[Middle school teacher] Parents, how do I make parents' night better?
October 4, 2018 3:20 AM Subscribe
Tomorrow at 8:00 p.m, parents/guardians of a hundred 13-year-olds trudge into my classroom for ten minutes "classes" to hear my presentation/slideshow on curriculum, philosophy, homework, etc. Last year, a parent told me "You've got great press in town, our kids love you, but your back-to-school nights are terribly dull!" It's true. So, parents, how do I make my ten-minute presentation better - without relying on gimmicks to force the participation of attendees? What do you *really* want to know?
Details: I've taught middle school for more than a decade, and I've done at least a dozen of these things. They're painful for all parties. Students aren't invited/involved. It's late, and most parents are really tired, coming out of obligation more than interest. And if parents are actually excited, it's often so they can corner me to say ~ special things ~ about their kid's needs. Unfortunately, this event is NOT set up as a conference/meet-and-greet, so I can't really have ~ special ~ conversations. (There are ample for conferences outside of this night ..., and my admin sort of frowns on one-to-one meetings ).
• I have to repeat my ten-minute presentation four times in rapid succession, so I can't do anything that requires a 'reset.'
• I DON'T want to be gimmicky (no letters from parents to students or visa versa, etc., no 'activities' to bully parents into who're just trying to keep their eyes open).
• Photos/videos of kids working aren't allowed.
• The district suggests we make a slideshow we can share w/ parents who don't attend.
• It's a very diverse district – high-performing (doctors, tech folks), but often necessarily highly-skilled English speakers.
• Many parents are nervous to meet the teachers. For this reason, humor doesn't work. I've tried.
What do parents ACTUALLY want to hear?
Details: I've taught middle school for more than a decade, and I've done at least a dozen of these things. They're painful for all parties. Students aren't invited/involved. It's late, and most parents are really tired, coming out of obligation more than interest. And if parents are actually excited, it's often so they can corner me to say ~ special things ~ about their kid's needs. Unfortunately, this event is NOT set up as a conference/meet-and-greet, so I can't really have ~ special ~ conversations. (There are ample for conferences outside of this night ..., and my admin sort of frowns on one-to-one meetings ).
• I have to repeat my ten-minute presentation four times in rapid succession, so I can't do anything that requires a 'reset.'
• I DON'T want to be gimmicky (no letters from parents to students or visa versa, etc., no 'activities' to bully parents into who're just trying to keep their eyes open).
• Photos/videos of kids working aren't allowed.
• The district suggests we make a slideshow we can share w/ parents who don't attend.
• It's a very diverse district – high-performing (doctors, tech folks), but often necessarily highly-skilled English speakers.
• Many parents are nervous to meet the teachers. For this reason, humor doesn't work. I've tried.
What do parents ACTUALLY want to hear?
I like the suggestion in the above comment. I dunno, though...as a former elementary school teacher, our btsn presentations were much longer...10 min doesn't seem that long to me. And I get that you want to reassess yourself but I kind of think that comment was a bit rude. They're adults--do they really need a whole song and dance?
posted by bookworm4125 at 3:40 AM on October 4, 2018 [14 favorites]
posted by bookworm4125 at 3:40 AM on October 4, 2018 [14 favorites]
Chiming back in with one additional idea: if you can't do pics/vids, then anecdotes about little things various kids did and said is nice to provide that personalized touch (or would be for me, at least). Not necessarily a whole section, just sprinkled as examples throughout. All the better if the stories are anonymized so we can all assume it was *our* precious little angel who said that funny thing or did that kind action.
posted by Bardolph at 3:56 AM on October 4, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by Bardolph at 3:56 AM on October 4, 2018 [4 favorites]
I would think they are interested in their own kid most. soo...could you preview upcoming units and where kids have struggled in the past? Maybe a handout of things you teach that parents and kids could talk about together?
posted by aetg at 4:16 AM on October 4, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by aetg at 4:16 AM on October 4, 2018 [3 favorites]
As a parent, I don’t want to be entertained at these things. I want to know what curriculum to look for and what the expectations are so I can support my child’s learning, and I would like as a bonus to get a sense of you as a teacher and professional so I can feel connected to my child’s experience.
