The Beauty of Parent-Teacher Conferences
I have a secret to spill. When I first became a homeroom teacher, the parent-teacher conference was something I wished I could avoid. I was terrified of talking to parents face to face, somehow imagining the worst nightmare I could think of might happen: me saying something inappropriate, or going blank not knowing what to say, or an angry parent accusing me of not doing the right thing, and on and on… It sounds crazy, but at the time I thought it would be a nerve-racking experience.
I am so glad I was wrong! I went up there and could see the sunny side of it. I do get nervous sometimes and there IS a chance of my nightmare becoming a real one, but also I realized that I have the privilege to tell parents all the wonderful things I know about their child personally. I get to tell them what great progress he’s been making on coloring by showing the work he did over time, or an episode in class how she was helpful to her classmates. I can bring up an interesting remark she made during group time which made us laugh so hard or a proud moment when he tried something new.
After almost two years of teaching, this twice-a-year meeting with parents became a special event for me. After about 4 hours of talking, both my body and brain are absolutely exhausted I felt dizzy and could barely walk, but the delicious teacher-appreciation lunch was waiting for me! Thank you so much for all of the kind YCS parents who brought the most heartwarming lunch!
Lastly, as a past YCS students’ parent, I want to add a little thank-you note to Pastor Linda who is leaving YCS at the end of this month. I want to thank her that she worked so hard for all these years to help many children, including mine, grow. As I’ve been working together with her for more than 10 years at this school, I am aware it was not always easy and there must have been many unbearable situations that nobody could imagine, but she had to go through by herself as the school head. I sincerely pray for the good of her next journey.
