My student-led conferences were incredible! For the first time in my 4.25 years of teaching, I left conferences calm and pleasantly pleased with how the evening went.
For starters, I did not not hear one of the following conversations that make me cringe:
Me: Well, your son rounded out the first quarter with a 78, which is a C+.
Parent: A C+?!?!? How did you get a C+?
Student: I dunno...
Parent: That's it. No more video games, football, ANYTHING!
That was enough to let me leave happy. But what was even more magical, was that students took complete responsibility for their grades. The boys that I teach were able to explain the grade that they earned by identifying their strengths and weakness. For example, students could clarify if their "non A" grade was a result of missing homework, low test grades, etc. Although not all graders were not perfect, parents were content because students did not try to point the blame on other students or myself. They owned up to their work.
To top it off, students were able to describe a plan of action to their parents. They came to the meeting prepared with a list of 3 things that could help them improve during the second quarter. Students were able to present suggestions to their parents such as creating a different study environment, proofreading work, and reading out loud.
Overall, conferences were very beneficial and rewarding. I will definitely continue to use this model throughout the rest of the year.
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