Insights from Conferences

Parent/teacher conferences are over. I love to meet with parents and celebrate what the children have done, but the time commitment is huge (before and after school all week) and I am pretty worn out. (Heading for a pedicure with Lisa later today.)

The 2/3 teacher had told me that this particular group of kids was her most challenging class ever in her career. I had eight more students added to that mix, and while I would not say it is my most challenging class, I can say it has been the most challenging I've ever had at Hershey.

Parent/teacher conferences gave me an insight into why they differ from past classes.

One issue is chattiness among the fourth graders. Not mean talk at all, just having to talk all the time, including to me (it's kind of cute the way they try to include me in their discussions of what's going on in their lives.)

So, I guess I should not have been surprised when two of their mothers talked constantly during our conferences, some of what they were saying pertaining to school, some of it not. I'm pretty experienced at conferencing and keeping the conferences on topic, but I could not with those two mothers. (Neither parent was complaining; they were just talking about things that did not pertain to the conference.)

They left without hearing about their child's progress, and with me realizing that their children mirrored their mothers when it came to chattiness.

I have a few students who stress far more than they should over their grades. They spend too much time on academics and not enough on playing outside with friends or in outside activities. They, too, can be a mirror of their parents, and I needed to reassure those folks that their child WAS doing just fine even if there was a B on the report card. If the child is trying, and a B (or less) is their best effort, then that is okay.

Several of my families are in turmoil at home; that spills into school and adds to the challenge this class presents to me. I ended up doing an extra conference for one set of divorced parents because the tension between them makes me tense and on guard, fearing I will say something that will trigger an argument. (It's happened.)

But despite the fact that this is a challenging class, the bright spots far outweigh the difficulties. That chattiness, for example? It is not unkind talk at all, and it is because the kids like each other and want to share. And when I ask them to pipe down, they do. For a little while, at least. :D

Kids who work too hard? I have two years with them to help them figure out how to balance academics with being a kid (and I'd rather have this problem that children who could care less about school and aren't motivated.)

Turmoil at home? That's a toughie. I cannot change what is happening at home, but I can make sure that while those children are at school, they feel safe, secure, happy, and loved.

Yes, it's a challenging class, but it is full of happy, eager to learn kids. They've come a long way since school began in August, and I expect for that trend to continue.