Big Education Ape: Questions for parent-teacher conferences

Questions for parent-teacher conferences:

Keys to Successful Parent-Teacher Conferences

“Two people working together who have the best interest of the child in mind

lead to better outcomes for students.”

Parent-Teacher Conferences:

October 22 – November 19, 2010

ELEMENTARY SHORTENED DAYS

Check with your school

Keys to Successful Parent-Teacher Conferences

Surprise! Obama shows up at Sasha’s parent-teacher conference

Behind the scenes Monday, presidential advisers focused on US policy in Afghanistan and efforts to meld multiple healthcare reform bills into a single version for each chamber. But President Obama was making two surprise visits to Maryland schools, chatting about his daughter and playing book critic with grade-schoolers.

Mr. Obama’s day began with an early morning motorcade to the private Sidwell Friends School in nearby Bethesda, Md., for a parent-teacher conference for daughter Sasha. The school had been told Michelle Obama would be on hand, but the president’s presence was a surprise, the White House press office said. The half hour trip was not accompanied by the usual sirens and blocked intersections, with the first family stopping at red lights along the route.

Later in the morning the president headed to Viers Mill Elementary School in suburban Silver Spring, Md., for an unannounced visit with third and fourth graders at lunch. Press assistant Ben Finkenbinder told the travel pool that the school was picked because it was the first school with a large concentration of low income students in Montgomery County to win the National Blue Ribbon for significantly closing the achievement gap. It won the award in 2005.

For this jaunt, the president’s trip through Washington traffic was speeded along by police cars blocking intersections, keeping other drivers away from the president.

Presidential book reviews

Pool reporter George Condon of Congress Daily said the president asked each student what he or she was reading. One student said “Diary of a Wimpy Kid.” The president said, “Sasha and Malia loved that. They think it is hilarious.”

When another student said “Goosebumps,” Mr. Obama said a couple of other kids had said that was good. “I haven’t read it,” the president admitted. One student was reading Harry Potter. The president said, “Malia and I read the Harry Potter books. We thought those were pretty good.” As he left each table, the president said, “You guys keep on reading, alright?”

At one point, the president noted that just yesterday he had seen Spike Jonze’s movie adaptation of the classic children’s book, “Where the Wild Things Are.” The First Movie Critic said, “That’s a great book” and proclaimed of the movie, “It’s worth seeing.” The White House has its own movie theater, off of a ground floor walkway near the East Wing.

Saving jobs in education

While the president was chatting up third and fourth graders on the value of reading, in the press room his aides were pitching reporters on how the $787 billion American Reinvestment and Recovery Act was saving education jobs around the country.

Jared Bernstein, chief economist and economic policy adviser to the vice president, said that preliminary data from states showed that 250,000 education jobs were saved or created as a result of Recovery Act spending. “This is a subset of the 1 million jobs saved or created thus far through the act, leaving us solidly on track to accomplish our stated goal of saving or creating 3-1/2 million jobs by later next year,” Mr. Bernstein said.

Melody Barnes, the president’s domestic policy adviser, argued that “we were able to avert massive class expansion, class size expansion, something that we’ve been concerned about in the educational context, for quite some time, and also to provide needed services when it comes to math and literacy.”

She said some $39.8 billion in recovery act funds have been earmarked for K through 12 education. The number of jobs saved so far ranges from 4,000 in New York City to 1,944 in Miami-Dade County to 242 in Indianapolis, she said.

Christian Science Monitor

The purpose of the parent-teacher conference is to form a partnership between the home and the school so your child can be a successful learner. It’s a time for you to ask questions about learning expectations for your child and how your child is progressing. It’s a time for you and the teacher to work together to find ways you both can help your son or daughter. Here are some suggestions as to how to make the most of parent-teacher conferences.

Before the conference

Ask your child what you should talk about with the teacher. Find out which subjects he or she likes the best, and which ones the least. Ask why. Ask if your child feels safe at school.

Don’t let language differences stop you from attending the conference. If your school does not have a translator available for you, bring along a trusted neighbor or family member who speaks English and can translate for you.

If you are not able to attend the conference at the time assigned to you, call the teacher and ask for a time that is convenient for both of you.

Write a list of questions about your student’s progress. Some examples might be:

What are my child’s strongest and weakest subjects?

How can I help my child at home?

Is my child working up to his or her ability? If not, what can we do to change that?

Does my child finish the work that is assigned?

Does my child participate in class discussions and activities?

Make notes about issues you want to know more about such as:

The teacher’s homework policy

Concerns you may have about school programs or policies

The best way to communicate with the teacher after the conference

How your child can get help if he or she doesn’t understand the homework assignment

What resources are available to your child beyond the classroom.

During the conference

Refer to the notes you made before the conference so you can be sure to ask the questions that are most important to you.

If the teacher tells you that your child isnot achieving to his or her ability, stay calm. This is the time to work with the teacher to develop a plan on how to improve your child’s performance. Ask the teacher what the school is doing to help your child improve and ask what you can do to support schoolwork at home. Find out if there is tutoring or extra help available.

If the teacher tells you that your child is excelling, ask what the school is doing to provide challenging work; ask what you can do to support that effort at home. It’s just as important to boost your child’s strengths as it is to strengthen his or her weaknesses.

Discuss areas in your child’s school life that are not easily measured by grades.

Does your child have friends? Does your child work cooperatively with other students and the teacher? How your child gets along with other people will make a big difference in every part of his or her life.

Make the most of your time. Arrive on time. Ask the most important questions first. Listen carefully to what the teacher tells you. Conferences are usually scheduled for 30 minutes. You want every minute to count.

If possible, avoid bringing babies or younger children to the meeting as they can be distracting and you want to be able to give your full attention to talking with the teacher. If it is necessary to bring younger children to the conference, notify the teacher ahead of time. In most cases, the teacher will be able to set up a desk where the child can sit down with books or activities to keep his or her attention, so you can focus on the conference with the teacher.

Share information about your child such as any special needs, changes in the family such as divorce or separation, the birth of a new baby, or death of a loved one.

If any problems are raised about your child’s academic progress or social adjustment, make sure you work out a plan with the teacher to change the situation.

Take notes during the conference so you can remember what the teacher said. After the meeting, review your notes. If something is unclear, contact the teacher to clarify. Notes are also good if you want to share the results of the conference with a family member who wasn’t able to attend.

After the conference

Discuss with your child what was said during the conference; emphasize the teacher’s positive comments. Use this as an opportunity to praise your child and to show your true interest in his or her school life.

Talk to your child about ways to improve schoolwork and study habits. Start right now on any action plan you and the teacher developed. Discuss the plan with your child, making sure he or she understands that the purpose of the plan is to help the child succeed.

Make sure the plan is working; carefully observe your child’s behavior, class assignments, and homework; let the teacher know how your student is progressing.