Meet-The-Parents Session

[mama_mia]

summerlove:

I used to be a school teacher, have resigned since last year.


Different schools have different frequencies and timings of MTP (Meet-the-Parents Session). Some schools hold the first MTP on the first week of Term 1, some hold their first MTP during March holidays.

My suggestion to parents who want to communicate with teachers is to email them directly or call the school office to enquire about school's calender-of-events.

Usually the school diary will have a calendar-of-events, however take note that changes can sometimes occur, and parents & students will be notified through official letters. The problem is, students sometimes can misplace the letters and not passing to their parents; and teachers are not aware this is happening.

Regular communication between parents and teachers is highly encouraged. Pls do not have the mindset that teachers calling means bad news. I, for one example, call parents once in a while to tell them the improvements of their child, as well as update them some school matters.

How i wish that my girl's school has teacher with the same mind set as you. For my girl's school, they just change the principal this year, and not sure if it is coincidental or what, most parents i came across, complained of no communication from school's teachers. eMail sent was met with no reply. I hrd it was not good to keep going to the principal to get response, maybe your children would be 'identified'...quite frustrated sometimes. What is education if no communication exists betw. the educator and the parents. :x

[jedamum]

mama_mia:

eMail sent was met with no reply.

On this, i want to reiterate that it is more of the commitment of the teachers rather than the brand of the school with regards to communications. So far all my inquiries to the teachers of my boy's neighbourhood school are reverted promptly (1-2 days) either by reply email or a phone call.
What I did is that for the first email, I usually ensure that the email is cc to a third 'related' party...that'll put some pressure on the addressed party to respond . When i had gotten the teachers' attention/prompt response, thank them in return and from then on, no more cc to 3rd party.

Does primary school MTP session involve the students? I don't feel quite comfy highlighting my concerns to the teacher in front of him.

[mama_mia]

jedamum:

mama_mia:

eMail sent was met with no reply.

On this, i want to reiterate that it is more of the commitment of the teachers rather than the brand of the school with regards to communications. So far all my inquiries to the teachers of my boy's neighbourhood school are reverted promptly (1-2 days) either by reply email or a phone call.
What I did is that for the first email, I usually ensure that the email is cc to a third 'related' party...that'll put some pressure on the addressed party to respond . When i had gotten the teachers' attention/prompt response, thank them in return and from then on, no more cc to 3rd party.

Does primary school MTP session involve the students? I don't feel quite comfy highlighting my concerns to the teacher in front of him.

Wa...you are keeping late night like me. Well, usually the school does not stop us from bringing the kids, but like you, i do not like to bring mine for such session for the reason mentioned.

[buds]

jedamum:

On this, i want to reiterate that it is more of the commitment of the teachers rather than the brand of the school with regards to communications.

Yes, this is reali individual teacher's effort.

jedamum:

Does primary school MTP session involve the
students? I don't feel quite comfy highlighting my concerns to the
teacher in front of him.

Yup, usually there's no hard and fuss rule on the kids attending
PTC/MTP together with parent. For me, i like to have my daughter
around, cause the teachers go one-by-one on her progress and also
highlight the strength and weak areas in her report book based on the
results. The child can then hear directly from the teacher what she wants
to see done better the following term and that she has faith if the child
puts in more effort, the results will improve... Teachers have influence over
children/students especially the good inspiring ones and what is conveyed
on the day will carry some weight in the child's improvement process. If
there is something else in mind to highlight to the teacher other than the
grades and anything to do with lessons, homework (etc), i ensure hubs
makes time to come too. He'll take kiddie out from classroom and allow
for some time for me to share the issues with the teacher. And vice versa,
means he also does the asking while i can bring kiddie out to canteen or
something... Cause there's no other time parents can access school
grounds to meet the teacher in the flesh (in person) again after PTC/MTP.
If can also, not so easy...

For me most times nothing out of the ordinary to share with teacher.
Teachers always say, your daughter very quiet...
So, that can be the end of meeting liao.

Which is better... a child that has the normal all-hell-break-loose attitude
at home but fantastic student in school or the goodie-two-shoes at home
but the devil's horns come out in full force in school? Hehee..

[jedamum]

buds:

The child can then hear directly from the teacher what she wants

to see done better the following term

Thanks. Your point is very valid. As I will be attending the MTP session alone, I think I'll email the teachers separately to address concerns on issues that I may not want my boy to worry about and during the actual session, to just discuss on the general stuff.
I am dealing with a very sensitive and thin-skin boy here.

buds:

Which is better... a child that has the normal all-hell-break-loose attitude
at home but fantastic student in school or the goodie-two-shoes at home
but the devil's horns come out in full force in school? Hehee..

That depends...which is the true nature? Some kids are goodie-two-shoes at home only cos they want to invite less trouble from their parents and hence they hide their bad habits. Some kids are goodie-two-shoes at home cos that is their nature, but is naughty in school cos they may be provoked/humiliated and feels the lack of belonging to the school (eg the 'I-not-Stupid' boy in the show who help the mum fried noodles but did badly in school - the Table of Glory guy ah? ).

[schellen]

Good, I don't think I want my DD present cos she tends to be very sensitive to such remarks and she also puts more pressure on herself to perform than we do on her. Don't want her to break down, especially in P1.


Speaking of this, thanks for reminding me cos I forgot to discuss with sashimi who shall take leave to go. :oops:

[jedamum]

schellen:

Speaking of this, thanks for reminding me cos I forgot to discuss with sashimi who shall take leave to go. :oops:

I was just about to pm you.
So you can always drop your dd off at the student care. For me, as I do not want to commute back and fro by bus, I don't think I want to bring my boy home and then return back to school again. Probably have lunch nearby before going back at 2pm (dismissal is 1pm).

[corneyAmber]

Similarly, I would not bring my child to such a meeting, maybe when she is older and more mature to hear direct feedback.


Also, in her absence, the teacher may feel more relaxed to share more.

[barney]

Can some experience parents advise what kind of questions we need to ask during the MTP session?

[schellen]

barney:

Can some experience parents advise what kind of questions we need to ask during the MTP session?

If you can react fast, then just pick up on what the teacher says and ask along the way. If not, the teacher should give you a report on your child's academic, social and emotional strengths and weaknesses. If not, ask about them. For strengths, don't neglect them. Ask how to encourage/motivate. For weaknesses, I'm sure many parents will know to ask about how to help the child. Just don't dwell too much on the weaknesses to the expense of forgetting about the strengths. Many parents are guilty of that. Then, back home, the child only hears scolding after scolding and not encouragement/motivation and praises.

If you want to know more about the timetable, particular teachers, the canteen food, CCAs, etc, now is a good time to ask. Bear in mind that the teacher may not be able to answer everything on the spot due to time constraint and/or lack of resources/info. He/She should take down your queries and get back to you by e-mail. E-mail is good as you don't have to get the timing right plus, you get a record of your \"conversations\" with the teacher(s).

Don't bother with phone calls. They are very frustrating to schedule due to the teacher's busy timetable and yours. Also note that teachers usually have to share phones and recess time is very busy so don't expect calls during that time.