Parents

This week the battle was parent/teacher conferences... I was preparing all week the students work and grades so I would be prepared to discuss with the parents how their child was doing in my class. The parents have to sign up online and of course not all do, but I have about 8 conferences scheduled. I have had some difficult parents this year and I was concerned that the conferences would not go well but I was pleasantly surprised.

Each conference starts out with an explanation of their grades and showing them the work that their child has created thus far and if they have any questions of course. I let the parents lead the discussion and ask anything they want. It was surprising this week that almost every conversation turned into guidance on what school their child should attend and what software they should purchase.

I had a lot of discussions about the new Adobe CC monthly subscriptions student discount. I think this is a great deal for students to be able to work at home and the parents were very interested. My classroom just switched this year to CC and I am hoping it will not change soon. It seems that each year the software is updated and there is something new to learn! I don't think this will ever stop but I am hoping CC will stick around for awhile.

I always find it so interesting that the parents are not aware of the technology their children are using. The child is always more tech savvy than the parent. I think this is something that is "known" but is always an interesting conversation.