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Home › Articles › Back to School Headquarters › Fall Conferences

Fall Conferences

Don't Be Spooked by the Teacher!

By Jodie Lynn

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Parent-teacher conferences are right around the corner. I am not sure why they come right before Halloween, but it is a known fact that once school is in session for a short time, for most schools, the conferences will greet or beat Halloween.

Should Kids Go Along to Parent-Teacher Conferences?
Ask the teacher what he/she prefers. Sometimes it helps the child to hear the good and the bad straight from the teacher's mouth. If your child is younger than 7, though, they may not want to sit still long enough to benefit from the conference. However, if it is a performance review paired with an open house or something like an art show, it might benefit the child and be fun, too.

A good rule of thumb is to leave the children at home unless the teacher invites them, at least for the first conference. Very few parents bring their children in on the first parent/teacher conference. Nevertheless, sometimes, especially during the second time around and if their grades are slipping, it helps to let them hear what the teacher has to say.

For example, children – and this means teens, too – that are failing certain subjects can hear exactly what the teacher thinks may be taking place. There is nothing worse than going home and trying to explain to your child what the teacher said the problem was and what you think it is and then hearing something totally different from the child. Taking your kid along for the second go-around is the perfect opportunity for the parent and teacher to hear what the child has to say about it as well. Nine times out of 10, it is not what you were told or what you thought the problem was. (Amazing, isn't it?)

It's also a great opportunity for everyone to become involved in offering suggestions to fix the problem without blaming or using one person against the other for excuses. Last year I heard one student tell his mom that he was embarrassed to be following her around from one room to the other. She simply replied, and loud enough for anyone within earshot to hear, that if that was the case, then she guessed he wouldn't be failing the same subjects next time – now would he?


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