Keep your parents informed part 2

So today something remarkable happened in tutoring. The participation rate tripled. I had about 6 students show up. One had to make up an exam. 3 were working on the current homework assignment. One was making up a project. One was working on Spanish homework. Do you know why so many students showed up? Because of the parent conferences.

After parent conferences, not only does attitude and behavior improve; so does their effort. A couple of the students were a little upset at the fact that they were still in a classroom after school, but I don't think they can hold that against me. In fact, they were blaming their own mothers. I was jokingly threatening to call their mothers and they shouted "NO!" with panicky undertones. To be honest, this made me a little happy. Now I can threaten to call their mothers.

What another teacher at the school does is he makes his students line up to call their parents if they missed an assignment. He makes them read off a script he wrote on the board. Something to the effect of "I'm calling you because I didn't turn in my work". To me that sounds a little harsh, but I've heard it's gotten positive results. I'm not saying that I have been considering doing that, but I know it's something I can resort to if needed.

So I want to close by reiterating that it is utterly important to keep your parents informed. They help you tremendously by making sure they do what they are supposed to be doing at home and making them stay after school. I have been more susceptible to call home on a regular basis. I also regret not doing it earlier in the school year. Next year, I will definitely open up with that.