That’s all. I don’t want funny middle school stories which would make me worry my child’s foibles are getting stored up or something. Thank you for caring about your presentation but honestly I would rather you put the effort into the hard task of motivating middle school students to attack intellectual problems.
posted by warriorqueen at 4:33 AM on October 4, 2018 [32 favorites]
That’s all. I don’t want funny middle school stories which would make me worry my child’s foibles are getting stored up or something. Thank you for caring about your presentation but honestly I would rather you put the effort into the hard task of motivating middle school students to attack intellectual problems.
posted by warriorqueen at 4:33 AM on October 4, 2018 [32 favorites]
The stuff I want to know is:
-What general topics are you covering this year, so I can support my kid’s learning by pointing that stuff out when we encounter it outside of school, along with specific homework expectations (big projects, especially.)
-What unit are you working on right now, so I have a starting point to prompt the kid to tell me about school
-How you prefer to be contacted if I need to tell you about special stuff.
-Anything you need or want from us as parents, which could be anything from craft supplies for a fun project, to people who know about topics xyz to come in and give a presentation, to “please do not help them with their big science project.” I find that this stuff tends to come up the week that something is due and our family schedule is such that “extras” really need to happen on weekends, so knowing what is coming is great.
posted by tchemgrrl at 4:51 AM on October 4, 2018 [7 favorites]
-What general topics are you covering this year, so I can support my kid’s learning by pointing that stuff out when we encounter it outside of school, along with specific homework expectations (big projects, especially.)
-What unit are you working on right now, so I have a starting point to prompt the kid to tell me about school
-How you prefer to be contacted if I need to tell you about special stuff.
-Anything you need or want from us as parents, which could be anything from craft supplies for a fun project, to people who know about topics xyz to come in and give a presentation, to “please do not help them with their big science project.” I find that this stuff tends to come up the week that something is due and our family schedule is such that “extras” really need to happen on weekends, so knowing what is coming is great.
posted by tchemgrrl at 4:51 AM on October 4, 2018 [7 favorites]
I’m not sure how a parent could be so bored in 10 minutes that they would feel the need to mention it. That’s ridiculous.
What I most like to know is, how is their time spent in your class? They come in, do X for 5 minutes, then Y and so on. I also like to hear: a tiny bit about your overall philosophy- what do you think is important in terms of teaching? What can I do to help my kid succeed in your class? And finally how much homework can I expect my kid to have.
posted by lyssabee at 5:20 AM on October 4, 2018 [14 favorites]
What I most like to know is, how is their time spent in your class? They come in, do X for 5 minutes, then Y and so on. I also like to hear: a tiny bit about your overall philosophy- what do you think is important in terms of teaching? What can I do to help my kid succeed in your class? And finally how much homework can I expect my kid to have.
posted by lyssabee at 5:20 AM on October 4, 2018 [14 favorites]
One last thing - I do like handouts at these things. I am a note taker and it’s great to make notes on the handouts so I can remember stuff later. Just a one page thing.
posted by lyssabee at 5:23 AM on October 4, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by lyssabee at 5:23 AM on October 4, 2018 [5 favorites]
Yes to both an overview of the curriculum and to a 2-3 minute excerpt of a lesson. At our middle-school BTSN, a few students were present, and it was particularly interesting when they interrupted to ask a question or refer back to something the teacher had discussed in class. So maybe in the week before, try to write down a few of the best questions you got.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 6:19 AM on October 4, 2018
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 6:19 AM on October 4, 2018
Yes, speaking as a parent of a middle schooler (not so long ago): I would take that comment with an inner eye-roll in every way. Even the way he put the compliment -- "great press in this town!" -- is worded in a jokey shallow way, though you should definitely retain your glow from what it means, that other kids and parents value and speak of you. I would use this parent comment as insight into another layer, beyond media and all the rest of what we usually blame as being part of kids' worlds only, into how there is this expectation at home for constant entertainment too. It's true for some of the parents too. Doesn't mean you have to jump through hoops.
This has indeed been dull for me at such presentations: feeling the teacher was speaking without passion, phoning it in. Doesn't matter what they're saying, if I don't sense a spark of connection, I'm bored, and sad for my child.
