Parents Evening

Yesterday (6th Dec 2007) was the day I got to see and meet up with teachers at the schools my children have been attending here in UK. This is the first Parents Evening that my wife and I have attended since we set foot in Leicestershire in August 2007. My youngest daughter S is in the Garendon High School, a secondary school for boys and girls aged between 11 and 14. My teen son,U and the middle daughter, N attending school in Burleigh College, meant for boys & girls aged between 15 and 18.

What surprises me is the fact that S was complimented by all her teachers not just for her good manner in class but also her meticulous and good work. At first I thought they were just being nice to us parents and then I realised that they just couldn't be nice when all of them said the same thing about S, so she must be doing pretty well. (Teachers here would say "Well Good" to praise kids, nothing like the choice of words when complimenting pupils back home). Three of the teachers mentioned about moving her to an upper set. She's in year 8 taking maths, english, science, geography, french, ICT and art & technology. At home she's a bit cheeky though, stroppy with dad (me :-) and playful when asked to do her homework. Always spend time on the internet/youtube watching Korean movies - a habit she developed while watching Korean love stories on TV in Malaysia. She wishes to study in Korea one day. Why does she want to study Korean when she needs to grasp french at school beats me. Seems like she's a big fan of everything Korean and that worries me a bit (pelik pelik). I guess girls apt to foreign language very well especially the ones that they are keen on learning. According to Mrs Bradley (Art teacher) S is an angel; S is letting her hair down at home since she concentrates hard on her lessons at school. Feels good when hearing that & listening to such lovely reports from all of her teachers.

In the case of my slightly older children, U and N, they were not getting that much compliments from their teachers except for their school work neatness and for their efforts. Got praised for behavior in class and also for their excellent art work (Nothing in my background & that of my wife would have suggested that my kids are good artists). N was commented though that she needs to be more participative in class like asking teachers when she doesn't understand them. This is perceivable since she's a bit timid. Hopefully in 3 months' time after they have taken some school tests, I'll get to see their true performance sometime in spring next year. A lot of coaching on my part too. As for the teachers in both of the schools, there's only one way to describe them; They personify British politeness, reserve and warmth.

On my way back home in drizzling rain (you get this often in UK, how romantic!), I told my better half that this parents evening event reminds me of the kids' report card day in Malaysia where parents are invited to attend, and I was kind of wondering as to how parents evening was first mooted. As I could remember correctly my parents never had any meetings with teachers during my school days in the 70s and early 80s. So much improvement nowadays and Parents Evening is a good thing. I gather teachers around the world nowadays share the same thought as how best to convey to parents about their kids performance and thus, Parents Evening...or something similar.