Parent-Teacher Interviews
It’s that time of year again.
Parent-Teacher Interview time.
Personally, I quite like them. I guess we’ve never really had an unpleasant one. It’s a great way to touch base with the kids teachers and raise any questions/concerns we may have.
I’d love to be a fly on the wall at others though and see what is said and what other parents say about their children (yeah, I’m nosey like that 
).
I went along with my little list of questions. As it turned out, I had 1 for each teacher, so not too bad.
And the Verdict?
Trailer Boy - started the year on level 1 readers (so basically little to no progress over the first year of school in terms of reading). Is now up to level 8!!!! We are so relieved. And the main thing? He’s so HAPPY at school and so interested in learning (such a turn around from last year).
Singstar Princess - is apparently an absolute delight to teach! How nice is that? Her teacher is delightful too and the whole style of the classroom set-up and learning really suits her. She’s the only 1 of our 3 that really “fits” in the system.
Lleyton - he’s doing well as expected and getting along with his teacher. Just working on the homework issue now. Not that I’m a big fan of homework but he really needs to get into better patterns in preparation for high school. It’s not his fault he’s not already in that pattern. Year after year of teachers setting spelling words that are too easy for him or finishing off when he’s always finished has meant that he really hasn’t done much homework so far in his school life.
Overall, we’re really happy with the teachers our children have this year (it’s not easy to have 3 kids in 3 different classes and be happy with ALL of them). Our kids are settled well and learning well.
What a relief!
Now, if I can just get the school to deal with the swearing bus driver, I’ll be a happy parent (*sigh*).
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Glad the interviews all went well. Amy’s like Llyeton on the homework - they’re in for a big shock next year :-).
Shocking about the bus driver - that’s horrible.
Libby
I am so glad it all worked out for you!
It is hard to have 3 and be happy with the classes, so that is great news
Count your blessings hun. I have two that do NOT fit the system. *SIGH*
I would love to home school the youngest, but can’t see a way to do that at the moment. At least not do it the way that I would want it done. Honestly, I feel like I need to somehow get him out of that peer group…..what to do….
Libby - yeah. Trying to work it through with the Principal. It’s only a small thing in the scheme of things but unless they’re going to allow my kids to repeat what they’re constantly hearing without consequence (and no, I don’t really want them to do that), I feel they should do something about it.
Sharon - 2 of mine don’t fit the system all that well either. At opposite ends of the scale to each other!!!! Which is partly why I’m so relieved this year. It’s hard work when your kid isn’t doing well/fitting/happy etc at school.
Joyce - not ignoring you. Just don’t have anything to comment on about your comment. LOL.
We teachers who are veterans and LOVE what we do, strive very hard to make the children enjoy learning. Part of that learning cycle is assigning homework that helps the child review and practice what they are learning in class. This includes spelling words(regardless of how “easy” the parents feel it is for their child). With the current curriculum for each grade level, these spelling lists finally relate to what they are learning(e.g. the same words from their weekly Reading stories, etc.). Spelling words & activities for homework have a direct purpose and will help the child to better use such words within the proper context, in their writing and when they converse. It is so frustrating when we teachers hear or see the parents take it upon themselves to “evaluate” the assigned homework and mock the teacher’s ability/qualifications because their child is not “worthy” of such simplistic words. I work in a wannabe affluent community(middle income) teaching primary level and I recently had a parent eliminate the spelling activity because they felt it was “too easy” for their child. This child will now not receive complete instruction in this area and is being taught that directions do not need to be followed. One, we teachers work very hard to assign homework that will be beneficial to the students yet be manageable for the parent(s) because of many factors we know to exist after school hours. Therefore, it is never a new concept but review and practice(if the kid has been paying attention in class!). Parents need to start being accountable for their own contribution, or lack there of, to their child’s education and stop belittling and blaming the teachers! We have received a very thorough education in teaching, post education and have experience in the classroom. The non-teacher parents have not. Gone are the days of teachers being respected by parents. I challenge any non-teaching parent to teach my class for a complete year and then make judgement calls!Thankfully those of us who put the students first, keep on teaching and nuturing.
Dear Excellent Veteran Teacher - obviously something in my post has hit a nerve with you. I can understand the frustration that teachers must face with parent attitudes from time to time. However, I think you have misjudged me in this case. We are very supportive parents both of the teachers and the administration as well as our children at home. So much so that in the early days I always made my son do his spelling words and readers regardless of how easy he found them (and his own frustration at “going through the motions”). It was only when I made an off-hand comment to the Deputy Principal at the time about his frustration that things changed. It was HER opinion that it was pointless for him to persevere with the process of learning spelling words that were too easy for him. To put it into context for you. In year 2 the school gave him the year 3,5 and 7 LAN tests (that’s a standardised Literacy and Numeracy test for those not familiar) and he passed them all. He is not just a little advanced, he was YEARS beyond his peers. Obviously the teacher cannot easily cater for him and we’ve worked with each teacher to find other solutions. Sadly, the school informed us that each year the previous years teachers would pass on information regarding his giftedness. This has yet to happen and so every year we have to go through the same process with his new teacher to try and get the best outcome for his learning. Our biggest concern in the early years was that he wasn’t “learning to learn” because everything came so easily to him.
While I agree with you that some parents don’t respect teachers, I feel it is unfair to simply “tar us all with the same brush”. Some parents are extremely supportive of teachers and the school. In fact, it was our current Deputy Principal that said to me a couple of years ago that he’d discovered that parents at our school were SO supportive of the teachers that they were reluctant to say a bad thing about them, even when there was a problem.
As president of our schools Parents & Friends, the relationship between teachers and parents is of particular interest to me so I appreciate you taking the time to air your feelings. I don’t know the answer to improving this relationship but I do know that it’s something that needs to be worked on from both sides of the fence.