It's the time of year and most school districts where schools are requesting parent teacher conference is. It is also marking the end of quarter two, report cards, and middle of the year assessments are being done.
Assessments
At home as parents we may not realize all of the components and hard work that our students are putting into school every day. Although teachers try to take the stress away from the middle of year assessments it's still can be daunting for some students. Some children have testing anxiety, some children want to perform very well and get nervous, and other children may not understand how serious to take the assessments. With all of that said an assessment is not the end all be all. An assessment isn't the full picture of any learner it is just one component showing their learning in specific areas.
Typically the middle of the year assessments, also known as MOY, are completed before the middle of the year conferences and can be shared during that conference. I suggest that parents ask for a copy of their child's assessment data during the conference. A lot of times a summary of the assessment is sent home and it is rattled with domain specific jargon. At the conference it would be a perfect time for you to ask the teacher to break down the components of the assessment, and to discuss how your child performed in each area. It's also a good idea to ask them to model for you ways that you can help your child at home work on the areas they may not have performed as highly in. Also asking For work samples that have been completed to show how your child is working on that particular skill in the classroom would be a great idea.
I always want to reduce parent/caregiver stress around these state and district mandated assessments. These assessments are a good point of data, and do allow for some insight into specific learning skills and growth. However, these assessments are not a true indicator of your child's overall abilities. Coming from an educator I know that some administrators and other educators may not agree with my opinion. Keep in mind that your child does work every day during class, and Some of them even bring home homework. Sitting and reading with your child or completing some math problems together that correlate to the skills they are working on in class will give you a better indicator of areas of strengths and needs. An assessment designed to capture data for the teacher, school, and district isn't what I allow myself to fret over. I do however want to encourage you to discuss with your child doing their very best on these assessments, and showing what they know by completing them to the best of their ability. Having discussions About testing anxiety and test taking skills are other ways to promote and ease discomfort around assessments.
Guiding questions for parents/caregivers to ask the teacher
Here are some guiding questions connected to academics, social and emotional growth, and behavior that will help you during your conference.
What skills are you currently working on?
What are some of my learners strengths?
Can you show me some work samples?
What is this skill expected to look like at this point in the year? Can you show me an example of the expectation of the skill?
What are some skills that we can work on at home?
What were previous skills taught that could be reviewed to help in this area?
What curriculum and or assessments are being given?
How does my child do with socialization with peers?
Does my child seem to enjoy class daily? Are there specific subjects they seem to prefer?
What behavior management strategies are in place to help with that need?
I always like to add, ask for modeling of specific skills. Ask the teacher to model how the strategy and skill are being taught, and what the expectation is for your learner. This will allow you to help your learner at home in a way that correlates to their daily learning. This will also offer an opportunity for the teacher to show where the strengths and needs may lie within that specific skill.
Take your child with you
The last thing that I want to touch on is student buying. Some districts already practice student led conference is. If your district is not one that does this I would suggest you taking your child along with you to the parent teacher conference. This will promote there engagement and involvement in their own education. It will also modeled to them your involvement and care about their learning environment, expectations, and output daily. If you would like to let the teacher know ahead of time that you will be bringing your a child with you feel free however that is not necessary. After all, this is the showcase of their learning throughout the year thus far. Allow your child to show you their learning space. Allow them to walk you through their day, and show you the different classrooms that they go to for learning. Allow them to show you their work on display and examples of the work that they do every day. This will bring them much joy and you pride as well.
Having your child with you at the conference will help you see exactly what may frustrate them, the demands on their daily school life, and the relationship between them and their teacher. All of these components are tied into the educational outcomes and are all very important. Allow yourself to look for the good, and in areas that may be of need allow yourself to view this as an opportunity to grow with your child.
Conclusion
As a parent I completely understand the stress involved with parent teacher conference is and report cards. After parenting children who ran from college-age down to a third grader I have switched my lens on parent teacher conference is over the years. In all transparency, I went from being the parent who went to conferences to ensure their student was on their best behavior and accelerating in every area to the parent who is more understanding of the ends and outs of the learning process. Most of this is, in part, due to the fact I am now an educator. I hope that providing some guiding questions and some insight into the different components of the learning day and conference, some of the stress is around parent teacher conferences will be lifted off of you.
Educationally yours,
Tiffanie
Comments