This has been interesting: feeling the teacher cares about both the subject matter and how the kids are best going to learn it. Doesn't matter how they tell us. I just have to feel they care about what they teach (not just about the discipline and rules in the class, which actually is the dismaying topic of some of these meetings) and that they care about the kids leaving their class with more skills and knowledge. Just let them feel you.
posted by nantucket at 6:21 AM on October 4, 2018 [3 favorites]
This has indeed been dull for me at such presentations: feeling the teacher was speaking without passion, phoning it in. Doesn't matter what they're saying, if I don't sense a spark of connection, I'm bored, and sad for my child.
This has been interesting: feeling the teacher cares about both the subject matter and how the kids are best going to learn it. Doesn't matter how they tell us. I just have to feel they care about what they teach (not just about the discipline and rules in the class, which actually is the dismaying topic of some of these meetings) and that they care about the kids leaving their class with more skills and knowledge. Just let them feel you.
posted by nantucket at 6:21 AM on October 4, 2018 [3 favorites]
Completely agree with tchemgrrl's list, but I'm going to try to simply it:
Handouts should include:
1. Weekly curriculum w/ Important Assignments / Tests Deadlines
2. Pie Chart of Grading Factors
3. How to best contact you
4. A short blurb about your method of teaching / classroom policies. No more than a paragraph.
Have this on everyone's desk when they come in, along with a quarter piece of paper with the question "What non-curriculum life lesson would you like your child to learn this year?"
When they sit down, Tell them to fill out the survey for one minute. Then, I would spend NO MORE THAN 60 seconds reading them the TITLE ONLY of each section.
Then have people pass the surveys to the front. Shuffle them and read some aloud. "This parent hopes his student learns about working individually this year." "This parent hopes his student joins a club or finds a hobby". If any are interesting to you, I would ask the parents, "How can I best enable this learning in the classroom or outside of it?"
As a bonus:
Tape a full-sized candy bar underneath one chair. If that person asks a question / participates - you can say "That's such a good question, I'd like you to look under your chair!" and they get the candy bar!! Wow!
posted by bbqturtle at 6:40 AM on October 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
Handouts should include:
1. Weekly curriculum w/ Important Assignments / Tests Deadlines
2. Pie Chart of Grading Factors
3. How to best contact you
4. A short blurb about your method of teaching / classroom policies. No more than a paragraph.
Have this on everyone's desk when they come in, along with a quarter piece of paper with the question "What non-curriculum life lesson would you like your child to learn this year?"
When they sit down, Tell them to fill out the survey for one minute. Then, I would spend NO MORE THAN 60 seconds reading them the TITLE ONLY of each section.
Then have people pass the surveys to the front. Shuffle them and read some aloud. "This parent hopes his student learns about working individually this year." "This parent hopes his student joins a club or finds a hobby". If any are interesting to you, I would ask the parents, "How can I best enable this learning in the classroom or outside of it?"
As a bonus:
Tape a full-sized candy bar underneath one chair. If that person asks a question / participates - you can say "That's such a good question, I'd like you to look under your chair!" and they get the candy bar!! Wow!
posted by bbqturtle at 6:40 AM on October 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
Just as a point of reference and I guess to re-express how diverse your audience would be, I would prefer the school not ask me about life lessons for my child; I feel like school provides enough life lessons already. I would also be livid if a teacher treated a 10-minute presentation regarding my child's education like asking good questions is a party trick worth rewarding with a chocolate bar. I would be very concerned about how the middle school level classroom was going to operate.
posted by warriorqueen at 6:57 AM on October 4, 2018 [9 favorites]
posted by warriorqueen at 6:57 AM on October 4, 2018 [9 favorites]
Maybe that's the wrong prompt then. You can experiment with a few. I would just encourage that slip of paper to be something that you think would engage discussion in a productive and collaborative way. Here's a few more:
What current trend has you concerned?
What activities have students seemed to learn the most from?
How much homework do you think is appropriate for a student?
What's the best way to engage a student to do homework?
Etc.
posted by bbqturtle at 7:02 AM on October 4, 2018
What current trend has you concerned?
