Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Conference observations

In my dyad placement, there is a child who is a great kid - funny, bright, well-liked and is always eager to participate in class discussions. She gets pulled at the end of the day for help in reading and writing. One of her biggest challenges is getting anything done - she seldom completes her homework, and always seems so unorganized. The teacher has asked the parents on numerous occasions to follow up with their child to make sure she works on her homework, but the majority of the time, nothing comes back. Her divorced parents came in for a conference, and I was surprised to hear how they were unable to come to any kind of agreement when it came to helping their daughter with her work. The father blames the mother; the mother, in turn, says the father is no help. The mom wants the teacher to make all these changes in how work is assigned. The resource teacher and occupational therapist have made suggestions on how the child could be helped at home, but the mother doesn't feel they're right. This child is supposed to wear glasses, but can't seem to find them. The mom makes a comment about how the glasses won't really help her....what's a teacher to do? I was exhausted at the end of the conference, and I was only an observer.....imagine how the teacher must feel.

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