This past week we had student-led parent teacher conferences. During school on Friday, the students went to their homeroom to collect their assignments. The students were each given a black binder and instructed to put their assignments in the binder. The teacher passed back the assignments she wanted placed in the binder. The students were also given a sheet with each of their classes, a grade print out of all their assignments in each class, and an overall grade print out. The students had to fill out what they were doing in each of their classes and state two goals. Jun had asked what his two goals should be. I looked at his grades and saw he had a few low grades on his assignments. I asked him how he felt about math and he said he can’t stand the class but he gets his homework done, he just turns it in late. So we made one of his goals, turn in assignments on time. Then we looked at his overall grade report and he had a few absences in art. I asked why he was missing art and he said he was only tardy but the teacher doesn’t accept coming late as a tardy. So then his second goal was to be on time to art class.
The students were responsible for walking their parents through their grade report and their assignments they completed in the 8th grade classes. The families would meet in one room and all the teachers would be present. There were multiple tables set up so the teachers could rotate from family to family. If the students/parents did not want to talk to a teacher they didn't have to and could collect their assignments and come and go at their leisure.
Thursday night was more shocking than Monday because of the discussions I heard and the family dynamics I witnessed. Almost every student had one parent or they had two parents, but they were divorced. One discussion that haunted me was when we had a student with ADHD and his two families present. His mom talked about his behavioral disorder and spoke of how drugs didn’t work the first time so we should consider a clinical program. Then his step mom and dad chimed in with their opinion. Everyone was in agreement but the student just sat their in between them staring down at the table, no nodding, just sitting there. The whole conversation made me uncomfortable because I felt as if the student’s opinion was not represented. Then I also thought about my years in middle school. We never had conversations with students about medication they were taking or the clinics they were attending. I feel as if our society has started to turn to the quick fix, such as drugs or having another professional address the issues, instead of confronting the situation and discussing it with the student. This student is very enthusiastic and responsive in class. He just needs to know his boundaries. However he has to be reminded constantly. This conference influenced me to get to know this student better. I interacted with him the next day during social studies. He was talking with his partner about abstract things and not completing their assignment. I came over and asked how it was going. His partner showed me one of her sheets that was completed and I explained that she needed to complete the second sheet (which was blank). Then I asked him how he was doing and he said that he was stuck on a problem. His partner knew the answer because she completed her paper and started to tell him the answer. Then I said, “wait, let’s let him figure it out.” He took the challenge and started to figure out the problem and came up with the answer on his own. Then they started working on the second sheet together. They said that it was hard because they didn’t understand what the question was asking and they didn’t know where to look in the reading. Together we broke down the question and scanned the titles of the paragraphs in the reading. They both were able to choose which paragraph pertained to the question based on the title and worked quietly together. It was awesome to see him being successful but also channeling his energy towards his work and not distracting other students. I would have wanted to share this experience with his family on thursday and to reassure him that he has been making a positive effort in class.
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