What activities have students seemed to learn the most from?
How much homework do you think is appropriate for a student?
What's the best way to engage a student to do homework?
Etc.
posted by bbqturtle at 7:02 AM on October 4, 2018
I haven't hit the middle school years yet, but here's what I want to know from my kids' teachers:
* How and when to contact you
* Your typical homework policies and how homework will be communicated
* An example topic that you will be covering, and examples of responses from kids that demonstrate an insufficient level of learning, an expected level, and an advanced level of understanding. Or maybe show that by the end of the year, the students should move from *this* level to *this* level.
posted by Liesl at 7:10 AM on October 4, 2018 [3 favorites]
* How and when to contact you
* Your typical homework policies and how homework will be communicated
* An example topic that you will be covering, and examples of responses from kids that demonstrate an insufficient level of learning, an expected level, and an advanced level of understanding. Or maybe show that by the end of the year, the students should move from *this* level to *this* level.
posted by Liesl at 7:10 AM on October 4, 2018 [3 favorites]
No singing, no dancing -- just details. This year I have four kids among college, high school, and elementary school. I think last week we did our 7th and 8th BTSN at the high school, and the number of BTSNs at elementary school must be twenty. I got my fill of cute some time ago!
posted by wenestvedt at 7:56 AM on October 4, 2018 [5 favorites]
- How and when can my kid get extra help from you?
- How do they communicate with you?
- How do I see the homework/syllabus so I can tell whether my kid is bullshitting me about not having any homework that night? *eyeroll* (My town doesn't allow this at any level of schools, and it makes me a little nutty.)
- Mention kids by name: it shows us that you are engaging with them, even if it's not our child.
- Explain the course of a class period so I now what my child goes through.
- Explain the course of the ter/year s I know roughly what they will be learning: I might spot a thing my kid loves, or hates, or that I can help with.
posted by wenestvedt at 7:56 AM on October 4, 2018 [5 favorites]
I am not sure what you mean by making your 10 minute presentation better, (better than what?), but I am not looking to be entertained. I have been to a score or more of these things. The ones I thought were the best were ones where the teacher's personality came out a little bit and where I was given all the logistical information I needed such as how to get a pass for early dismissal. I would like to know the best most appropriate way to contact you in the event I actually needed to, and I would like to know if you had a website or syllabus that I could look at so I could ask my child intelligent questions about their day and get not back an answer from them of "It was ok." or "I don't know".
posted by AugustWest at 8:01 AM on October 4, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by AugustWest at 8:01 AM on October 4, 2018 [4 favorites]
I spent a few hours at a middle school another few at a high school presentation this year and have some strong opinions developed over the years.
No
Please do not go over things that every other teacher goes over. If 5-6 teachers each spend 3 minutes showing me the same way to sign in to Blackboard or access the website or the same homework absence policy, I am annoyed.
Please do not spend the entire time going over the rules that are expected in all schools in all classrooms - of course iPads must be down unless teacher asks or other pet peeves (or accolades) that only pertain to one or some students.
No gimmicks, games, life lessons, anecdotes, surveys.
No big introductions - there is no time.
No questions from parents - no time.
Scolding of parents or students for things we didn't do wrong yet.
Yes
Start with a picture of you and family if applicable doing something you like to do so we can connect with you as a person and remember you when our children mention your class. Just a few brief sentences while you remind us of your name and class and that you are a person.
An brief overview of what you are covering through the year in your own words, maybe have chapters/units of textbook on slide but do not read. Your interest in the material should come through here.
What students will be doing in class. How you plan this time so it is interesting and appeals to all of our children and not just a lecture.
Materials students will use and how to find from home, how to find steps for textbook access online if applicable, if textbook should be at home or always at school, if there is a backup copy of textbook at local library if needed, other materials.
Homework - every day, not at all, or sometimes (hopefully not weekends).
Assessment plan - big tests, quizzes, daily homework scores, any big projects and how they are chunked - how best to study for tests if applicable.
Best way to contact you if it is different from every other teacher (every teacher says: email don't voicemail, can meet individually if needed, don't ask about specific students tonight no time).
