"Parents just don't understand"

I'm finding that this is not the case with Paul parents. Paul parents understand.

Actually, the prevailing perception of parents in urban school districts is that they don't have an interest in their child's education. The reality of the situation is that parents want their children to succeeed (as if this wasn't common sense), and are kicking their behinds at home in order to make sure that they will. The disconnect lies in the fact that not all parents can be involved in their child's education in traditional ways. This is why most teachers will assume that a parent simply does not care about their child's performance.

Case in point-- today we had parent-teacher conferences. I've had 7 parents come to conferences in the course of 7 hours. I teach approximately 90 students. Does the turnout for parent-teacher conferences reflect the level of parental involvement? Absolutely not. I really don't know how we can expect a large turnout for conferences when they're scheduled from noon until 7 pm. This isn't to knock our scheduling at all. Imagine a parent can't get out of work early. It's Friday... you know everyone is trying to leave work by 5 (at the latest). DC traffic is already a pain, and parents have to race to school before 7oclock? I can't say that I'd be beat to do conferences either.

What's really caught me off guard is the fact that most parents came in with an agenda. Now, I was expecting to explain why I gave Sally Sue a C, or why Easy Eddie ended up failing for this advisory. Instead, I'd say that 5 of the 7 parents came in to explain their own faults. "I need to do better this advisory, I haven't been on my son/daughter as much as I need to". "I like to put all of the negative things on me... he doesn't live with me just yet, and until he does we might continue to experience some rough times". It was inspiring to see some parents take responsibility for their child's grades, but at the same times I was hoping they wouldn't be so hard on themselves. In most cases, I think their children could benefit from a little tough love here and there, but I really hope that the parents weren't making excuses for them. It seemed as though some of the parents were being carried by their children. "My son said", "My daughter wants to do this..." "I don't want them to think..."... which is fine, you'll have whatever dynamic you will with your son/daughter--but establish some sort of authority.....dag.

I genuinely enjoyed my first bout of parent-teacher conferences. It was great to rave to parents about their child-- I can't say that I did much ranting. The pride that each parent has in their child was evident-- and it was nice to see that in each smile and "Why thank you" that they gave when a complement was dropped.

Every parent is a teacher, and every teacher a parent. As parents, we are responsible for teaching our children how to grow in to young men and women, while also providing the most consistent and fiulfilling love and nourishment possible. As teachers, we are responsible for giving our students the skills and the knowledge necessary to succeed in life. It is only when we embrace both the role of the teacher and the parent that we can truly become a driving force in our children's lives.

ed Prince.