Meeting the Parents

Prior to Thanksgiving week, Northbridge held its first round of parent-teacher conferences of this academic year. Having been told of the power parents hold in the US and how vocal they are should they be unhappy with any aspect of their child's educational experience (it is not unusual for teachers to be contacted, or challenged, directly or for complaints to be made to the Principal), I was a little apprehensive as to what their reaction to me would be.

I needn't have worried.

The day before the first conference (there are two), at another 504 meeting, I met one of the parents I have been engaging in (requested) weekly email communications with. I was aware that she has been pleased with her son's response to my lessons as she has repeatedly provided me with positive feedback, telling me I have a 'rare gift' in bringing out the best in him which 'few teachers possess' in addition to how much of a difference I have made in him (I'm not sure if this can be entirely accredited to my teaching but he is certainly noticably more enthusiastic and focused that he was at the start of term). That said, I still wasn't prepared for her reaction upon being introduced to me: I offered her my hand but she instead opted to bear-hug me. It was a shock, but a pleasant shock, none-the-less!

Parent teacher conferences here occur twice-yearly, each over the course of two days, following the issue of report cards. Report cards provide a 'final' grade for a term, which occurs approximately every 45 school days. The grades for that term are final and will count towards the students' GPA (grade point average) and the next term's grades start with a clean slate. On the first day, school finishes early and after a short break there is a two hour time slot in which parents can meet with teachers. On the second day, there is a two hour slot after school, from six to eight pm. Parents have to call the school to arrange appointments, which are usually five minutes in length. The system works well, as those parents who cannot attend the evening session have the option of coming in the early afternoon instead. Teachers are provided with a list of parents and times, which enables them to print off a progress report, detailing the students' grades and assignments. Parents and teachers meet 1:1 in the teacher's classroom. At high school level, turnout isn't traditionally that high, although this year was fairly busy. Very often though, as is the case in the UK, the parents who the teachers need to see aren't the ones who make appointments!

On both days, I had a good range of appointments for all my classes, which was pleasing. Most parents seemed more interested in asking me about the UK than discussing their child's progress but I was relieved that, overwhelmingly, I was told that my students have enjoyed my teaching, have learned a lot and will miss me when I return home. Even those parents of students who aren't doing well didn't have any complaints; I could have not been more relieved!