Written by Fatima Mannapbekova
Photographs by Charlene Mamaril
Parent Teacher Conferences (PTCs) are held annually at the end of the first quarter at ISM. The transaction between parents and teachers is meant update parents on how their child or children are performing in class. As a result, the prospect of the PTCs often causes students to feel nervous about the thought that their teachers and parents are gathered for the sole purpose of discussing about them, regardless if its praise or critical evaluation. Although the thought of anyone talking about a single person in an isolated setting is intimidating in itself, students can’t help but question if the half days taken off for PTCs actually benefit their academic progress in school.
Despite having an overload of IB work for school and trying to figure out her future plans, senior Dhania Kamayana has a positive opinion about the PTCs, as she feels that the act as an incentive for students to try their hardest. Dhania comments, “Parents are a main source of motivation to do well in school; they push us forward so they need to get familiar with what we are going through.” This may be especially true for students who strive not to disappoint their parents, because they know that they have worked hard to provide them with a quality education.
Furthermore, PTCs has the potential to benefit students by making them aware of areas that they do, or do not, need improvement on. Students are often mislead with the belief that PTCs are intended to update parents on the imprudent things they do in class. But in fact, the conferences are meant to help parents guide their children in focusing on concepts or skills where they need to grow over the school year. Moreover, students aren’t banned from attending the meetings themselves and hearing what their teachers have to say.
As an added advantage of being held towards the end of the first quarter, when assessments and deadlines tend to pile up, the PTCs provide two half days for students to either catch up on work for the week, or to de-stress from the workload and pressure.
Overall, regardless of how students view the PTCs, the conference holds incredible potential for parents to understand their children’s school lives and for students to gain insight on their academic progress.
