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Parent Meetings: Bypassing the Dance of Blame

By Dave Orphal

Do you dread parent meetings—or find that they don't yield the results you wish they did?

At their worst, such meetings (especially when they focus on a problem) are packed with defensiveness, frustration, guilt, and fear for parents, teachers, and students. All parties want to "get it over with." But by sharpening your facilitation skills, you can keep a parent meeting from degenerating into a dance of blame. Here's how:

• Build relationships with parents throughout the school year.

I remember this nugget from a workshop: "Students don't care what you know, until they know you care." The same is true for our...