Parent/Teacher Conference Questions

Have you ever tried juggling?  Imagine juggling 25-30 balls at once!  That is somewhat like teaching a classroom of students today.  Each has different needs, talents, interests, acquisition of information rates—and many have outside influences which impact their learning, such as needing glasses, not eating a good breakfast, staying up too late on the computer, phone or TV, a language barrier, or family issues.  Somehow the classroom teacher must address all of the needs and unique abilities of each student all at once!  Imagine going to a doctor’s office and asking him to treat 25 patients all at once, and you begin to see the difficulty of this daunting task.

However, as the parent of YOUR child, you must be an advocate for his/her educational needs.  There is a prevalent myth that gifted children don’t need help, they can get it on their own, they are happy tutoring their peers, need to learn patience while others catch up, etc.  These attitudes are not fair to a gifted child because every child deserves the opportunity to be learning, engaged, and successful every day!  Here are some suggested questions to use in parent/teacher conferences to make sure your child is receiving differentiation in the classroom:

How do specific situations in the classroom support my child’s goals or inhibit his/her goals?

Do you provide opportunities for working independently?

Do you provide choices in assignments?

Are there problem-solving activities in your instruction?

Remember that you and the classroom teacher are on the same side–you both want to see your child succeed.  However, you are much more invested in your child’s success, and you know him/her much better.  If you approach the conference with a congenial attitude and treat the educator with respect, you can expect positive results for your child.  You may need to educate your child’s teacher a bit on gifted, maybe even let the teacher know your expectations that your child be challenged with differentiated instruction that meets his/her learning levels. . . but if you meet with resistance and excuses, it might be necessary to bring an administrator into the conversation.  Gifted education falls under special education laws, and an identified child’s needs must be met.  Good luck with your conferences!