I remember my first parent teacher interview night. I was nervous, scared, and had no idea what to expect. I tried to prepare for everything . I practiced the pronunciation of students’ last name repeatedly. I printed individual mark reports of every student that I had. I recorded the past EQAO scores written by each student six years ago.
To say the least – I was prepared.
As for the parents, some came prepared with their own set of expectations, and some just wanted to know how their child is doing in the class.
Expectations for this five minute interview vary from teacher to teacher and from parent to parent.
However, for the majority of interviews, I noticed a pattern of information that parents wanted that I now prepare ahead of time:
-
Offer initial impressions of your child – anecdotal evidence of their general behaviour in class
-
Make suggestions on areas to improve- either from learning skills or draw evidence from a recent a quiz/test
-
Offer various forms of extra help or enrichment – peer tutoring, online tutoring, private tutoring, or extra help sessions with the teacher. Enrichment for both math and science can be found at contests.
-
Exchange contacts for future communication – email communication is becoming more common now between parents and teachers
Be aware, however, that the number of students taught in high school can vary from as little as 30 to over 150 students for each teacher. This will affect the amount of detail you can receive at the interview.
I approach the night as a way of meeting parents and to give a snapshot of how the student is in class. Parent teacher interview night often sets the stage for more communication. In some cases for me, it led to another meeting (informal parent teacher meeting) that isn’t constrained by time and is often more productive.
Question: What sorts of details would you want from a parent teacher interview? You may leave a comment below.
Comments