Making the Most of a Parent Teacher Conference

I have never found parent-teacher conferences to be too worthwhile. The teachers usually show me a portfolio of my children's work and make a few general comments. Fortunately, my children do well in school. I wonder, however, how I might have more informative conferences. - Curious
Answer: The very best conferences are the ones where parents arrive prepared because they have spent time thinking about what they want to learn. While it is important to get a general assessment of how your child is doing, you will want to ask specific questions about your concerns. For example, you might want to ask: Does your reading program stress phonics? followed by Are there any specific sounds that I should be helping my child learn?
The one person who you must talk to before a conference is your child. Find out exactly what he or she thinks about how the school year is going so far - likes and dislikes. Your child might bring up issues that should be discussed with the teacher.
Another key to a successful conference is having a good idea of the type of work that your child is doing. In other words, when you see your child's portfolio of work during the conference, nothing in it should be a total surprise, because you have looked at the work that your child brings home daily. It can be helpful to ask the teacher to show you examples of outstanding work by other students.
Finally, one of the major purposes of the conference is to begin to establish a good working relationship with the teacher. Avoid being confrontational, as it is never productive. And always make conference time easier for the teacher by arriving and leaving on time and not bringing younger children.