Today is Parent / Teacher interviews and I am looking forward to meeting with the parents this evening of the children I am teaching this year.
This meeting is extremely important to me for informing parents about how I run my programmes. It allows me to explain to them the routines and structures I'm putting into place to provide the best learning opportunities for their children.
The best parents can do is to support teachers in what they are trying to achieve in the learning process. All children are different and although it is really early in the year teachers have had time to observe the work and organisational behaviour of the children. It is the best time to ensure that parents know what is being put in to place for the children so that they have a successful year. Any problems that the teachers have noticed or questions from parents can be talked out.
As a parent I am critically aware of the importance of having a positive relationship with your children and the teacher is an important cog in the wheel. Parents and teachers need to ensure that they are singing from the sang song sheet and that children will have followed up at home by the parents the teacher's expectations.
This meeting is a fantastic chance to start building a constructive and valuable learning year for the children. I enjoy the interaction with parents and being able to communicate the successes and advise the possible improvements that will result in the very best achievements and a love of learning for the children.
What are your experiences of teacher interviews? What do you like teachers to talk to you about and how?
8 comments:
An early post for you today!
I agree with you parents and teachers need to work together. It is very much a team situation. I like it when I know what is done in class so that we can use it at home as well.
At the parent / teacher interviews it is great to hear honest feedback on how our child has settled into her class, discuss any concerns (from both us and the teacher) and we like it when the teacher tells us how things work in the class, the expectations and routines. Things like when homework has to be handed in and so on. And of course to get an idea of what will be taught.
Knowing how things will work will help us keep Bianca focused so that in the end we are able to support her teacher. If that makes sense...
I tried to remember how the meetings with you went last year. I hope we came across as supportive parents keen to work with you (Bianca's teacher). What I did like about the meetings with you was that I got a sense you valued our input (sometimes there are teachers who don't really hear what parents have to say) and it became clear really early on that you were keen to let Bianca have the best year ever in class and that you truly had her best interests at heart. And that is something that I always appreciated!
Hi Paul,
I spend a great deal of time in the schools system here in the UK. The Welsh Government has a stunning initiative here which is called the Welsh Baccalaureate, and what it is designed to do, is to inculcate entrepreneurhsip into the young minds of the learners.
I am always amazed by what youth can accomplish when they're engaged.
Through the years of training, I have devised some strategies for knowledge transfer which are designed to make it stick!
I call it (depending on what I'm doing) either Edu-tainment, or Enter-trainment.
If youth is trusted - and high expectations are set and desired, you will find them rising to fill them.
If children are led to understand why they are doing things, people will be surprised by what they can and will come up with.
It certainly stuns me every time.
I am sure that you love what you do Paul, and that you're very good at it.
I bet you feel blessed everytime you watch their lives taking shape and you know you have a small part to play in that.
Stay with it - it is so noble!
George Savva
You will talk with the parents really well Mr. Paul, I am sure the Parents will like you.
The best parents can do is to support teachers in what they are trying to achieve in the learning process
Hi Victor
I did have a good talk to the parents and I'm sure they and the children like me! I will have a great year teaching their children.
Me & my husband aren't really big on Parent/Teacher interviews. We hear the same thing every time we go to these kinds of evenings. Never do we ever hear anything positive regarding our son and we do know that he do have a problem but what about the positives our son have as well? He's a good boy and there is so many positives to him as well - why don't we ever hear anything positive regarding him in any of these evenings? That is why we aren't big for these meetings.
I came over from M's post.
I love how you look at these things so collaboratively. It is a partnership.
I'm coaching someone who wanted to "have it out" with the teacher and we spoke it through. I told her you're going to get a much better result if you look at it as the two of you are partners in educating your kid. Turns out she had a good conversation when she wasn't so combative :)
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