4 Easy Tips that will Make Parent Conferences Stress-Free

Parent teacher conferences gave me nightmares my first year of teaching.

By my third year of teaching, parent teacher conferences were my FAVORITE night every single quarter.

If parent teacher conferences give you anxiety, here are some tips to get through the night like the amazing teacher boss you are.

Find something that gives you confidence

I have a baby face and I swear my first year of teaching parents must have thought I was like 19. They looked at me like I couldn't possibly be old enough to be teaching their child anything.

I found that wearing lipstick and heels gave me the confidence I needed to talk to them like I was absolutely capable of being in charge of their child's education.

I was capable. It was just about my confidence level.

Have someone check in with you

I've done parent conferences where everyone is in one giant room, and I've done them where I'm alone in my own classroom with parents staring me down.

I made my mentor teacher sit next to me for all 4 parent teacher conference nights my first year of teaching.

And my second year too.

She was my safety blanket and I refused to let go of her.

If you don't have a safety blanket you can hold onto for dear life, have a buddy agree to check in with you. Every 5 minutes if you want it.

Start with something positive

Even if you think their child is the spawn of Satan.

"Your child is a disrespectful little turd who does nothing but create chaos in my classroom and prevent everyone else from learning a damn thing" is not a good opener.

I strongly recommend against referring to children as "turds" to their parents.

Find something positive to say about their special snowflake.

And if their child is a dream of a model student, then say that.

Focus on the numbers and the facts

If Johnny acts like a turd in your class and you wish more than anything that he would move to another state, so you would never have to tell him to focus on his work ever again - do not say that to his parents.

(I'm full of ideas about what not to say - do you see why my first parent teacher conference was so terrible?!)

His (insert type of grade here - classwork, homework, test, etc) is (insert percentage here) because of (describe his behavior).

He is focused and completes all his work on time and has a 100% in classwork.

He is distracted by literally anything and turns in his work half complete and has a 58% in quizzes.

He sits there and keeps the seat warm while he chats with his friends like he doesn't have a care in the world. He has yet to turn in a homework assignment.

Adjectives are not your friend if you have to talk to the parent of a difficult child. They can argue with opinions.

State the facts and show how his grade is a direct result of his behavior. Improve his behavior, improve his grade.

This "state the facts" idea works with the parents of lovely children as well.

If Johnny is a model student on the honor roll, link his grade to his behavior. He has a 99% because he always turns in his homework, he's always focused in class, he asks excellent questions, etc.