Well, we just made it through parent teacher conference season here at St. Andrew’s. From all accounts, they were generative and collaborative conversations in which it was clear that parents, teachers, and admin are all part of the same team dedicated to supporting youth in their growth and abilities. In the spirit of those dialogues, we are thrilled to release our latest season, entitled “Parent Teacher Conference.”
In this series (which includes both a video and audio only version), we feature illuminating conversations between parents, students, and faculty about a range of issues that especially impact the age group of focus. (Sorry- we are not sharing actual recorded parent teacher conferences, although that would be fascinating!) Dean Julius hosts our first release focusing in on the delightfully messy period of middle school and the pursuit of creating positive classroom environments. Learn more in his write up below:
Thanks for stopping by to check out the first episode of Parent Teacher Conference! This episode features a thoughtful conversation with 5th Grade History Teacher—and St. Andrew’s parent—Meriwether Truckner, Haydenne Archie, a current 8th grader at St. Andrew’s, and Katie Hathcock, a parent of two St. Andrew’s students, Stella and Carter. We chat about classroom management styles and student behavior, centered around an article in Edutopia by Ben Johnson. It was such a privilege to sit and chat with these three ladies. Mrs. Truckner has been a colleague I’ve looked up to since I started at St. Andrew’s because her organizational skills and her classroom management are among her many talents, and I loved hearing Katie and Haydenne’s perspectives on parent involvement in student success in the class as well as what students can do to be more successful stewards of the classroom. Hope you enjoy the episode!
Our conversation is time stamped below:
- What makes for the best classroom environment (1:45 – 7:00)
- Self-care & its impact on behavior/teaching (7:20 – 14:00)
- Parent & Teacher communication (14:05 – 19:20)
- What do you do when things go amuk? (19:30 – 24:00)
- COVID’s impact on management & behavior (24:05 – end)