Friday, February 4, 2011

Parent-School Conferences by Mrs. Dorothy Barron

Parent-School Conferences by Mrs. Dorothy Barron

At some point each school year, you will be invited or your presence requested at a school conference for your child or children. Do you prepare for your child’s conference(s)? Perhaps, your response is don’t I just show up? You can, but being prepared, confident and in charge assists with eliminating anxiety and frustration (excerpt from Parents Taking Charge in Education Series: How to Hold a School Conference? Written by Mrs. Dorothy Barron). 
On today, Let us discuss Parent-School Conferences; there are primarily three types:

Ø  General School Conferences- invitation for all parents to meet faculty and teachers and obtain important information about the school and your child/ren’s curriculum. Many schools offer primarily two conferences per year- one at the beginning of the school year and during the second half of the school year during Spring.
Ø  School Initiated Conference- the school (teacher, administrators and/or others) requests your presence at a meeting
Ø  Parent Initiated Conference- the Parent requests a meeting with the school.

Parent-School Conferences for some parents cause some trepidation; such to an extent is normal. Some Parents however exemplify nervousness, dread, anxiety and even anger when having to attend their child’s Parent-School Conference(s). The range of emotions may be due the following:
Ø  Some Parents have not been inside a school since graduation.
Ø  Child’s negative actions/behavior reflects the Parents’ and/or their parenting skills.    
Ø  Parent’s own personal school experience(s) as a student and the school/principal reminds the parent of his/her own past school experiences, infraction, problems, etc.
Ø  Inferiority Complex- lack of education, language barriers, socio-economic challenges
Ø  Foreign/Hostile Territory- Some parents do not feel they are part of the decision making process or have any rights when it comes to their children’s education and/or schools.
Ø  Some Parents lack understanding and knowledge of the education process and do not feel confident enough to make informed decisions about their child/ren’s education.
Ø  Interruption to Parents’ busy schedule or activities
Parents, ever attended a Parent- School conference and
Ø  left clueless; you were unclear or did not understand what had taken place
Ø   too many issues were covered as well as those you thought previously resolved
Ø  you did not remember what actions were to follow the conference
Ø  You felt inadequately prepared
I will offer three tips to assist you with Parent-School Conferences; they have been taken from Parents Taking Charge in Education Series: How to Hold a School Conference? Written by Mrs. Dorothy Barron to share with you on today:
Ø  INTRODUCE YOURSELF
Ø  Introductions are important! Parent, introduce yourself and if, in a school conference for your child, give his/her name(s). Request the name of the individual(s) you are conferencing with if they do not introduce themselves. Have you ever been in a conference only to discover you were talking to the wrong person or the individual(s) had mistaken you for someone else’s parent? I repeat; introduce yourself! (Parents Taking Charge in Education Series: How to Hold a School Conference? Written by Mrs. Dorothy Barron)
Ø   ESTABLISH THE NATURE Of THE CONFERENCE
Ø  Obtain the reason(s) for the conference and issues to be discussed prior to the conference to allow you, the parent to prepare; if, not before, certainly at the beginning of the conference. Such avoids misunderstandings and assists with keeping the school conference on track (Parents Taking Charge in Education Series: How to Hold a School Conference? Written by Mrs. Dorothy Barron).
Ø  THE KEY IS SELF-CONTROL: ISSUES  v. EMOTIONS
Ø  Losing your temper or self-control often leads to little if anything being accomplished and issues and concerns at hand, forgotten ((Parents Taking Charge in Education Series: How to Hold a School Conference? Written by Mrs. Dorothy Barron).
Stay tuned; next week you will be provided with information about some specific tools that can assist Parents with becoming more informed, knowledgeable, and educated about the education process, which can enable you to better assist, become more confident, an informed decision maker and more involved in your children’s education and/or schools.
Mrs. Dorothy Barron, Author                                                                                                   
Parents Taking Charge in Education at http://mrsdbarron.blogspot.com                                       
E-mail: barron.dorothy@yahoo.com

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