20 minutes parent-teacher conferences?

[Anonymous]

I was surprised this year by how short these meetings were. Is it standard this year to have 20 minutes with your teacher? I seem to remember it was 30 minutes last year. Is my memory playing a trick?

[Anonymous]

Ours were 20 minutes, too. We found it to be the right amount of time.

[Anonymous]

At our school, they are usually only 15 minutes. They are meant to be a chance to quickly go over the first quarter report. If we have more in-depth concerns, we are asked to make a separate appointment.

[Anonymous]

Get ready. Middle school is about 7 minutes and HS is 3 minutes, IIRC.

[Anonymous]

Ours are 10. Yikes! Can't be late.

[Anonymous]

Our MS gives 3 minutes. I'm not even sure the teacher will realize who my kid is in that period of time.

[Anonymous]

What can you even do in 3 minutes? Seriously? You're supposed to leave work and haul back to school, your kid is missing a few days of school, you pay for daycare or miss an entire work day, all for.... <drum roll> 3 minutes face-to-face? It's insulting.

This is not a conference, it's a roll call!

Even speed dating has a 5 minute get-to-know-you window!

I now officially retire my original question about 20 minutes. Shaking my head incredulously.

PS_ One of the school districts had a shout-out on NPR last year, saying that the biggest challenge for lagging students is that parents don't show up for these conferences. Now I know why.

[Anonymous]

We had 20 mins which was sufficient. But do they have one per quarter or is this it?

[Anonymous]

The ridiculously short time was another reason I stopped doing P-T conferences with my older kids. My younger kids are in Catholic school and I'm much more connected to their teachers. And the conferences are longer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We had 20 mins which was sufficient. But do they have one per quarter or is this it?

you get one in spring. At least at elementary school level.

[Anonymous]

What in the world do you talk about for more than 20 minutes?

[Anonymous]

In FCPS it's only one 15-20 minute conference per year in elementary.

[Anonymous]

What about middle school? I really don't need another conference. My kid is doing great so I see no reason for it.

[Anonymous]

You realize that if you have something you need to discuss with the teacher about your child, you can probably make an appointment at any time to have that conversation, right?

[Anonymous]

I spoke nearly 30 minutes with my 1st grader's teacher - it was actually really interesting, going over the assessments in great detail. I arrived a little early though, so not sure if it would have been shorter if I had gotten there on time....