Six-part question series to know the functioning of children in school in parents’ teacher meeting

Parent-teacher meetings create a common space for teachers, parents, and students to communicate about functioning in school related to education, behavior, and social skills.

As these meetings are held quarterly, meaningful interaction is significant. Mostly conversations held in these meetings are interfered with due to long queues, the chaos around, and limited time so parents must already have some list prepared on which concerns they would like to discuss.

Some of the key points that need to be discussed in parent-teacher meetings are:

Is my child participative in the classroom- Does he actively participate in the classroom, raises his hand when a question is put up, volunteer for reading or solving questions on board, or volunteer for leadership roles?

How is my child socially- how is the interaction with teachers and support staff, it's not only important that he has friends but he is willing to make new friends and interact with other classroom children is also important.

How is my child emotionally- It is very important to know the emotional health of the child, he is happy, and looks forward to participating in co-curricular activities. There can be signs that can be indicative of stress related to school like for eg, being very quiet, not responding in class, limited or no friends, not eating well, and making excuses in participating in co-curricular activities.

How is his behavior and conduct in school- Understanding the discipline and rules of school may be slight confusing. So how he is behaving under such pressure and how he is learning about those by modeling methods, verbal cues, or self-regulation?

What is growth in academic performance- Children behave differently as the syllabus is increased. Concepts in books get complex and they may  take time to absorb those concepts. Usually, the achievements are best understood by the examinations. It depends on the parents how significant they consider the marks obtained in the examinations.

What can be done at home to overcome the issues identified- Parents should proactively participate in this process of remediation whether it is social, emotional, behavioural, or academic development. If required a collaboration can be established with professionals like tutors, child psychologists, or developmental interventionists for the same.