Conferences

Ten years ago as a new teacher, parent teacher conferences intimidated me a little. I was a mere four years older than some of their children, and the parents were quick to question my authority.

Now, 10 years older and "wiser", conferences take on new meaning. My conferences began this week on Monday evening. We completed a full day at school ending at 3:25, raced to the teacher's lounge for a quick meal, and began seeing parents at 4:oo pm. This set of conferences proved to be fruitful as I saw some "must see" parents of kids who needed redirection. Lines outside my room, no time for breaks, the evening raced by and ended at 8:00 pm that night after being at school for over 12 hours!

Tuesday evening came, and it was my turn to be the parent. Evan had preschool parent-teacher conferences. I was excited to chat with Ev's teachers as it is his first year at the preschool, and I am wavering about sending him to kindergarten next week with his August birthday. Ev's teachers were thrilled with his classroom performance, highlighting his constant smile and upbeat demeanor. They complimented his ability to make friends with virtually everyone in the room and his appropriate classroom behavior. They did indicate that he is starting to feel more comfortable with them, and sometimes shows his silly side as well. Phew-- Good news in all.

Thursday evening approached next, and it was time to see Andrew and Brendan's teachers. Andrew was first. His teacher presented us with his report cards of solid A's and a few stray B's. She praised his math ability and explained his inattentiveness to details-- at times-- in other subjects that are not quite as appealing to him. She continued to highlight all the positive attributes he brings to class like attentiveness to books, sense of humor, and a positive attitude. We also breezed by his speech teacher, who is now reducing his speech time to once a week because of his improvement with his stuttering! Phew-- two good reports. This was looking positive.

Finally, we went to Brendan's teacher. As we sat down, she paid Brendan the biggest compliment. She said, "This will be quick. Brendan is a wonderful kid. If I had a class full of Brendan's, I wouldn't have any problems." I beamed. How wonderful to hear about your child. She highlighted his reading capabilities and showed us positive testing scores. Our conference was concise yet effective: Brendan is doing a great job!

So, we did it. Four conferences in a week. Everything is good. Phew!