Let me just begin this by saying I LOVE PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES.
I had such a wonderful time today with the kids, and even though I was at the school for over 11 hours it just sort of flew by!
After school I had a quick 10-minute dance party with a couple of my little girls who were waiting on their parents to come to the conferences, and then we began. We did 12 conferences, but it didn't seem like it took 3 1/2 hours at all.
I have always thought "there is NO WAY teachers can remember every single thing about every child to talk to their parents..." I mean, there are 26 of them and so it's impossible for us to remember what they wrote in their journal, who they play with, how they've been answering questions in group time, right? Okay, wrong. SO wrong. I was surprised at how much I do remember about each individual child. Without even meaning to, just being around them and being involved in their education every day, I have gotten to know these kids, and I can recall details and talk about what I love about them and what is challenging about them, and what they are great at and what they need to work on. And of course, Aryn is a million times better about this!
I loved watching her do the conferences. She is so confident, and she is so personable, and she really makes connections with the parents and families. She talked to each parent exactly the way they needed her to -- I hope that one day I can do the same thing.
The conferences themselves were so eye-opening. It is so nice to put a family to each child. I have a little more insight into what their home lives are like, who their parents are, what is important in their lives outside of school...I loved it. All of the parents let me sit in on their conferences. I feel like I know the children so much better now, just from talking to their families for 15 minutes. I kind of wish these happened more often! I am looking forward to the meetings tomorrow.
Each conference was so different, and yet I can still remember exactly what we talked about in all of them. I am so glad that I am getting these opportunities this semester. I am also glad that the parents know who I am now, so that if their children are talking at home about "Miss Megan," they have a face to put with a name, too.
The hardest conference was the one where Aryn had to tell a parent that she was recommending retention for her son. I stayed late for it, because I really wanted to see how you tell someone that. His mom suspected that it was going to happen, and she's actually supportive of it, so that makes it much easier on both of them in beginning this process. The question she asked -- the one that I think a lot of parents in this situation fear the most -- was "How do I tell him?" I never thought about that, I guess. I have wondered a lot about how you tell a parent that their child isn't succeeding (basically), but how do you even begin to explain that to the child?! Aryn made it clear, and she said it several times, that she does not want to kill his confidence. That is SO important. You don't want a child to feel like a failure. But you want to help them succeed, and maybe an extra year is what they need? I don't know. I don't know. I talk a lot of big game in class about not supporting retention (which, for the most part, I DO NOT), but it's so much harder to look a parent in the eyes -- a parent who is so concerned and just wants what is best for their child -- and have that conversation. What do you do? How do you know that your recommendation isn't going to make things worse for them?
Being a teacher is such a big responsibility. I have always known that, but now I am seeing it.
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