Parent - Teacher Meetings: Any Use?

freire

Phew - (brushing debris from MVEAOT thread). On to more constructive things.

This is a very general question, as you can probably see. More specifically I suppose questions like who shows up, and what are the benefits, are there any and why do people you'd like to see never do and would it make any difference anyway and can you really dis an adolescent to his/her parents? I'm sure it happens..So...rate them or not?

Toto Wolfcastle

I think that when it comes to parent/teacher meetings you have to prepared to tell the truth to the parents, however ugly it may be. Obviously you can dress it up in diplomatic language but you are being unfair if you don't give a true picture of what's happening.

I do think that they are useful because they give parents a chance to see how their children are actually doing as opposed to just taking as gospel what their children have told them.

The very involved parents always show up, as do the parents of the children who are generally good students. I think it can be just as important to see these parents because some of them tend to be deluded (for want of a better word!) and think that their children are better than they actually are. (That can be infuriating at times as you try to explain that the child did badly and get every excuse under the sun back. It's never the student's fault!)

As regards those who don't turn up, well, such is life. The best you can do is try to get in contact afterwards. If they are not interested what can you do?

So yeah, useful as long as you are willing to tell the truth.

gaeilgegrinds

I always tell the truth but feel listening is very important too. However, I often find it is the parents I want to see that I don't.

Toto Wolfcastle

I suppose there are a few reasons that those we need to see turn up: Lack of interest; not aware that the meetings are taking place; an unwillingness to deal with being told that their child isn't doing well. There are more. There's very little you can do about it.

The principal of a school that my family are involved with told his staff that they were to be mostly positive at the parent/teacher meetings, and that they should only mention anything negative in passing, if at all. This is why I mentioned that you need to be willing to tell the truth, no matter how bad it is.

freire

Broadly speaking I'd have to agree - but I find that if the parent knows their kids they're aware of how they are. I tend to let the parent make the observation and then go to town on the kid's rotten attitude!

Not really, but our 'clientele' are often, by their very nature, a little awkward sometimes. It's an occupational hazard. I would endeavour to be positive on the whole, without being plain dishonest.

TheDriver

I find them vaguely useless as the parents who are on top of things turn up, those who ask for advice rarely implement it and those that need lots of advice don't turn up. Also meetings (in secondary) should only last 1 min yet some teachers keep the parents chatting for 5 mins each and then complain about lack of time, parents always love coming to me because they get a concise fast truthful talk and on the road again after that. Think parents hate them too!!!