Student-Led Conferences (by Elizabeth)
Parent-Teacher Conferences is the theme this month on the A Wild Ride Web site. Under strategies you will find ways to Feel Successful Before, During and After Parent-Teacher Conferences from Parent Coach Rachel Eden. You’ll also find Karen L. Alainiz’s story Time for A Change and several useful resources.
Earlier this week, I wrote about the trend to include the student in the conferences, a trend I support but others prefer the traditional approach. Beth K. Vogt, author of the book BABY CHANGES EVERYTHING: Embracing and Preparing for Motherhood after 35 and the Blog Mommy-Come-Lately , commented on my post:
I've only participated in parent-teacher conferences--lots of them, with three grown children and one in first grade. It always worked well for me the old-fashioned way. I'm not adverse to the P-T-S conference. I figure the P-T conference shouldn't tell me anything I don't already know.
Now I hear of another trend: Student-Led Conferences. We’ve not experienced this type of conference. My first thought is that for a child with special needs or other issues this "assignment" might be extremely daunting. But then I took a quick poll of my fellow-challenged moms and it turns out that most of them saw their child rise to the occasion during a student-led conference.
So I asked my partner Mary Scribner (RN and Parent Coach), here's what she had to say:
When I first heard of student lead conferences I thought it was a terrible idea. No teacher contact. Ridiculous! I then attended my first student lead conference and was wholly impressed. My son was organized, articulate, insightful and could clearly tell us what subjects he was doing well in and where he needed more support. He spoke nonstop for a full 20 minutes about himself. I was very impressed with the process.
That said, I still think that there needs to be a forum for the parent to discuss the student's progress, strengths, and weaknesses with the teacher. I want to hear how my son is doing from the teacher's perspective and also to connect with another adult who is influencing my son's education and growth.
What do you think? Send me an email.
Photo © Karen Roach - Fotolia.com