Where you keep your assignments/materials online if different from other teachers. Some teachers put all assignments in Blackboard Calendar for the week, others for the month, others for the 9 weeks, some put assignments under Announcements, some don't put assignments on Blackboard at all or only for the next day. Helpful to be able to tell child - Mr. Remy said all assignments are on BB under announcements so let's look there, he seemed pretty organized at curriculum night so I'd be surprised if he did not make the important details available to you when you need them and he also seemed nice so I bet he would not yell at you if you told him that you forgot this time.
It is ok to not have a fancy entertaining funny parent presentation, the job is teaching students, not entertaining parents. I appreciate an earnest teacher who doesn't seem used to talking to parents but seems sincere in helping the students.
Parents most often contact me about .... and the answer is "best way to do well on test is to do homework" or "best way to do well on test is to do the study packet and check the answers".
If there isn't time, just show your website where this information is referenced and includes your contact information.
If somehow you run out of material, ideally have something on the walls that students have done so parents can go look for their child's assignment. Works better in English/reading than math ;) .
As I move up to the high school presentations, they are more and more interesting because they are less about the rules and what children shouldn't do and why parents shouldn't bring the forgotten lunches and more about the passion the teacher has for the topic and attempting through the year to share that passion for math or reading or chemistry with the students.
Thanks for caring.
posted by RoadScholar at 8:02 AM on October 4, 2018 [3 favorites]
No
Please do not go over things that every other teacher goes over. If 5-6 teachers each spend 3 minutes showing me the same way to sign in to Blackboard or access the website or the same homework absence policy, I am annoyed.
Please do not spend the entire time going over the rules that are expected in all schools in all classrooms - of course iPads must be down unless teacher asks or other pet peeves (or accolades) that only pertain to one or some students.
No gimmicks, games, life lessons, anecdotes, surveys.
No big introductions - there is no time.
No questions from parents - no time.
Scolding of parents or students for things we didn't do wrong yet.
Yes
Start with a picture of you and family if applicable doing something you like to do so we can connect with you as a person and remember you when our children mention your class. Just a few brief sentences while you remind us of your name and class and that you are a person.
An brief overview of what you are covering through the year in your own words, maybe have chapters/units of textbook on slide but do not read. Your interest in the material should come through here.
What students will be doing in class. How you plan this time so it is interesting and appeals to all of our children and not just a lecture.
Materials students will use and how to find from home, how to find steps for textbook access online if applicable, if textbook should be at home or always at school, if there is a backup copy of textbook at local library if needed, other materials.
Homework - every day, not at all, or sometimes (hopefully not weekends).
Assessment plan - big tests, quizzes, daily homework scores, any big projects and how they are chunked - how best to study for tests if applicable.
Best way to contact you if it is different from every other teacher (every teacher says: email don't voicemail, can meet individually if needed, don't ask about specific students tonight no time).
Where you keep your assignments/materials online if different from other teachers. Some teachers put all assignments in Blackboard Calendar for the week, others for the month, others for the 9 weeks, some put assignments under Announcements, some don't put assignments on Blackboard at all or only for the next day. Helpful to be able to tell child - Mr. Remy said all assignments are on BB under announcements so let's look there, he seemed pretty organized at curriculum night so I'd be surprised if he did not make the important details available to you when you need them and he also seemed nice so I bet he would not yell at you if you told him that you forgot this time.
It is ok to not have a fancy entertaining funny parent presentation, the job is teaching students, not entertaining parents. I appreciate an earnest teacher who doesn't seem used to talking to parents but seems sincere in helping the students.
Parents most often contact me about .... and the answer is "best way to do well on test is to do homework" or "best way to do well on test is to do the study packet and check the answers".
If there isn't time, just show your website where this information is referenced and includes your contact information.
If somehow you run out of material, ideally have something on the walls that students have done so parents can go look for their child's assignment. Works better in English/reading than math ;) .
As I move up to the high school presentations, they are more and more interesting because they are less about the rules and what children shouldn't do and why parents shouldn't bring the forgotten lunches and more about the passion the teacher has for the topic and attempting through the year to share that passion for math or reading or chemistry with the students.
