How can the parent teacher interview be more effective?
Parent-teacher interviews are tradition. One writer suggested that they are “a sacred cow of school.” Unfortunately, the tradition is typically that the parents of the privileged children come — those parents who already know their children best. Teachers seldom get to meet the caregivers of the children who we puzzle over, the ones that we would love to help more and the ones for whom some insight into their lives might be helpful in determining how to meet their needs. Although there are some effective alternatives happening in many places, the traditional interview routine has the teacher sitting at a desk and reporting to the parent/caregiver about what the child has done or not done, effectively or unsatisfactorily. The parents listen. A few questions and responses might be exchanged before the interview ends and the next parent enters and the routine repeats. There seems to be little expectation — and hence hope — that the parent-teacher interview will make a difference for th
