Student-Teacher Conferences, parents sitting in.

It seems most of us have been surprised and delighted in all we are learning in the conferences. At times I sat there thinking, How will I ever do this, while marveling at the skill of both my dyad and MT.

Sitting in on two days of conferences with my MT and his third/fourth graders was a great learning experience. It was ALL about the students. It seemed that his almost 40 years of teaching came through shining; he was able to focus on one child and was in his element. I appreciate reading about 'Love's' MT moving everything away so that the the entire focus of the room is on the child. In our case, he invited the child to sit in the center seat opposite him in his horseshoe table. He brought out the report card that the children so thoughtfully filled out. "So tell me, have you ever filled out your progress report before? How was it?" To this, the children were extremely honest, "I had to be really honest with myself. It was tough." I sat and watched third and fourth graders looking directly into his eyes while they seriously talked about their own schooling. I was stunned by some of the children, from rambunctious in the classroom to deeply thinking and in their self assessment.

Then he compared his to theirs, "Let's see where we agree and what you feel could be some of your goals." If by the end of the experience they couldn't name a goal he asked them to look over both progress reports and talk with their parents and give him a goal tomorrow in writing.

What was most amazing for me was his language, "What do you think? How is math for you? What do you like, dislike? What is easy? Did you like the writing prompts so far? What kind of writing do you like? How could school be improved for you? What would you like to do about your math? There were a few silences for the parents to speak up, but he figured if they had issues they are adult enough to address them. He never once addressed them (Are there any concerns, etc.) unless the child had behavior issues in class.

The sixth grade was much different, but fantastic in its own way. She 'celebrated' the child. She had a nice spread of hot cider and snacks and a positive mood of 'bring out the portfolio!'. In all these 5th/6th grade classes there were papers the children filled out and read aloud to the parents; what we did, what are my goals.

MT did it all on the spot, verbally. I like his technique. Keeping it real.