The Po Show

The Five Minute Conference

To quote the Staples commercials, that was easy.

Things are different this year, school conference-wise, since my kids are no longer going to the same school. It's nicer this way, that it doesn't have to turn into the the bi-annual Tale of Two Conferences. Tessa's fall conference was yesterday, and Matthew's will be sometime in January. How nice not to have to compare and contrast, not to have to juggle my responses, not to have to tamp down my praise for Tessa's performance and accentuate the positive of Matthew's in the midst of troubled times.

I'd already seen her report card, of course, and knew that she was scoring above grade level in literally everything. "4"s across the board, with the exception of some elements of writing, which rated "3"s. The only thing she has ever gotten a "2" on in her report cards (meaning "approaching grade level") was under coordination in P.E. (oy vey, she definitely is my child, as is Matthew. Why couldn't they have inherited any of Ross' jockiness, instead of all of my lack of coordination?).

Her teacher just asked me if I had any questions, that she really didn't have much to say, since Tessa is a complete delight to have in class, she gets along with everyone, she is a kind and thoughtful child, and academically she is a superstar. She is testing at the highest level she can be tested in directed reading (she can only test her to 34, which corresponds to mid-third grade, because the highest level she can be tested at the end of second grade is 38, which corresponds to end of third grade, and children are supposed to show improvement during the year. It's such bullshit, and I really wish they didn't have all of these rules, so I could know at what level she's really reading.)

Anyway, we were in and out in five minutes, which was fine with me. The best part was that I was alone with Tessa after that, and I could tell her how proud I was of her, how wonderfully she was doing in school, and that I appreciated that her teacher enjoyed having her in class so much. I could do this freely, without making it a comparison to Matthew in any way, and Tessa didn't have to feel uncomfortable about being praised in front of him. She took it in stride; she's very casual about how smart she is and how well she does at school. It's never ever competitive for her; she just accepts it and enjoys the experience of learning.

I very honestly could not have hoped for more.