Thanks for caring.
posted by RoadScholar at 8:02 AM on October 4, 2018 [3 favorites]
I just went to several of these at our middle school. Here are my asks:
1. for the love of God don't waste ten minutes talking about class rules. We all know that the expectation is for kids to be respectful of each other, etc. (I am still angry that my time was wasted in this way. EVERY teacher did this. If it's school policy to review the rules just say "refer to the code of conduct" and get to the point of your presentation.)
2. Your class ought to have a written syllabus. If it doesn't, write one. Have it ready to hand out to the parents. That's mostly what we want to know. Really, I can't overemphasize this. Without this, the presentation is useless.
3. Tell me about anything that's realistically going to require my participation, shopping trips for supplies, class trips I need to clear schedule for, etc.
4. Expectations. Is this a class where a reasonable effort will earn an A, or is this a weeder class? How hard SHOULD it be? (My kid was informed recently by her math teacher that the class was designed for kids who found last year's advanced math class "too easy." Had I known this was the standard I would have moved her out of it sooner.)
Thank you for taking the time to do this right!!!
posted by fingersandtoes at 8:50 AM on October 4, 2018 [2 favorites]
1. for the love of God don't waste ten minutes talking about class rules. We all know that the expectation is for kids to be respectful of each other, etc. (I am still angry that my time was wasted in this way. EVERY teacher did this. If it's school policy to review the rules just say "refer to the code of conduct" and get to the point of your presentation.)
2. Your class ought to have a written syllabus. If it doesn't, write one. Have it ready to hand out to the parents. That's mostly what we want to know. Really, I can't overemphasize this. Without this, the presentation is useless.
3. Tell me about anything that's realistically going to require my participation, shopping trips for supplies, class trips I need to clear schedule for, etc.
4. Expectations. Is this a class where a reasonable effort will earn an A, or is this a weeder class? How hard SHOULD it be? (My kid was informed recently by her math teacher that the class was designed for kids who found last year's advanced math class "too easy." Had I known this was the standard I would have moved her out of it sooner.)
Thank you for taking the time to do this right!!!
posted by fingersandtoes at 8:50 AM on October 4, 2018 [2 favorites]
The suggestions from tchemgrrl are great, and easy to prepare on a syllabus to hand out to parents/list in your presentation deck; you can highlight some of the important items (large projects/tests, how grading works) and let parents read the rest on their own time.
The only thing I remember from my oldest kid's middle school curriculum night years ago was a slide the teachers prepared entitled "Help! I have a thirteen-year-old!" that listed some of the social/emotional challenges typical of the middle school years, and an explicit acknowledgment from the teachers that they weren't expecting our kids to be perfect, they knew kids are Going Through Some Things at that age, and they would work with us if needed. Just hearing a teacher say that made us as parents feel better about the upcoming school year. We did have more than ten minutes with each teacher, so of course this might not fit with your format, or maybe it's best used if your school has a ten-minute session for homeroom/advisory so it's not competing with subject material.
Good luck; hope it goes well.
posted by sencha at 8:55 AM on October 4, 2018 [3 favorites]
The only thing I remember from my oldest kid's middle school curriculum night years ago was a slide the teachers prepared entitled "Help! I have a thirteen-year-old!" that listed some of the social/emotional challenges typical of the middle school years, and an explicit acknowledgment from the teachers that they weren't expecting our kids to be perfect, they knew kids are Going Through Some Things at that age, and they would work with us if needed. Just hearing a teacher say that made us as parents feel better about the upcoming school year. We did have more than ten minutes with each teacher, so of course this might not fit with your format, or maybe it's best used if your school has a ten-minute session for homeroom/advisory so it's not competing with subject material.
Good luck; hope it goes well.
posted by sencha at 8:55 AM on October 4, 2018 [3 favorites]
Best answer: I just went to one of these. Two of the teachers greeted us when we came in and shook our hands (never mind if that's not culturally appropriate for you) - it was nice to get to tell them my name*. It felt personal. I felt like they cared and would be responsive if I needed to contact them during the school year. The other teachers I met didn't do this, but it was okay. Many of the teachers also emphasized that they would prefer the child be the primary one to contact them about missing assignments, questions, etc. That gave me, as a parent, a cue that middle school is a good time to start teaching personal responsibility. We had 8 minute talks, and I appreciated ones that were focused on what I needed to take action on to support my child and not much more.
