Parent-teacher conference tips: 15 questions to ask

As parents, you have a huge role to play in your child’s academic performance. In fact, a balance between education at home and school is what helps with your child’s actual learning process. This is one of the many reasons schools organise parent-teacher meetings (PTM).

These are a great opportunity for you to understand your child’s performance and challenges, and also help the teacher work towards your child’s betterment at school. After all, it is not every day that you can get feedback about how your child is learning and about their other developmental milestones in class, so it is very important to make the most out of them.

But how do you approach a setting of a parent-teacher conference? What should you ask the teacher and what subjects should you cover? We break it down for you. 

4 practical parent-teacher conference tips for parents

Let us first begin with the preparation for the day. No matter how brilliant your child may be, they will still feel the jitters before you head on out to school. They are likely to even make excuses to not attend. This is where your parenting skills will come into play. 

You’ll need to prepare your child in a way that they do not feel intimidated during the parent-teacher conference. They should also know that they can rely on you for support, no matter the outcome. So here’s how to broach this day.  

Motivate your kid

As mentioned, many children often dread these parent-teacher meetings in school. They fear that their teacher will complain to you about their mischievous activities and it will upset you so it is important to take the stress away from them. Instead of being harsh on them for their behaviour, try motivating them to do better.

Your responsible approach will help them understand that good behaviour and results will always get appreciated. It will motivate them to work harder as well. 

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Understand your child’s likes and dislikes

Before heading to the parent-teacher meeting, talk to your child about the subjects they like and their problem areas. Having an open discussion with them will give you points to discuss with their teacher. 

Take a look at their assignments and tests

Take a look at their class assignment and tests before you head to the parent-teacher meeting. Do read the teacher’s comments for each of their assignments. This will give you a holistic view of your child’s performance in class. 

Note down the points

Finally, note down the points you may want to discuss with your child’s teacher. It is important because chances are that when the time comes you may just forget some important questions. So writing them down will come in handy. 

Now when it comes to questions, there is a lot you can ask. To make this easier for you, we’ve listed 15 questions you can ask during the parent-teacher conference. 

Parent-teacher conference tips for parents: 15 questions to ask at the PTM

General questions 

1. How is my child’s behaviour at school? Is he/she talkative or quiet? 

2. Does my child take part in class activities?

3. Does he/she look happy in class?

4. Kindly share details about the school bullying policy. How serious is the school about it?

5. How well does he/she interact with their class peers?

Academics-related questions

6. Is my child coping up well with the school curriculum?

7. What is it that we as parents need to do at home to look after their academics?

8. How often do you schedule tests? 

9. My child refuses to complete his or her homework. What is the school’s approach to homework? 

Questions if your kid is under performing

10. How can I keep my child motivated to study despite his/her falling grades?

11. At class, can special attention be given to my child if he/she has some doubts/queries?

12. Are there any challenges that you face while teaching my child?

13. How can we both work together to help him/her excel academically?

14. His/her grades may be poor, but how are they in extra-curriculum activities? 

15. In comparison with his peers, where is he/she lagging and how much more effort will I need to put in as a parent?

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What to do after the parent-teacher conference

After the conference, discuss the teacher’s feedback with your child. Don’t be harsh on them or burden them with comparisons. Instead, understand that no two kids are alike. It’s important to not judge and be supportive, especially in this scenario where your child is perhaps already quite intimidated. 

Help them identify their strengths and motivate them to work on their weakness. This approach will help them with their overall academic performance. 

Understand that your child’s academic performance is not the sole responsibility of their teacher, you also have an important role to play.

We hope the above parent-teacher conference tips for parents will come in handy.

This article was first published in theAsianparent.