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Parents' Evenings in UK Schools
Most teachers loathe Parents’ Evenings. Long ago these were voluntary, now though teachers have to attend. Unfortunately the parents who need to attend rarely do. Most schools run parents’ evenings on an appointment system, allowing 5 minute appointments with each teacher. As a teacher your appointment list may run from 1830 to 2100 with appointments every 5 minutes. That is 30 sets of parents you can see. What if you teach two or three classes in that year. Tough luck, you have to prioritise and make appointments for those children whose parents you need to see most. You should not extend your evening further by seeing parents before the official start of the evening. Your day is going to be long enough as it is. As a parent I can see the value of parents’ evenings. They are the only avenue of communication between parents and individual teachers. As a teacher they are largely a waste of time. 90% of the parents you will see come to be told how wonderful their offspring is in class. The other 10% come so that they can complain to you about some aspect of your teaching. You will never see the parents you want to see. How do you start the appointment? The best way is to stand up as the parents approach and shake hands, looking them in the eye. The worst way is to study your mark book, wait until they sit down and then start mumbling about how this homework or that piece of class work is missing, all the time avoiding eye contact. Having established communication and eye contact keep it up. You are the professional, who they have come to see. Remember that you are in charge and avoid submissive body language. Find something good to tell the parents about their child, even if it is only that he or she is never absent. If you start on a high note the parents are more likely to listen to any constructive criticism you later offer. Use the child’s name. If you find names difficult to learn you are in for a tough evening. It is very difficult to talk about 30 children if you only know 10 of their names. You are reduced to asking, “How is he in his other subjects?” “Yes that’s the pattern here, too.” Hey, I know. I have been there! Parents are unlikely to be sympathetic. They do not care that you teach 300 children in a week and you have only taught that class four times since the start of the year. They still expect you to know their child’s name. Warn colleagues if you are expecting trouble and ask someone to keep an eye out and to intervene if necessary. Teaching colleagues rarely butt in unless invited because they do not want to interfere.
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