The Parent-Teacher Talk Gains a New Participant

[groovedaddy]

STREAMWOOD, Ill. — For years attendance was minimal at Tefft Middle School’s annual parent-teacher conferences, but the principal did not chalk up the poor response to apathetic or dysfunctional families. Instead, she blamed what she saw as the outmoded, irrelevant way the conferences were conducted.

Roughly 60 percent of the 850 students at Tefft, in this working-class suburb some 30 miles northwest of Chicago, are from low-income families. Many are immigrants, unfamiliar or uncomfortable with the tradition of parents perched in pint-size chairs, listening intently as a teacher delivers a 15-minute soliloquy on their child’s academic progress, or lack thereof.

“Five years ago, the most important person — the student — was left out of the parent-teacher conference,” Tefft’s principal, Lavonne Smiley, said. “The old conferences were such a negative thing, so we turned it around by removing all the barriers and obstacles,” including allowing students not only to attend but also to lead the gatherings instead of anxiously awaiting their parents’ return home with the teacher’s verdict on their classroom performance.

Recently, 525 parents attended parent-teacher-student conferences, Ms. Smiley said, compared with 75 parents in 2003. No appointments were needed, and everyone was welcome at the conferences this year, spread over two days that school officials called a Celebration of Learning.

Student-led conferences are gaining ground at elementary and middle schools nationwide, said Patti Kinney, an associate director for middle-level services at the National Association of Secondary School Principals in Virginia.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/28/education/28conferences.html?th&emc=th

[Fire1]

1. Student-led??? Despite what Ms. Smiley says,

I can just imagine how these conferences turn out. When they get a verdict from a TEACHER, get back to me.

[ret5hd]

2. Well, I hardly think they meant the teacher was silent.

Just sayin'.

[Fire1]

4. Verdict, in terms of how effective this 'new approach' has been.

[Citizen Number 9]

3. I'm a parent and I think they're excellent.

They have the added benefit of giving the student practice in presentation and communication.

Using this system, students seem to have a much better grasp of what they are doing in the classroom and why.

[Fire1]

5. I don't know where Ms. smiley has been, but this is not a 'new approach.'

Which is why I think the teachers would offer a different perspective than Ms. Smiley. Students already have a grasp of what they are and are not doing in class long before the conference, which is why teachers rarely see the parents of students they need to see at a conference ( this occurs mostly in urban districts.) In suburban districts, parents tend to take a more active role in the education of their children, whether they are progressing or not.

[YvonneCa]

14. You are right. This strategy has been around for...

...years. I started in the early 90's. ;)

[YvonneCa]

13. Absolutely. The goal-setting part...

...of this is critical. I used to videotape my students' presentations to share with the next year's class...and they couldn't WAIT until it was their turn.

[LWolf]

7. When I, and my colleagues, have done them,

they are structured.

They can take a lot of forms, but the teacher is always in there, somewhere.

When I organized them for 2nd and 3rd graders, students, who knew what to do when they arrived, would arrive with their parents and take them to several places in the room, where they would demonstrate something they had been working on, and explain the objective. If report cards or progress reports were involved, they'd get their report out of a file, go over it with the parent, and then visit the other areas of the room. If not, it was simply to share what they were doing in class during the day: the learning opportunities.

There would be a refreshment center to stop at, and then the last stop was always with the teacher to discuss what parents had seen and answer questions.

With middle schoolers, they pick up the report card and progress report, pick up portfolios, and go through binders of notes and graded work, the portfolio, the grades, and then bring questions to the teacher. The student is in charge of going over everything, the teacher clarifies and answers questions that the student isn't able to.

The younger students can't wait to bring their parents. The older students, especially those that don't want their parents to see what they have NOT accomplished, don't. Of course, if parents haven't sent or called in an RSVP within a week of conferences, I call them all and encourage them to come. :evilgrin:

[YvonneCa]

15. That's a great description. Mine were very...

...similar (6th grade). I had a lot of students who did a bi-lingual presentation, because their parents didn't understand English. It was AMAZING to see how polished some of their presentations were!

[YvonneCa]

12. I'm a teacher. Student-Led Conferences...

...are wonderful. Students set goals and share them (and their work) with their families. The teacher supports the student in preparation and in practicing their role...and, yes, the teacher speaks too. Parents I have worked with LOVE these conferences and show up in greater numbers because their excited child brings them in.

I started these conferences in 1991 with my students...they take longer, but the student involvement part is worth every second.

[LWolf]

6. Students have been included in my parent conferences

since I started teaching.

Sometimes as one of the parties examining work and progress, celebrating successes, and setting goals.

Sometimes in formal "student-led conferences."

It surprises me to hear that they are something "new" in other areas; I've done them in 2 states, 1000 miles apart, and they were commonplace in both areas.

[fortyfeetunder]

8. It's a good way to reinforce accountability.

Done this second straight year and admit it's been a good tool for further conversation with student. Kids know they can't pull a fast one on parents/guardians since they are all in the conference. The conferences are student-led and the students can't BS their way out.


(edited to make it inclusive to parents/guardians)

[davefromqueens]

9. This could work

There might be times for the kid to step out but in general I like the idea and concept.

I'd also like the idea of the child self evaluating what he or she thinks should be said at the conference.

[YvonneCa]

16. There are a lot of...

...'scripts' around to help in planning the conference steps and the actual dialogue.

[Ms. Toad]

10. Former teacher - didn't like them much.

we always had parent teacher student conferences (from 78-89), so it's nothing new.

The meetings were one of the few times I got to speak with the parents, and there were times I would have liked to have conversations with the parent without little ears listening - especially when the little ears often included not only the student but the siblings, nieces, nephews, etc.

[YvonneCa]

17. I agree that there is often a need for that. After my many years of...

...experience, I now like to divide my 'typical' class (if there is such a thing :) ) into three parts: The middle and higher group does student-led...very teacher scripted...at the first conference. At the next conference, the middle group does the same...but my higher, more independent students get more flexibility in creating their own presentation (within a given rubric).

I do a more traditional conference with the third group...the group that has a more difficult time with school success. I agree that sometimes a confidential conversation is needed, or the student has other needs that have to be addressed.

[Realityhack]

11. There is a time/place (theoretically) for both types of meetings.

There are absolutely things that parents and teachers should communicate about that it would be counter productive to have the student be present for.
On the other hand parent/teacher/student meetings can also be useful, just for different issues.

[BridgeTheGap]

18. Absolutely. How can it be an "either - or" proposition? n.t