Parent Teacher Conference

Last Thursday, we gave our student progress report cards in preparation for Parent Teacher Conference that was held that evening. Each class period came for 30 minutes so teachers could fill out a letter grade and write a couple of comments. It was a stressful day from the very beginning.

The night before I had calculated all of my students grades. I was surprised with how well most of them were doing. Also a little disappointed with how some students were progressing. And then came my really bad class. I have 22 students in this class and I gave 15 of them a failing grade. Most were not shocked at all. Some kids tried to get me to change their grades but after showing them their breakdown and their scores they realized that they deserved the grade they got. I think it was a wake up call for most. No one is going to skate by in my class and get an A for it. Not in Mr. Drew's class. No sir.

After a 2 hour break in which we were supposed to be "preparing" for the PTC the parents started to arrive. I don't think its done like this in the states, but the PTC was held in our "gym." Each department was placed around the gym sitting at tables. Parents picked up their kids progress reports from the counselors and then walked around and talked to any of their kids teachers. The parents asked why their child got the grade they did and some asked if there is anything their kid can improve on. I had heard that some parents would complain to the teacher and try to get their grade changed but that was not the case with me. For the most part, all of the parents were kind, civil and happy to meet me. I met about 25 parents out of the 121 students that I have.