Towards a better interface

Do meetings between parents and teachers help? How much interaction is there between the two? Are teachers unduly critical of a child's performance? Friday brings together three parents and three educators for a frank discussion on the issue

Question: As the child grows older, does parent-teacher contact get reduced, ending in the mandatory five minutes at the end of each term?

Mohammed John Keenan, headmaster, The Oxford School, Dubai: That has not been my experience. On the contrary, parents of children in the ninth and tenth grades often become more involved, not less.