Dubai: Private school principals say most parents in the UAE take teacher-parent meetings seriously, with some principals reporting up to 95 per cent attendance.
Various school principals have confirmed that parents in the country take their children’s career path seriously and make time to attend school meetings with teachers to discuss their children’s progress and setbacks.
Jim Hardin, Superintendent GEMS Dubai American Academy, reported a 50 to 95 per cent parent attendance, revealing that parents’ attendance become lower as the students get older.
“Parents absolutely take the conferences seriously. Parents of nearly 95 per cent of primary school students, 90 per cent of elementary school students, perhaps 60 per cent of middle school students and 50 per cent of high school students attend the meetings,”
Hardin, whose school holds the teacher-parent meeting twice each year (in November and March), said the meetings are essential for a healthy and supportive home-school partnership.
“Lots of topics are discussed: student behaviour, student progress, strengths, weaknesses and strategies for parental support at home.”
He said there is a slight difference in focus between the November and March conferences as the latter tends to address the students’ future for the next grade level.
Dr Ashok Kumar, CEO of Indian High School in Dubai who said 85 per cent of the parents attend the parent-teacher meetings, revealed that such meetings have, in some cases, helped parents learn that their children have learning difficulties.
“There have been instances where students with learning difficulties have been identified through careful monitoring by the teachers and the parents were made aware of the same so that appropriate measures can be taken to help the child. Sometimes a child has certain behavioural issues and talking to the parents about it helps to understand any underlying causes. The key is to work as a team for the holistic well-being of the child.”
Hannah Edgeworth, Phase 3 Leader at Kings’ Dubai School, also believed that support of parents is key in enabling children to progress at school, especially when challenges are shared with parents.
“Likewise, we value the insight of parents in making us aware of anything which might adversely affect a child and can take steps to support children at school.”
Tim Waley, Principal of Uptown School in Dubai, also said parents at their school take the meetings seriously, reporting a more than 90 per cent attendance.
“When asked by parents ‘what did you do at school today?’ a child will quite often respond with, ‘nothing!’ For the most part, nothing could not be further from the truth so when the facts are put on the table in whatever area is being addressed, it helps inform and the actions taken as a result not only send a very clear message, but also lead to improved outcomes,” said Kevin Drew, Secondary Teacher, Grade level 9 leader at Uptown School.
Jay Roy, Principal at GEMS World Academy in Abu Dhabi, who reported more than 50 per cent attendance, agreed, saying the meetings provide parents with an opportunity to hear first-hand the teacher’s observations and view evidence regarding progress being made throughout the trimester.
Speaking to parents, Gulf News found that they often learn new things that they did not know before about their children when attending these meetings.
“I learnt that my son, who was in grade five at the time, had a shyness problem and so was not making any friends. I would have never known if it wasn’t for the parent-teachers meeting, because my child is always outspoken at home and when I asked him about his school he always said everything is fine,” said Jordanian mother of two Randa Nizar.
After finding out about her son’s problem, Randa started arranging play dates, where all her son’s classmates were invited. She said this helped him gain more friends and come out of his shell. “He now has two best friends at school and the three are inseparable.”
Lebanese father of three Hussain Jaber said he never misses any of his children’s parent-teacher meetings, believing they are vital for his children’s progress.
“Of course I attend them, how else would I know how I can help my child progress? I know, to some extent, the areas of weakness and strengths of my children but sometimes the teacher points out some issues that I was not aware of.”
