Parent/Teacher Conferences. Do you enjoy them? Dread them? Ignore them?
I just got home from what was most likely my last
parent/teacher conference ever. Yes! *pumps fist.
I’ve not missed any conferences for either of my kids. It’s
not that they have a lot of problems or need help, or I really need to discuss
some issue with their teachers. In fact, my son brought home a straight-A
report card a few days ago.
So why would I bother going to conferences? Because it’s
nice to hear the good stuff. It’s nice to hear from seven different teachers
that he’s a great kid, that he’s polite and respectful, that he participates in
class and makes their jobs more enjoyable. Why wouldn’t I want to hear that?!
What gets me is how many parents don’t go to conferences. Of
course, some people will have a conflict, but some parents simply choose not to
go. Once the kids are in high school there really aren’t that many
opportunities for face-time with teachers. I’m not hanging around at the
school. There aren’t room parents anymore. I just don’t have a reason to be
there, so I don’t get to see my kid in action in a classroom or see how he
interacts with other students and teachers.
The fact is, it’s great to get the validation that my kid is
well-liked and that even though he’s a slob at home or giving me teenaged
attitude, at school he’s someone I can be proud of. I love getting confirmation
that he really is growing into a mature, thoughtful, decent human being! Whew! Plus,
I don’t want my only interaction with a teacher to be a complaint or a problem.
If a problem does arise, and we’ve already met and chatted informally, it seems
that it’d be much easier to resolve the issue if some rapport has already been established.
In our district, we have conferences only two times a year,
once in fall semester, and once in the spring. But he’s a senior this year. By
the time conferences roll around second semester, he’s almost out of there.
Colleges have already made their decisions. And we’ll probably all have a
serious case of senioritis. I’m thinking I can skip spring conferences. That’s
the plan. But as I write this, I wonder . . . Will I miss an opportunity? Will
I regret missing that last chance to hear how great my kid is? Will I need that
boost to calm my nerves before sending him off to college?
We’ll see. Maybe I’ll keep that date on the calendar. Just
in case.
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