Parent Teacher Conferences

Parent Teacher Conferences are always interesting to have. We have two traditional conferences where all the teachers are in the gym and parents stand in line to speak to us and we also have two student led conferences each year. When you meet parents for the first time it frequently elicits an "ah ha" moment. Suddenly the child is explained. My first year teaching I was terrified of conferences but they ended up just fine. One year I had a mother come to see me who was drunk and had forgotten her teeth. It was all I could do to keep it together and not bust out laughing at her behavior. Then there are the parents that you want to talk to the most but don't come. Last year we began our adventure into student led conferences. Each student creates a portfolio with an artifact (assignment or test) from each class with a reflection about how they are doing in the class and how they feel about it. Then parents come and sit down with their child and talk about how school is going. We have had mixed feelings from parents on this. Some parents absolutely love it because they don't have to wait in line forever and their child is responsible for their own learning. Other parents completely hate it because they feel like they are forced to have a conversation with their child and the school doesn't think they do that at home. We had some parents last year who organized a boycott against the student led conferences! Students don't like it because it is more work and they have to accept responsibility fo something.