Conference moira::parenting

    Generally when I go to parent-teacher conferences we talk about how the
    child is doing grade/attitude/effort wise, does the child get along
    well with classmates.  Does the child participate well in group
    activities?  If there are problem area's what can child and parent do
    at home to improve it?  My girls have several other teachers also (
    music, gym, art, etc.) but parent-teacher conference is only scheduled
    with the main teacher.  My two are twins and in the fourth grade.
    they rotate classes and they each have a homeroom teacher and then
    they have 1 of 3 4th grade teachers for each subject.  The last parent
    teacher conferece I went to, I meet with both homeroom teachers at the
    same time and went over everything with them all together.
    
    -S
    

It is very useful to let the teacher follow whatever pattern is comfortable 
for her/him.  We had discussion about a typical day, where shown work 
products and evaluation results.  We had received Molly's first "report card" 
the previous week and asked questions regarding comments that were made.

We did not talk to any of the art, music teachers because the kindergartners
really see them very infrequently.

You will find that the teacher will have issues she needs to discuss with you.
It is a shared experience and she has a lot more experience at it than you do!

 

    
    Lynn, you did not specifically mention it, but is AJ receiving
    service through Special Ed?  If so, he must have an IEP plan that
    the teachers/assistants are working toward.  I would expect to have
    his K- teacher, along with the 766 Assistant, and Speech Therapist
    to review his progress against goals set in the IEP plan.  These
    are specific goals (ie: language, gross motor, social, etc), that are
    measurable and this meaurement criteria must be included in his IEP.
    The 'team' should review his progress and discuss with you. Above
    that, the comments made in previous replys serve as a good rule
    of thumb. 
    
    

RE: .3
	This is unlikely unless there is some reason to convene the team. There
is likely to be some kind of written progress report available to you from the
specialist though. In fact, I would ask for one. If there is some reason for 
you to think there is little or no progress then I would ask for a face to 
face. Remember though that under recent federal guidelines you cannot make
changes to the IEP without a full team meeting. 
	You might also sit down with your child and ask them if there's 
anything on their mind regarding school. This could give you some questions
to ask as well as allowing you to pass on any information to the teacher 
about your child's perceptions of them and the school. 

    Lyn,
    
    I second the idea of asking AJ if there's anything he wants you to talk
    to the teacher about.  I also think it's a good idea to tell the
    teacher(s) anything you particularly _like_ about what they are doing.
    It gives them valuable feedback, lets them know that they are
    appreciated, and puts you in a better position if you later have a
    problem or complaint.
    
    T.
    

    Just HAD to relate one of teacher's comments, she said she thinks he's
    going to be an Engineer of some kind.  He's just so curious, and wants
    to know how everything works and goes together.  If not he may be
    remembered in his High School year book as the  CLASS CLOWN!!
    
    Lyn

This topic looked close to the problem we have run into.  Anthony is in first
grade and has started reading and writing and is doing very well.  He has
spelling words each week and Friday brought home a sheet with all the words for
October and November.

The problem is, one of the words for later this month is 'got', which we have
been working to eliminate from our vocabulary...  I happen to be chaperoning his
class on a field trip tomorrow so we thought this would be a great time to at
least mention it to his teacher.

Not only do they spell the words, but they have reading tests that use the
words.  Has anyone else run across objectionable words (for whatever reason)
being taught in school and how did you handle it?

Thanks
Dave

    
    Why is "got" objectional ??
    
    I have to get the ball.
    I went and got the ball.
    
    How else would you say it?
    
    Sounds like it might be time to discuss "appropriateness" of some
    words?  That comes more with sentence structure too though.  A lot of
    "tense" stuff escapes kids till they're 7-8+.  Chris is 10 and does
    excellent in spelling/reading etc, but still will come out with an
    occassional "tooken" or something.  The important thing is if I correct
    him he UNDERSTANDS that it's not the proper word and CAN correct it.  I
    don't make him BE perfect all the time - just want him to know what's
    right and what's not.
    
    I can't think of any words that would be objectionable .... that are
    actually WORDS (like, I'd have trouble with AIN'T coming home - but
    even that has SOME value in teaching contractions.... (-;)
    

> Why is "got" objectional ??
>    
>    I have to get the ball.
>    I went and got the ball.
>    
>    How else would you say it?
 
We're teaching our kids that whenever you say 'got', you can replace it with a
more descriptive word.  Usually it's replaced with 'have', but in the case above:

I went and caught the ball.
I went and picked up the ball.

Dave   

It's funny that this came up today.  My Dad spent some time Saturday with my
teenaged cousin.  Yesterday he mentioned that her overuse of 'got' and
'go/goes' really bugged him.  She would say

	"I've got a ten-speed bike."  instead of "I have a ten-speed bike."

The 'goes' part came in when she was describing a conversation between herself
and a friend.

	She goes, "I'm not going to school tomorrow".
	And then I go, "Why not?".
        And she goes "Because I'm going to the doctor."

My dad thinks things like this are age related.  I think they might be more
regional.

						Tracy

re: .10  
Around here, "goes" is replaced by "<be verb in present tense> like"

     So she's like, "I'm not going to school tomorrow".
	And then I'm like,"Why not?".
        And she's like,  "Because I'm going to the doctor."

The only thing that drives me crazier? is the habit of my [female] teenager?
to end every sentence fragment with a rising inflection?  And it turns out?
that her 20-something [male] history teacher? has the same oral habit?

[Exit Bobbi stage right, screaming :-)]

wrt Dave's problem:  I think that you have to allow for a little give
and take on the use of some words and phrases, although you may want
to mention it to the teacher.  Please be aware that American English is
not precisely defined, with regional differences abounding.  This may also be
an excellent time to teach your child that sometimes you disagree with
what the teacher teaches.

(btw,  from *my* regional perspective, the construction "went and caught"  
 --as opposed to "caught" or "went to catch" -- is a much
worse linguistic crime than using the word "got".  To each their own; Q.E.D.)

    
    re: .7
    
    I have my suspicions that chaperoning the class field trip will *NOT*
    be the most opportune time to mention or discuss this with the teacher
    unless your field trip experience is vastly different from mine of
    last week.   The teachers have a fair amount on their minds paying
    entrance fees, organizing busses and kids in an out-of-the-routine
    setting, etc.  If it works out as a good time to bring it up, that
    would be great - but I probably wouldn't count on that being the
    case.   
    
    An open house or curriculum night usually held near the beginning of 
    the school year might be a good place to bring up your concern.  
    If you would like to try to do something right away, maybe a brief
    phone call or a note might help out.
    
    Carol  

>to mention it to the teacher.  Please be aware that American English is
>not precisely defined, with regional differences abounding.  This may also be


Remove the "American" and "precisely" from the above sentence and then you'll
be accurate.

There is no english equivalent of the "Academie Francais" to define the
languange.  English is what is used where it is used.  As a result, I think
that parents and educators have a responsibility to ensure that kids are
aware of regionalisms and things that are not necessarily understood in the
world-wide elglish language communities.

Stuart

"Got" is perfectly acceptable in British English.  They would say "I haven't
got it" instead of "I don't have it," for example.  Some British people have
been known to wonder why the Americans have banished a perfectly good past
tense.

						Brian

Well, as predicted, the field trip did not provide a good opportunity to talk
about this.  We will get together in a week or so, but overall it's not a major
issue since we can still teach Anthony not to use it in everyday conversation,
even if it's part of his school work.

Dave