teachers - fess up, what are your parent evening euphemisms!

[fullmoonfiend]

Hello teachers - just been having a wry smile at an article in the Times 2 section today about parents' evenings and what teachers really mean when they say ( for example) 'a bit lively' = a real pain. Eager to please = won't stop hassling me. As our parents' eveing is looming next week, and I recognised a few examples in my own children, I just wondered what you 'tactfully' say if a particular child is awful. Or do you tell the truth! (but only of the parents' are smaller than you or you're near a door for a swift exit)

Ds1 got described as "a live wire" by his games teacher, ie he doesn't listen and acts up.

"enthusiastic" - never shuts up

She's always willing to help- She's one of those PITA little girls who always sucks up.

I use lively and sociable when I mean A BLOODY PAIN IN THE ARSE!

Obviously there are 'lively comments' for badly behaved. Others are:

'Tries hard' - not very bright, but plods on

'Enjoys discussions' - doesn't stop chatting

'Enjoys the more active tasks' - can't get them to do their written work for love nor money!

'Very popular in class' - one of the in crowd who doesn't like working.

'Has made good progress over the course of the year' - If you think they're bad now, think how much worse they were last year!!

There were more, but I don't teach in schools anymore, so have forgotten most of them!

So what is "bubbly and dynamic"?

I understood "sometimes her enthusiasm to talk gets in the way of her listening" , but not that one.

Watching this with interest, DS1's parents' night very soon.

bubbly and dynamic is talks alot and can be loud or more positvely lots of enthusiasm and will volunteer for any thing

Think I'll go for the first - reluctantly, Spookylucy. Wish I'd never asked! You teachers are a mean lot...............

you know their scraping the barrell when the only thing they can come up with is "he's very well mannered and polite"

Outgoing, liveky and enthusiastic in oral work, mean a child who will never sit still or shut up.

If a child is nice I tell the parents the truth that their child is a delight to work with.

TYou sometimes have to be brutaly honest, 'No Mrs X, Johnny cannot do A level Biology as he is predicted to get a grade E in GCSE and will only work if I stand behind him every minute of the lesson'

OMG I'm dreading parents' evening now - many of these have been used to describe my ds in the past [Grin] and this year I've got two of them!

I have interview night soon too. I would much rather the teacher tell me her probs so I can sort them out with her. If I don't know I can't help her. I suppose some parents go home and flog the kid for talking do they????

In the past I have been warned not to tell specific parents anything negative about their child because they would give the kid a beating

That is so awful . But I am guessing that as teachers you would see and hear some terrible things. I really could not teach as I think I would spend many a day crying. I cried when my dd had a boy in her class who had teeth so rotten I am positive they could never have been brushed ever. I give credit to teachers who make a difference to these kid's lives.

It's almost worse going to parents' evenings when they know you're a teacher too! I went to DS2's on Tuesday to be told that he had told a student 4 times that he wasn't going to do the work she asked him to do and walked back into the classroom!!! Oh the shame!! He's 8 and Asperger's, but still........

Just back from parents' afternoon at dd1's school.

Apparently dd1 is a lovely child [proud emoticon], who particularly enjoys sharing her experiences at carpet time [never bloody shuts up]. She has very good general knowledge [constantly witters on about stuff which is not what the rest of the class are doing] and loves to talk about her little sister [when the rest of the class are doing something more productive]. She could sometimes do to listen a bit more [as opposed to bloody wittering on all the time] and is sometimes a bit slow to finish her work [because she is constantly wittering on about something else].

Seriously... the teacher was obviously quite fond of her (said she was always smiling, which is true, and also coincidentally what dd1 says about her teacher ) and she seems to be doing well, but I could have written the above myself before going in there!

Just had this conversation in the car, a propos of parents' afternoon...

Me to dd1 (age 5): Mrs X said you are very articulate. Do you know what that means?

Dd1: Yes. It means I'm good at art.

So glad I read this before tonights meeting..
DS1, a joy to have in the class , such a change from DD1, who hit 3 of the euphemisms below!

I learnt to my horror that one boy at my school had been hit because of what had been said at school. In a meeting with his parents, we were told that we weren't strict enough and should hit him

Lol just found this whilst looking for something else.

So what would lovable rogue really mean?