Today was spring conference day. At our school, we do student-led conferences, which makes a lot of sense for middle school kids. What good does it do them to have a bunch of adults sitting around behind closed doors conspiring-- even if our goal is their academic success?
Personally, I like the format, although it does take some work to prepare the students to do the heavy lifting on the day of the meeting. They review their current grades, do a self-assessment of their school work and study habits, compare that to one their teachers have completed, choose a piece of exemplary work to reflect on and present to their parents, and based on all of those things, they identify their strengths and areas where improvement is needed, and then set goals for the last three months of school. Then, student, parents, and teacher work together to make a plan for each child to reach those objectives.
Rather than the leader of the conference, the teacher is there as a support and a resource on that team. That's the theory, anyway. On my students' slice of life posting today, the topic of conferences was number one. Here are a few of their perspectives on the experience:
So today I had my conference. at first I was nervous and I thought everything was going to turn out awesome and okay until....
Today I went to my conference. And it was pretty fun, but it’s kind of freaky how the teachers just stare at you.
Annoying Conference. Two words. Grr.......
First of, I think it is a pain to go to the conference just because you have to explain to your parents. Especially if your conference time is at 8 a.m.
I looked at them and thought these have got to be fake grades.
The nervousness washed right out my body and dissipated down a drainage pipe. The whole thing was super easy... I guess conferences are kinda like shots in the end. After you get over all the fretting and thinking about what to say, you just get the job done and part ways.
So now the conferences passed, I went and survived.
The vacation starts for students. My conference is finally over.
(Click here for a further sample of my 6th grade students' response to the 2011 SOLSC challenge.)
Interesting to read the different takes on conferences. I think student led conferences give parents a clearer view of what their child can do. Kudos to your school for doing them.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite..."Two words. Grr." Loved the variety of the responses, and the honesty of the students words. I've got to admit, it would be a lot less painful to have parent and teacher talk about you...and then share. But where's the learning in that? Happy Friday!
ReplyDeleteThese slices are great! We do student-led conferences at my
ReplyDeleteK - 6 school, as well. Of course, they take a different form depending on the grade level but in my class students lead their parents around the room and through their self-selected work and talk about how they chose what to share and why. I just sit back and watch. Sometimes I'll help if a conference doesn't seem to be going well but for the most part, it's their show.
I'm going to ask my kids what they think about student-led conferences before we do them and then solicit their reactions afterwards. It will be interesting to get their perspectives.