Parent-Teacher Interview Jitters

 Last week, I was very nervous. On the Thursday evening and Friday morning, I had parent-teacher (home-school?) interviews. As with many things related to being a classroom, homeroom teacher, it has been decades since my last direct experience as a teacher. (As a mother of two children, I've been on the other side of the desk plenty of times.) Usually, I'm the "translator wrangler", ensuring that interviews don't go overtime. How would I keep my own interviews on schedule? How would I make sure I didn't forget to say anything important? How would I strike the right tone? What if the parents or guardians didn't like me or what I had to say? What should I do if there was a conflict or confrontation? Complicating this year's event was the added technological hoops - we conducted our meetings via Zoom. 

I turned to my colleagues for advice and they gave me plenty. I transformed some of their key messages into a template. 

This was useful because I could write the names of the adults attending the interview and I would be less inclined to mispronounce their names or use the wrong surname. I also had a script so I wouldn't forget to mention that I was timing the talk so we would respect those scheduled afterwards. (P.S. - I still ended late despite this.)

This template worked out quite well. It gave me a place to take some notes so that I would remember key points we discussed, especially if there were any follow-up actions related to our conversations.

If any of my students' parents are reading this, THANK YOU! All of you were absolutely delightful! You all care so much about your children and modelled risk-taking for your children by attempting to join these interviews virtually. Some had problems getting connected but they persevered. I appreciate all of you IMMENSELY!

In case you are curious, this is what I looked like during a call on Zoom. Please note the eye on the laptop is a legacy from the unforgettable Dean Roberts. His room is filled with objects that have become anthropomorphized thanks to these googly eyes. (They are on the SMART Interactive White Board, the blackboard, my teacher laptop ... everywhere!)

I hate to admit it, but there were some benefits to conducting these interviews virtually. I had all my papers and reference materials at my fingertips. Parents didn't have to run from class to class. With the Zoom waiting room, I could tell exactly when my next appointment was present. Finally, it was nice not to wear a mask and wear lipstick; this was possible because I was the only one in the room. Having said all this, I'm still  grateful that I don't teach virtually. The energy it takes to interact with just a single other person can be draining and I cannot imagine how virtual teachers do it with an entire class of students. 

Thank you everyone for making my first set of interviews in the twenty-first century a positive experience. Big thanks to my principal too, for walking those of us who had late night interviews out to our cars in the dark parking lot and ensuring our physiological needs were met. Now to keep marking, planning (how am I behind in two subjects?) and getting ready to write the first term reports!