As a preschool teacher, I have anxiety during parent teacher conferences, how can I cut it?
I have great confidence in my teaching abilities, but since I am new to this school (which requires greatness), I feel a little bit uneasy during parent teacher conferences. What can I do to cut the anxiety?
You and me both, there’s something quite scary about it, isn’t there?!
Know what you’re going to say about each child before you begin speaking to the parents/carer. I usually have a sticky note that I stick on the desk which is a general guideline of everything I need to tell the parents.
If the child is struggling developmentally, I do a photocopy of his/her report and circle in which areas, then I talk a bit to the parents about it and give them the photocopied report and ways they can promote development.
As for being nervous in front of them, there really isn’t much you can do. You don’t sound particularly low in confidence, just worried when you meet the parents, which is expected, after all, after the parents you’re one of their main carers.
People say to imagine them naked! Like you do at high-school when you have to give a talk in front of the class, personally I’d end up laughing, but you could give it a go!
July 15th, 2010 at 3:35 pm
You and me both, there’s something quite scary about it, isn’t there?!
Know what you’re going to say about each child before you begin speaking to the parents/carer. I usually have a sticky note that I stick on the desk which is a general guideline of everything I need to tell the parents.
If the child is struggling developmentally, I do a photocopy of his/her report and circle in which areas, then I talk a bit to the parents about it and give them the photocopied report and ways they can promote development.
As for being nervous in front of them, there really isn’t much you can do. You don’t sound particularly low in confidence, just worried when you meet the parents, which is expected, after all, after the parents you’re one of their main carers.
People say to imagine them naked! Like you do at high-school when you have to give a talk in front of the class, personally I’d end up laughing, but you could give it a go!
References :
Early Years Practitioner.
Trainee primary teacher.
July 15th, 2010 at 3:43 pm
I’m not a doctor, but you can ask your physician about some mild tranquilizers to help you with your first school jitters. Maybe a tiny, tiny, tiny amount of some antianxiety medicine? As a nurse, I had to make presentations in front of a large group of medical professionals and I thought I was going to die from the anxiety. An Emergency Room doc I know told me to take a half of the lowest dose of Propranalol. It’s a blood pressure medicine that actually freezes the "fight or flight" anxiety response. I took a half dose of this tiny tablet and then I was as calm and cool as I’ve ever felt. My presentation went very well and I was complimented on my cool confidence. ASK YOUR DOCTOR before you do anything. Hey, you’ll get over your jitters as time goes on. You have to face your anxiety to get over it.
References :
I’ve been in medical office and nursing practice in the past ten years and have now switched to teaching.
July 15th, 2010 at 4:29 pm
References :
July 15th, 2010 at 4:57 pm
Here is a link to some helpful suggestions. Good news: The uneasiness and anxiety goes away in seven or eight years…
References :
http://www.atozteacherstuff.com/Tips/Parent_Teacher_Conferences/
July 15th, 2010 at 5:33 pm
Good question!
As a teacher for about 20 years, I learned to always start out with the positive traits of the students. Any parent (myself included) would like that and it’s an ice breaker, very effective, too.
Then preface your "suggestions" with something like "what I’d recommend, for now, is…". Parents, you’ll see will be much more open to your suggestions.
General rule of thumb, "act professional, showing respect, and the respect will return to you in the form of a happier student and parent." All humans have basic needs, one of them, being respect. It’s on the heirarchy of "Maslow’s Needs".
Just begin positive. Hope this helps and I’m sure you’ll do fabulously!
References :
July 15th, 2010 at 5:55 pm
First, make sure that you have communicated with each parent at least once in the month before conferences. That is a good time to give a little update and ask if they have any questions or concerns about their child. That way you have a heads up on what is on the parents’ minds before the conferences.
Second, have a developmental chart or your preschool’s "report card" checklist. Use that as your "outline" for the conference. That way you can highlight each child’s primary strengths and weaknesses, and you’ll be relating more objective information rather than subjective topics about what you like about the child.
Third, you may also want the children to make a picture of their favorite activities at preschool that you can share with the parents. That can start or end the conference on a fun, cute note. I’ve also had kids draw a picture of themselves or their families.
Having a consistent plan or agenda for how you will organize your conferences will help you be in more control and allow the parents to have free input without judgment on either side–it should help make the conferences more collaborative.
One more comment–remember that parents know their children–they gave birth to them and live with them. You may be an "expert" in your classroom, but parents are "experts" on their own child at home. Communicating a desire to work together with the parents helps them have more respect for you as a teacher.
References :
July 15th, 2010 at 6:34 pm
Sometimes the best approach is simply to sit down and think your way through your problems. One approach is to work out your thoughts and feelings about the things that cause you stress and to test your assumptions and beliefs about them, especially where unhelpful or unrealistic. By trying out new ways of reacting you can essentially change your behaviour to something more positive and useful.
This approach does work, and is an effective alternative to medication for many. It’s something you can do yourself, and the approach is also used professionally (it’s called Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) – see the Wikipedia lnik for more).
I do hope this helps. Sometimes problems are best solved through thinking and talking – and solved properly – without the need for constant medication.
References :
http://www.beat-anxiety.co.uk/anxiety
http://worry-less-do-more.blogspot.com/