It’s that time of year again, a time when you will be meeting with your child’s teacher for parent-teacher conferences. These meetings are very important since it’s the perfect chance to find out how your child is doing in school as well as to get to know your child’s teacher better. Want to make sure you have a successful parent-teacher conference? Keep these tips in mind:
(1) Before you attend the conference, be sure to ask your child if there is anything they would like you to discuss with their teacher.
(2) Don’t trust your memory; write down everything you want to discuss at the meeting. If this is your first conference you might be a little nervous and flustered and forget important things you wanted to talk about, remembering only when you return home. Also, take notes about what was said to share with your child and/or for your own future reference.
(3) Not sure what questions you should ask? Here are a few suggestions:
A. What skills and knowledge will my child be expected to have mastered by the end of the year?
B. What methods will be used to evaluate my child? How are grades determined?
C. Is there anything I can do at home to reinforce what my child is learning in class? How do I know what homework is being assigned?
D. If my child is falling behind, do you offer special tutoring programs? Do you have gifted programs for kids who are exceeding current classroom standards?
In part two, I will discuss additional ways you can make sure your parent-teacher conference is a success. I will also offer some ideas on how you can forge a healthy relationship with your child’s teacher.