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Parent Teacher Conferences
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here to see our selection of Parent Teacher Conferences.
 Parent
teacher conferences are pleasant when you meet with the parents
of a child who is excelling in many areas, behaves well, and seems
to have the desire to learn. But let us face it, teachers—the
children who have all three of these is attributes are less than
half the class. There will be many children who will need to work
towards improvement in a few if not several areas. And parent teacher
conferences are designed for you, as the teacher, to bring up these
challenges. Of course you do not want to offend a parent or give
off the impression that you think they have a “bad child”—so
what exactly should you say and HOW should you say it? Here are
a few tips if you are new to the delicate world of parent teacher
conferences.
Especially with a child who has problems in class, be sure to prepare
for your parent teacher conference.
• Begin with an expression of sincere concern for the child.
Your words need to be hopeful, not judgmental. Try to smile a bit—a
worried expression on your face could make the parent feel worse.
You could start with the levels of the childs academic achievement
in the class, or something else that you think will begin the parent
teacher conference on a happier note. Then you will want to say
something like:
"Now that we have gone over Jimmys grades. We need to discuss
some behavior concerns. Jimmy sometimes says hurtful things to other
children. I am afraid this will push his friends away and leave
him feeling alone."
• Give examples, and be as specific as you can. For instance:
"Jimmy will say things like ‘you are so fat that the
farmer thought you were his lost pig and took you home,’ or
‘ugly ugly you are so ugly, your mom wants to throw you away!’”
• Then explain to the parents that you have tried some ways
to fix things:
"I told Jimmy that he should try to say nice things to others
and that it makes people feel very sad when he says mean things
to them—even if he is just joking. He seemed to understand
me, but he has continued to be unkind."
• After all, these are parent teacher conferences, so ask
the parents what they think you should do.
"Tell me, what has helped you to change Jimmys negative behavior
patterns? Every child has them as they are growing up. How do you
think I can help Jimmy be kinder to others?"
• At parent teacher conferences decide together what can
be done to help the student. Have some suggestions ahead of time—but
be sure to listen for better ideas from the parent or parents.
"I was thinking that we could sign John up for a special group
we have here called ‘my friends.’ It is all about kindness.
Do you think this would work? Do you have any ideas?"
• Be encouraging and positive. The purpose of parent teacher
conferences is to make a plan for improvement where improvement
is needed. Decide together with the parents what the best plan of
action might be to help their child. Be sure to smile—you
can say something like:
"I really think that this plan of action will help Jimmy in
class. He is a good kid. I appreciate that you took the time to
come today."
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