Student-Led Conferences are scheduled for Monday, November 7. Luke has lived through several of these bi-annual conferences. And, he has an opinion about them . . .
By Junior Luke Sonderman
This is going to sound like a bit of a rant, but hear me out. I think that the Palm Valley student-led conferences do no good for most students, and there isn’t much of a reason to have them in place. Let me explain.
The Problem
End results are all that matter. Who cares how you get there? As long as you produce solid end results there is no reason for parents to stay updated on their child’s academic progress. Don’t taste the dish before you cut the onions. Don’t eat the burger before you cook the meat. Don’t fry the eggs before you crack them. Don’t drink the milk right from the cow. Don’t cook the chicken before you pluck the feathers. Anywho, students read off of a script that asks for pieces of work that students are proud of. Hold up… why do parents need to see what their kid is proud of at a conference? Students can show their parents work they’re proud of at any time. If they’re really proud of it, then they shouldn’t need a script to get them to show their parents.
Also, student-led conferences should really only be about what needs improvement. If I’m getting a 4.5 GPA, then why should my parents have to leave work to come to a conference about my progress? That’s what PROGRESS reports are for.
Honestly, I feel kinda bad for the teachers. Imagine having to sit at school all day talking to parents of High Honor Roll students on what they need to do to improve. Just take your A+ and be happy with it.
The Solution
I think that student-led conferences should only be held for students that are in significant need of academic improvement. Maybe a better solution would be to have a set GPA threshold that determined which students are in need of a conference, or advisors could decide which students really needed a group conference with the teacher and parents.
I mean when everything is said and done, I am cool with the day off of school. If I have to spend a half hour of my day talking about what I need to do to improve my academic performance then so be it.
“Student led conferences should only be about improvement?” So your GPA is perfect, right? You are clean-sweeping 100s with the hardest course schedule you could possibly take? All your teachers agree you are a perfect academic specimen?
Even LeBron still goes to practice.