Parents meeting-dreading it

[Ateawholeboursininonego]

First one today. I’m quite a quiet person and just not sure what to expect/what is expected of me?
Do you go armed with questions or just sit and listen?

Do you have any concerns or questions?

If not, then just sit and listen

Not really…anything that has ever come up, I’ve communicated over email and it’s been dealt with
How long are meetings normally?
Do the teachers get more nervous I wonder

So what I do is I go in, ask them to tell me everything they would like me to know. Then if there’s time at the end I usually ask - is DC trying their best? Are they getting on ok with the other kids? Is there anything I can do to support DC better? And sail off again

What age is your child?
Do all the parents have meetings with the teacher or was it just you called for a meeting?

6-we are abroad

It’s the meeting for all parents, but we go in one by one-individual slots

Is it generally quite short?

If this is a parent/teacher evening, you'll get a tight 10 minutes maximum. They'll run through how your child is doing, any concerns, any areas to work on. If there are workbook ls, they are usually on the chairs outside the classroom so you can look through what your child has been doing.

It’s your opportunity to find out how your child is doing and raise any concerns, and vice versa for the teacher. I assume you have an interest in knowing what your child enjoys, where they could improve, how their peer relationships are going etc.
Just ask about the things you want to know!

Yes, 5 minutes at our primary school. They’ve got 30+ kids to get through!

I’m the same as you. I was really worried beforehand and find that sort of thing quite awkward.

Fortunately the meeting was only 7 minutes long & they were quite keen to get us to leave on the dot. I just listened and then asked if there were any issues or anything I needed to help her with. Asked if she was happy there and left it at that. The teachers are always v nice, but I did feel Awkward because I’m socially inept.

Ours is 10 minutes! Which is very short.

Teacher here. I get 5-10 mins per child which is such a short amount of time but when you’ve got 30 appointments to get through over 2 nights makes sense.
I usually ask if the parent has any questions or concerns so I don’t waste the appointment if there’s something specific they want to chat about. Otherwise I just go through how they’re doing, behaviour, attitudes, social skills etc and then onto the next!

At Primary I listened and then asked if my child was happy, integrated well into the class and was well behaved, also if there were any areas we should be supporting with at home
At seconday it was similar but whether they were on track to achieve their academic goals/GCSE's

OP in all kindness, it is not about you and your discomfort - it's about your son. Don't sit there looking like you can't wait to escape and get it over with asap. Let the teacher led. Take his/her comments on board.

DS3 is 14 so I have done plenty of parents evenings. The teachers always lead and do the vast majority of the talking. They generally start by asking if you have any issues you want to talk about, I assume so you dont ask about anything major in the last 20 seconds. If you dont they just talk about progress and social issues if they are younger and you can chip in with comments and questions when you want.