This is Parent Conference week and I was thinking about the true purpose of conferencing with parents. Is it to get the kid in trouble with his/her parents by showing how unmotivated or ill-behaved he/she is? Is it to show parents that their child has problems completing worksheets? Or is it a time to celebrate what that kid has accomplished, no matter how minor that accomplishment might be?
Obviously, I think the purpose is to shine a light on each child's accomplishments. Kids have a hard enough time remembering to keep their socks picked up and putting their dirty dishes in the sink, I don't need to add to the list of "Things To Get Nagged About".
I made a Google doc that lists all the projects and websites that I want each student to show his/her parent when they come for a conference. The students will lead their own conference by talking about each item on the list and they will have a chance to show off what they have been working on.
Let's use parent conference time to let our students shine...just a little bit.