It was Parents’ Night at my children’s school last night. School parents’ evenings can be stressful in that you never know what to expect, and often parents have to read between the lines to get a sense of how their child is really doing at school.
This is how I would measure a successful parents’ evening, from the parent’s perspective. Teachers may have other opinions.
- At least one of your children is described by their teacher as “surreal”
I’m guessing that teachers must see a lot of weird stuff in the course of their day, so to stick out as the strange kid takes some effort. Weird kids are good. Weird kids will inherit the earth. - Your child’s Literacy Book provides an illuminating review of your family life
Favourite quote from my son’s news book: “At the weekend we did a Dalek conga line”. Yes we did Child of Mine, and thank you for broadcasting that fact. - The teacher makes reference to your child’s “liveliness” or refers to them as “a character” (but not too often)
Saying they’re “a personality” once may be a compliment on their sunny nature, but more than once and you’ve probably got a PITA on your hands who needs to be told to reign it in a bit. - The teacher actually seems to know your child
I once had a teacher read out some comments about my son, which didn’t really ring true. Then they realised they were reading the wrong line, and had just told me their thoughts about the girl who sits next to him. Last night was better in that both the teachers I saw seemed to know my children and their individual (marvellous) personalities. - You tell the teacher something that embarrasses your child
As parents, there is no finer gift we can give our children than to do something that embarrasses them. So I told my daughter’s teacher about her blog. Oops. Didn’t tell him about mine though. Double oops.
pic: Flickr user thefixer