Parents Evenings Y10+

[RomanyRoots]

A question for teachers and parents.

1. As a teacher what do you think we should be asking as parents?

1. As a teacher what will you tell us?

1. As a parent what do you want to hear from the teachers.

I want to know

• how is my son's behaviour in lessons?
• how much effort is he putting into his work (in your opinion)
• what is his last test score/projected score based on current attainment?
• what would you consider to be his strengths and weaknesses?
• what should he work on to improve?
• what (if anything) can I do as his parent to support this?

Fortunately most teachers seem to want to tell us this sort of information anyway.

I used to assume good behaviour and effort unless told otherwise.
I used to ask DD in advance whether she had any issues with the subject, whether to do with lessons or in general.

• General level
• Issues from DD (e.g. you go too fast, behaviour is annoying, can't grasp what is needed for essays)
• What can I do to support

What RedSky said, but I also did what TeenTimesTwo said, in asking dc before the meeting if there were any issues, or difficulties with each subject.
I can't be doing with the teachers starting with "...and how do you think you are doing" at the start of each and every meeting.

I can't be doing with the teachers starting with "...and how do you think you are doing" at the start of each and every meeting.

I agree. Neither of my DDs can answer that, and I want to know what the teacher thinks, not my DD!

The idea behind that question is that the child should already know what I'm going to say. So much of lesson time is filled with feedback. Test scores? The kids have had them all back. Misbehaving? They know if they get told off. Working hard enough? The kid should have had feedback on any class work/ homework... etc...

Teachers are bombarded with the message of creating a reflective learner - so if a child has no clue how they've been doing, they're either lying or they know they could be doing better... or maybe they can tell the teacher where it's going wrong.

Parents' meetings are a chance for dialogue!!!! If I regurgitate their results (which they already have and you presumably know from their most recent report), and they could tell you that they get weekly detentions for not handing In their work (or whatever), it's a total waste of 2-4 hours' of the teacher's time!!! And possibly yours!

Thank you for the replies, I'm going to listen for the "how do you think you're doing" I can see the point of reflection, trying to get my dd to reflect on all her choices and decisions.

Do you know in all the parents evenings I've attended I've never asked the kids beforehand. I'm to admit it, it just never occurred to me.
Thanks for this one.

I'd like to hear that DS can drop French. He's going to struggle to get even a 4. We will both get very stressed out. Big waste for him to take this.

I also fail to see the point of "and how do you think you are doing?" My kids know how they are doing but find that an uncomfortable question to answer. So it's like a really awkard job interview and it wastes about 60% of the precious five minutes i have available to hear their teachers' viewpoint.

Given 3 hours of 5 minute back to back appointments, I sometimes use ‘how do you think it’s going?’ as a break to marshall my thoughts and remember what I want to say about the child in front of me. And sometimes remember who they are if they’re not in uniform and look different!

Generally they said ‘fine’ rather than some long-winded reply and I then launch into ‘I agree blah blah’.

I’ll be telling you how your DC works in class, whether they’re doing well or struggling, what grades they should be expecting (e.g. a 4 or a 5), what they need to be aiming to do to get the 5 instead of the 4. A rough plan of the next year or two, how they should be revising and an ‘any questions?’

1. How my dc i s behaving in class.
2. My dcs strengths and weaknesses.

How is he/she behaving?
Is he/she always polite?
What does he/she need to work on?
How can he/she do this outside of school and how can I support?

I would like to know about
Any behave issues
What my DC are working at now and specifically what they can do to improve on this

Would you be asking about targets or predicted grades yet, obviously only if the teacher is familiar with the child's ability, already.

Romany Our school gives predicted grades on the report at the end of every term, so if the meeting was this week I probably wouldn't myself.