Are Parent Teacher Conferences Effective?

by POPSUGAR Moms 1

Do parent-teacher conferences have anything to do with the kids? Danielle Pillet-Shore, a college professor who has studied the conferences for 10 years says that many parents and teachers use the time to evaluate each other, not the student! The professor says that both parties use the conference as a mutual performance review to "gauge of how the teacher is doing at his or her job of 'being a teacher' and how the parent is doing at his or her job of 'being a parent.'"

This means both parties are on their best behavior. Parents criticize their children to show that they are "alert, attentive, observant, responsive, and actively involved" while teachers try to keep the conversation positive by "delivering future-oriented, favorable or optimistic comments about the student." What has your experience been?

Source: Flickr User Matt McGee