First Conference

This week at Alan Shawn Feinstein Middle School I had the opportunity to attend my first parent teacher conference. This conference was far from the stereotypical idea of the parents coming into the classroom to speak with the teacher for a certain amount of allotted time. This conference was set up in the form of a Renaissance fair, in which parents would come in and take a gallery walk of students work and then speak to teachers if needed. All week long students have been creating the scene in which their Renaissance topic would have taken place in. For example, those who chose cooking as their topic created scenes that depicted kitchens, food cabinets, or ovens. The final poster boards consisted of a variety of scenery ranging from castles, torture chambers, art galleries, Italian dinner parties, museums, weddings, etc. It was amazing to see students who typically have behavioral issues and refuse to do any work being so focused and motivated to create their scene. This week of building and creating scenes allowed my-self to see a whole new side of these students who typically get sent out of the classroom. This made me realize that even though writing and reading may not be a student’s specialty that does not mean they are not capable of succeeding at other tasks within the content area.

            It was great to meet student’s parents and speak to them about their concerns and interests in their child’s academic lives. Knowing that your not the only one hounding a child to complete assignments is a great feeling. Seeing parents who so involved and strict with their children was reassuring to myself as a teacher to know that many students do have a strong and challenging support system at home. Although I could not speak to parents too much regarding their children due to the fact that I would have to have had more time with them it was still a great experience to introduce myself and interact with parents.

            It’s hard to believe how fast time is flying by! After these next few weeks the next time we will be in the classroom will be without the support and comfort of a CT. Although this is a little intimidating I am becoming more confident in myself as a teacher as each day goes by.