15 Questions To Ask At Parent Teacher Conferences

Thinking ahead about what you want to know at parent teacher conferences will help you make sure that you get the most of this short but informative time.  Your child's teacher will probably already have a checklist of items that they will cover with each parent.  If you know ahead of time what you want to be sure to find out, you will be ready to ask if that isn't already covered.  You can also use these questions to keep the conference talk going, providing an opportunity for your child's teacher to bring up important details.

1.  What will my child be learning about this school year? This is a broad question that will let you know what is going on in your child's school day.

 2.  What does my child seem to enjoy?
3.  What do you see as my child's strengths
4.  Do you see any weaknesses?   This is another broad, open question that may help you find out about any areas where your child is struggling.

5.  What are your expectations about homework?  Be sure that you understand how much time your child should be spending on homework each week, when it is due, and what to do when your child runs into difficulty.  Be sure to find out what the expectations are for parents in making sure their child's work is complete.

6.  What is the best way I can contact you?  If you haven't the opportunity already, the parent teacher conference is an ideal time to begin developing a relationship with your child's teacher.

7.  How Can I Be Involved?  Parental Involvement has been shown time and again through multiple studies to increase children's academic success.  Opportunities for involvement are so varied, that each parent can find some way to be involved that will help all of the children in a school to succeed.

8.  Is my child working at grade level?  If not, what kind of help is there?  This question will help you to find out if your child is falling behind, and what you can do about it.  The earlier problems are addressed, the faster your child can be caught up. Falling behind in school can lead to children feeling unsuccessful and unmotivated.  Find help from a tutor

9  Are there any major assignments I should be aware of?  This question will help you plan ahead for any large assignments that your child may have at school.  For example, a large in school assignment being done over a couple of weeks is something that you can ask your child about the progress of when your child comes home from school. You may also want to plan ahead for take home projects that need supplies or will require parental help for completion.

10.  Who are my child's friends?  How is my child doing socially?  Social development is an  important part of growing up.   Checking in to see how your child is doing socially in school can tell you about things like their ability to work with others or how safe and comfortable they feel at school.

11.  Is my child completing their work and turning it in on time?  A teacher needs to send out the work and get it back in time in order for it to be graded.  While some children have an easy time getting their work in, other children struggle.  Education researcher John Taylor identified 13 different steps that must be completed in order for homework to be turned in.  If your child isn't getting their work done, finding out which step(s) are challenging can help your child be successful in school.

12. Ask about any concerns brought up to you by your child .  If your child has told you about anything that is bothering them, the face to face time during parent teacher conferences may be a good time to find out more about what is going on.  If you are upset about something happening with your child at school, you will probably be better off to find a different time to discuss the with your child's teacher.  See if you can schedule a time to discuss the issue if you can't address during conferences.

13. How can parents check on grades and school work completion?  Many schools now have online student information systems where parents can monitor their children's grades and schoolwork completion as teachers enter grades into the system. This real time monitoring gives parents the opportunity to act fast when work is late or missing, or even if grades begin to drop.  Other schools may send home weekly grade print outs with the children.  Be sure you know where and when to look at your child's grades.

14.  How is my child's participation in class?  This question can tell you how engaged your child is in school.  This question can also let you know if your child is struggling to pay attention or is having some other difficulty with learning in the classroom.

Be sure to take a pen and paper with you to take notes over important answers.  If you come up with a plan, make sure to follow through for your child's success.

 
Source:
http://parentinginschools.about.com