Parent-Teacher Conference Tips for Middle School Students
Whether this year’s parent-teacher conference is face-to-face or virtual, it’s still a particularly important part of your child’s academic development. Amid the upheaval to our classroom routines due to Covid-19, having the chance to strategize with another strong advocate for your child is necessary and vital. The parent-teacher conference is an opportunity to create a roadmap to guide your child to academic success as they transition into becoming young adults. We’ll discuss a few ways you can prepare for the conference and help your child get off to a great start this school year.
If your child’s math teacher doesn’t already provide them for you on a schedule, ask to see a few examples of your child’s coursework or class projects. This can give you tangible information about how they are performing in their class, as well as display how they process information. Do they follow the teacher’s instructions verbatim to solve a problem or are they able to come up with their own shortcuts to find the answer? Reviewing just a few pieces of their work with the teacher can give you interesting insight into your child’s learning style.
Your child should begin to take accountability in knowing what is expected of them in their math courses. Ask them if they understand the expectations and if they feel they are achievable. If they express feeling overwhelmed by the current coursework, now is the time to bring it to the teacher’s attention to allow for adjustments before the school year progresses further. The transition from elementary school to middle school can be tough, as they likely have multiple teachers for the first time, with different classroom rules. It’s important to make sure they maintain a positive outlook about math during this in-between stage and that any negative attitudes are put in check.
Ask your child how he or she feels they are doing in math. Are they feeling confident, feeling unsure or are they indifferent? Do they enjoy their math class, or do they dread it? When you ask for their input, listen to how they describe their math abilities. Do they use positive language, or do they describe math in negative terms and talk about how much they “can’t” do a particular problem or “hate” going over a particular topic. Ask them if they have any questions or concerns that they would like you to pass along to their teacher.
Leading up to the parent-teacher conference, focus on encouraging a math-positive household. If your child sees you excited about meeting with their math teacher, their outlook will improve even if they are currently experiencing some learning difficulties. If they are not quite excelling in the subject, your positive words when they are working through math problems or their witnessing you perform a math-related activity with confidence will influence their attitude. Find ways to incorporate math exercises into your daily life, such as calculating a tip at a meal or doing mental math to determine a discount in a store.
If this school year was your child’s first year going to middle school, you likely have concerns about how your child has adapted to learning more new and challenging math skills. The teacher should be able to provide reassurance by explaining how your child has been introduced to advanced topics. This is also the time to address any issues that may have carried over from elementary school. Focusing on correcting them will help ensure a successful move into middle school.
After you and your child have discussed what is going well and where there are concerns, now you can draft a few questions to ask the teacher. You will likely receive a lot of information in a short amount of time. To avoid feeling rushed in the middle of your meeting, having questions prepared will allow you to ask the teacher your most urgent questions. if you do receive news about your child’s academic performance you weren’t expecting, try not to take it personally. Ask for clarification and examples and ask the teacher how you can team up with them to correct the issue and help your child.
This is not a comprehensive list of the many ways you can prepare for a parent-teacher conference for your middle schooler, but you can adapt these tips in ways that work best for you and your child. Our Mathnasium center isavailable for you and your child during parent-teacher conference season and year-round! We specialize in offering individualized math instruction for children in grades 2 – 12. We offer in-person and on-line instruction to meet you and your child’s scheduling needs. Give us a call or visit us online to schedule your child’s free assessment.
(720) 474-1878
