Brilliant Idea: Parent Teacher Conferences Over Skype

Parent Teacher Conference

So, you guys know (and seem to whole-heartedly agree with) my frustration at not being able to make it to every school event—but this story out of Detroit had my head actually spinning. Students from Coleman A. Young Elementary were sent home with letters praising the 24 parents who had showed up to a recent meeting, while reprimanding those who hadn”t been in attendance and threatening to suspend children whose moms or dads couldn”t come to the proposed “make-up” date.

Say what?! I am all for parental involvement at school when it can be done, but in today”s society, so many parents are working not just one job, but two or three—making it incredibly difficult for parents to be present for school meetings and events. And even if you”re not working, chances are, you have a few other things on your plate like younger children at home, online casino aging parents to tend to, or even just waiting for the plumber to (finally) show up! Punishing children for parents” inability to be at the school”s beck and call is ridiculous and insulting—and it certainly won”t make parents feel excited to get involved anytime soon. Finger-wagging does not friends make.

Anyway, thinking about this, I decided there had to be a better solution, at least for the really important things like parent-teacher conferences and important parental meetings—and there is! This is the year 2015. We have computers, we have smart phones, we have this thing called technology. Why can”t we do parent teacher conferences over Skype or another video chat platform? And why not let parents who can”t miss work Skype into their kiddo”s Spring Sing Along and other performances? I”d love to see schools start being more innovative and inclusive when it comes to parents” involvement.

Would you like the option to Skype into parent teacher conferences and other school events? Weigh in in the comments!