Parent Conference Reflection

Emily Trucks
Education 414
May 5, 2016
Parent Conference Reflection
Emails
Agenda
Parent Conferences 2016

Ms. Raven
1. Introduction
Retrieve from upstairs.
Walk to room.
2. Discuss Jays Strengths
He is great toward me!
Loves science more than any student I have ever seen.
Very good with technology.
3. Ask about home.
Have you noticed these things at home?
What does he like to do at home?
4. Discuss Jays Weaknesses
Jay is not performing well in math.
Jay is not writing well.
Jays behavioral issues are the true issue.
Show progress report.
5. Ask about home.
Do you notice him feeling this way at home?
Does he tend to have outbursts toward other children in the home?
6. Plan of Action
Explain need to tackle behavior issues.
Explain connection between Jays love of non-fiction reading and the chosen
resources.
Give Ms. Raven books on feelings to read with Jay at home.
7. Conclude
Give writing about Mom.
Walk back upstairs.
Resources
Feedback Form
Reflection
I found this parent-teacher conference experience to be very beneficial. I appreciated the
opportunity to meet with an experienced teacher prior to conducting my first real conference in
my classroom. There were some items on the agenda that went over smoothly, and others that I
would change if given the chance. Overall, it was a positive experience.
Before the conference, I looked through Jay Ravens file three times: once to get an idea
of the issues being presented, once to get an idea of what I would like to discuss in the
conference, and once to gather information to support the claims to be made. I emailed Ms.
Raven requesting her presence on Thursday morning at 10:15; and then I put together an agenda
of items to be discussed. I wanted to make this agenda simply to keep myself focused and on
track during my time speaking with Ms. Raven. I tried to incorporate my new knowledge on
parent-teacher conferences into the planning, being sure to use the sandwiching technique in
discussing sensitive issues. After making my agenda, I went to the Hoover Public Library and
checked out several books by Isabel Thomas. I knew that Jay Raven enjoyed non-fiction text, so
I figured these would be good resources with which to start. The book I chose to implement in
this situation is entitled Dealing with Feeling Angry. It provides an excellent explanation of what
anger is, why it is okay to feel angry, and what can be done when one feels angry instead of
lashing out. The end of the book provides adults with a list of items to place inside of a toolbox
of sorts. The items are placed on cards; and the angry child at hand can take a card and complete
the given activity as an alternative to having an outburst. I made one toolbox for Jay to keep at
school and one for Jay to use at home, in hopes of providing consistency for him in the anger
management process. Finally, I drew the picture seen above as a good tool with which to end the
conference. The picture is of Jay and his mom and was supposedly drawn by Jay with the class
iPad. It was set to be given to Ms. Raven at the end of the conference to keep.
During the conference time, I met with Ms. Raven in Dr. Walls office on the second floor
of the education building. We sat very close together, and I did my best to work through the
agenda that I had put in place for the day. I tried to offer her opportunities to speak, but did not
get much information as she was exhausted from working two jobs. She cried a couple of times,
but in the end, we reached an understanding. Ms. Raven is not home much because she is
working two jobs. Therefore, Jay is left at home with his older brother a good bit. This provides
an explanation for his outbursts, as he is experiencing instability at home. Ms. Raven seemed
desperate for information, so I shared my resources with her. I gave her a copy of the mentioned
text to read with Jay at home, and a toolbox to go along with the text. I explained to her that I
would read the classroom copy of the text with Jay and describe the system that would be put
into place to him. Ms. Raven seemed to be open to working with me in this way, and I told her
that we could communicate over email to discuss the implementation of and adjustments to our
action plan. She cried again, joyfully, at the receipt of Jays work.
After the conference, Ms. Mungenast stayed in Dr. Walls office to talk with me. She had
several encouraging things to say about my preparation for the conference and my
professionalism. She did warn me against calling Jay my buddy, as I am not supposed to be his
friend. While I do not necessarily agree with her reasoning behind this, I do understand where
she is coming from, with her many years of teaching experience. She also commented on my
nerves, as they were noticeable. She explained that it is okay to pause during a conference, take a
deep breath, and collect your thoughts before moving forward with a conversation. There were a
few times during the conference where I repeated myself over and over again until I could get a
complete thought together. I believe that it is important to remember that not all parents are
monsters, and that it is okay to be human and show your weaknesses to them. I have emailed
Ms. Raven to thank her for coming to speak with me, reminding her of our action plan and our
intentions of communicating to make sure of its successful implementation.
I felt very prepared going into this conference. I feel that I did everything I could to take
as much control of the situation as possible. However, I was still unsure about the type of parent
I would be dealing with, as I had never met Ms. Raven before. I also felt good about Ms.
Mungenasts comments on my professionalism. I feel that I was professional without being
overly confident in my teaching abilities.
I want Ms. Raven to know that, ultimately, I want to help her son succeed. I feel that this
message was received during the conference. However, I would like for Ms. Raven to be more
excited about forming a partnership with me. Ms. Mungenast explaining in our follow-up
conversation that we, as teachers, cannot rely on parents to do what we think is best for their
child at home. Half the time, parents are just focused on survival, and are unable to focus on, or
accomplish, anything else with our students while they are in their care. Ms. Mungenast
explained to me that that fact was very hard for her to deal with as a teacher, and I feel that it will
be hard for me to deal with, too. I hold such high expectations for everyone I meet.
Unfortunately, very few parents with whom I work during my time in education will meet those
expectations.
I know that, while I cannot control what goes on in my students home environments, I
can exercise my right of in locus parentis in the classroom each day and do what is best for my
students in the eight hours I have them. Hopefully, I will be able to provide them with the
support necessary to succeed in the classroom and at home. It will be important for me to
communicate with parents about their children, despite the anxieties present on both ends. At the
end of the day, my job is to be an advocate for all of the children whom I teach. Communicating
with parents, about the good and the bad, is just a part of that advocacy job.

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Emily Trucks

Parent Conferences 2016

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