*Some of us parents introduced ourselves by our own names, and some introduced ourselves simply as so-and-so's mom/dad.
posted by Knowyournuts at 11:13 AM on October 4, 2018 [5 favorites]
*Some of us parents introduced ourselves by our own names, and some introduced ourselves simply as so-and-so's mom/dad.
posted by Knowyournuts at 11:13 AM on October 4, 2018 [5 favorites]
Despite a ton of money spent on it, and outwardly appearing "informative," the school website for my local district is IMPOSSIBLE. It's the. worst. site. ever. Everything I want it to tell me, I cannot find. Everything I don't care about, there are pages and pages of. Any time I managed to locate actual information, it was never findable again. Damn that shitty website to hell.
So- if any part of your school's functioning relies on parents using a website, or any sort of technology, I would want to see it in action and be shown explicitly how to find things that matter to me and my kid(s).
If there is a "progress portal," or a homework log, or a contact form, or anything like that online, please demo it, or at least give me details with screenshots. And if you are ok with emailing parents directly, say so; conversely, if you don't want that level of contact, say so.
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 2:47 PM on October 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
So- if any part of your school's functioning relies on parents using a website, or any sort of technology, I would want to see it in action and be shown explicitly how to find things that matter to me and my kid(s).
If there is a "progress portal," or a homework log, or a contact form, or anything like that online, please demo it, or at least give me details with screenshots. And if you are ok with emailing parents directly, say so; conversely, if you don't want that level of contact, say so.
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 2:47 PM on October 4, 2018 [1 favorite]
I've been to 14 of these in the past week.
Stuff I liked:
- quick intro. "I'm originally from New York, I got my undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago, I moved here for my wife's work and I got my master's degree from UW, I originally had a career in marketing but I realized I loved explaining our graphs to my coworkers and so I made a career shift in to teaching math, I've been a teacher for ten years and in this district for seven years. My hobbies are knitting and tae kwon do. We have two kids who attend Sunnyside Elementary."
- way to contact them (it was e-mail for every single teacher)
- quick overview of the semester. "We're beginning with the Enlightenment, then the French Revolution, then we'll be looking at the history of South Africa and then in January we'll spend two weeks learning how to make macarons."
- explanation of where parents can check up on if their kids are handing in their work on time.
what I didn't like:
- the teacher using a prayer bowl and leading us through a minute of mindfulness
- scattered teachers who clearly didn't have a plan for what they were going to tell us
- anything involving audience participation
posted by The corpse in the library at 3:39 PM on October 5, 2018 [2 favorites]
Stuff I liked:
- quick intro. "I'm originally from New York, I got my undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago, I moved here for my wife's work and I got my master's degree from UW, I originally had a career in marketing but I realized I loved explaining our graphs to my coworkers and so I made a career shift in to teaching math, I've been a teacher for ten years and in this district for seven years. My hobbies are knitting and tae kwon do. We have two kids who attend Sunnyside Elementary."
- way to contact them (it was e-mail for every single teacher)
- quick overview of the semester. "We're beginning with the Enlightenment, then the French Revolution, then we'll be looking at the history of South Africa and then in January we'll spend two weeks learning how to make macarons."
- explanation of where parents can check up on if their kids are handing in their work on time.
what I didn't like:
- the teacher using a prayer bowl and leading us through a minute of mindfulness
- scattered teachers who clearly didn't have a plan for what they were going to tell us
- anything involving audience participation
posted by The corpse in the library at 3:39 PM on October 5, 2018 [2 favorites]
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One "what not to do": please, please don't be one of those people who writes up a wordy powerpoint and then reads it out loud for the presentation. Honestly, the super slow pace and ultra-low information density are the worst part of these things. It'd be much nicer to have all the technical details on a handout, have the teacher explicitly draw each section to our attention, and then be trusted to read the details like how the LMS passwords work, etc. on our own.
posted by Bardolph at 3:34 AM on October 4, 2018 [11 favorites]