P/T Conference

For the record, I hate parent/teacher conferences.

I don't understand how they expect me to change his classroom behavior, especially when a lot of the things they tell me he does are things he DOESN'T do at home.

My opinion is that children learn what they can get away with, and when. Then they do exactly what they can, with whom they can. He doesn't pull the crap with me because he knows I won't put up with it. So I guess they (THEY) need to do something to prove to him that they won't put up with it either. Right now all they do is call me and gripe.

They don't tell me anything I don't know, nothing new. I don't defend his bad behavior, or excuse it either. I try to convince him (with various Mommy tactics) to change his ways at school. Everything from talking to grounding to extra chores. We've tried positive reinforcement when he gets good grades and behaves properly at school. But nothing I do from here is going to change his attitude if they let him get away with bad behavior there.

So every so often I just have to go in and listen to them. Today was one of those days.

I sincerely wish I had some magic fix. Unfortunately, I don't. I mean, other than having them call me on a daily basis and report his behavior so I know daily whether he needs to be reprimanded or not... And believe it or not, I actually tried that one year, and the teachers wouldn't call or even write a note every day. It lasted about a week. Then they dwindled to weekly, and eventually stopped all together. Then, guess what? Yup, I got a call for a teacher conference, during which they complained that his behavior hadn't changed.

I'm more than willing to back them up. I support their efforts and comply with anything they ask of me that is intended to make him act right. But they often don't want to hold up their end of the deal. They just want a magic fix. Well, I don't have one. There isn't one. It's going to take work on their part, and on mine, and on Kory's part. Well, if they won't put forth the effort, I can't help them.