– I am very busy again. Our school is being audited this week and I have been asked to participate in two informal talks: one about the projects we have (because of the exchange we have had with a Swedish high school for 11 years) and one because I am on the school board.
Unfortunately two other meetings had been planned prior to the audit – a parents’ evening and a school board meeting. They have neither been cancelled not postponed, which means going back to the school every evening of the week, except Fridays.
– The parents’ evening was last night. I saw just over half of my students’ parents (only one class was concerned,) which is not too bad for a language teacher. French and maths teachers are the stars. Parents often seem surprised at hearing how accurate our perception of their children are. Do they think we only see the grades and not the personality behind the results?
– My trainee will be unofficially inspected next Tuesday and I am beginning to feel the pressure too. The “real” thing will take place in May once she is supposed to have learned the trade.
– I ordered and received Mitzvah Girls: Bringing Up the Next Generation of Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn by Ayala Fader. I hope to read it soon and write a review on this blog.
– How is your week?
Hannah's Nook 
You are having a busy week. We saw teachers last night. I said to the last one, who I know outside of school as well, yeah, we (my husband and I) get to go home. She said, I don’t. I don’t enjoy this part of being a parent, the checking out of schools and conferencing with teachers and such.
Me? Today I’m procrastinating on a post that has taken two weeks to write (10 Noteworthy WordPress Sites – I finally have all ten, but I need something intelligent to say about each). And waiting for tech person at Rutgers to finish X with website so we can go in and do Y.
I don’t enjoy this part of being a parent, the checking out of schools and conferencing with teachers
I am sorry you feel this way.
Hope you managed to move on with your post. It will probably be too hard for me but I’ll still check it.
Yeah, it won’t be long and I will be going to those meetings as a parent. We have already started the pre-k orientation stuff with my oldest. He is getting so big.
Not sure you really want to know how my weeks going. 😉
My sister-in-law is going to her first meeting for my niece (aged 4). She said she supposed that if anything was dramatically wrong they would have told her already.
My husband and I rarely make it to every single subject teacher at those evenings. The problem is that the lines are simply too long! So, after meeting with the homeroom teachers, we prioritize the subject teachers – depending on the individual child’s specific needs.
I hope you find time to catch your breath! 🙂
The problem is that the lines are simply too long!
I am lucky to have a very synthetic mind (well too much so sometimes) so I never keep the parents too long.
Yes, I managed to breathe. One colleague saw 41 parents yesterday evening. I wonder how she could still think straight after 20.
What do you teach? English? I’ve been busy and stressed too. I’ve been fizzling out toward the end of this week.
Yes, Elisheva. I teach English to high school students and business English to slightly older ones.
I love parent teacher interviews. Teachers are too important a part of my kids’ lives for me to not get to know them. It’s also interesting to see how much of their personalities our children reveal. We were thrilled after interviews with our oldest’s teachers as this was the first year in many that we did not get even one, ‘he’s a great kid but…’
Thank you for the parental feedback. The problem (from my point of view) is that we don’t always get to see the parents we’d most like to meet.
Good luck with everything! I’m having a busy week also – but thankfully not having to go back to work again in the evening – I just stay late instead!
Hope you get plenty of rest over the weekend.