom expectations.I agree meet the teacher night is not done at all schools and isn't done at my kids schools. We do have a back to school night fairly early on when you go to teacher's classrooms and hear about curriculum but you don't hear about your own child as an individual. Grades k-12 have two parent teacher conference days. In the k-8 one was in the afternoon so fewer parents came. Kindergarten may have had times but grades 1-8 was a mix of waiting list or first come depending on teacher. I seemed to get the last slot the majority of time.
In high school the conferences are in the cafeteria. There are signs with teacher name/subject. This year was the first time there seemed to be a consistent wait in line approach which was much less chaotic than guessing who has a sign in and who goes in order of waiting. Our teachers seem glad to see parents for students of any academic level. We can request a meeting with a teacher at any time outside of conferences. I don't think going or not going makes a difference but I do like getting to put a face to a name and my kids like me going.
In terms of location the cafeteria isn't my favorite if your in a quiet spot where you can hear everything though some areas are so noisy that you know people can't overhear. For the most part it doesn't matter to be but if my child was having say behavioral issues I wouldn't want people to know. For instance at one conference we were the next in line where it was easy to hear the teacher. A mother asked how she could help her son get better grades. The teacher was very calm and said something like for starters can you ask him not to come in and put his head down. I would have been embarrassed by that. The mother, however, said well my son is tired. I admire how the teacher stayed calm
I agree meet the teacher night is not done at all schools and isn't done at my kids schools. We do have a back to school night fairly early on when you go to teacher's classrooms and hear about curriculum but you don't hear about your own child as an individual. Grades k-12 have two parent teacher conference days. In the k-8 one was in the afternoon so fewer parents came. Kindergarten may have had times but grades 1-8 was a mix of waiting list or first come depending on teacher. I seemed to get the last slot the majority of time.
In high school the conferences are in the cafeteria. There are signs with teacher name/subject. This year was the first time there seemed to be a consistent wait in line approach which was much less chaotic than guessing who has a sign in and who goes in order of waiting. Our teachers seem glad to see parents for students of any academic level. We can request a meeting with a teacher at any time outside of conferences. I don't think going or not going makes a difference but I do like getting to put a face to a name and my kids like me going.
In terms of location the cafeteria isn't my favorite if your in a quiet spot where you can hear everything though some areas are so noisy that you know people can't overhear. For the most part it doesn't matter to be but if my child was having say behavioral issues I wouldn't want people to know. For instance at one conference we were the next in line where it was easy to hear the teacher. A mother asked how she could help her son get better grades. The teacher was very calm and said something like for starters can you ask him not to come in and put his head down. I would have been embarrassed by that. The mother, however, said well my son is tired. I admire how the teacher stayed calm
That's what we call Meet the Teacher Night
Actually what I did like at the high school is something my oldest daughter had for two years until principals changed. We had an ask the principal night I think quarterly that honestly was not well attended so easy enough to ask questions if desired. Parents could ask various questions perhaps about AP or dual enrollment classes, college application process, how class officers are chosen, what is a traditional math progression, how are field trips handled, are there clubs for students with special needs, what are too many absences etc. Sometimes the questions were not directly answered but you would find out who to contact. Sure some questions were easily looked up but sometimes you learned something new. For instance something I never thought about was what do students/staff who are using a wheelchair do in case of a fire alarm. Depending on the questions sometimes they lead to tours of certain areas after the meeting such as a tour of the maker space. I'm sure some of it was things students easily knew and didn't share with parents. Depending on the questions some was nice to know and some I had no reason to know. Best of all you just sat in the auditorium so unless you had to wait your turn to ask a question there were no lines and no walking around lost looking for a classroom if your child wasn't with you.