Student-Led Conferences in Review: Student Reflections

With our spring student-led conferences now largely behind us, I asked students to reflect on the process.  The results are provided below without comment:

STUDENT RATING

I enjoyed my conference (rated on a 5-point scale, with 5 high)

4A:  4.5     4B:  4.05

The conference was of value and importance to my parents  (rated on a 5-point scale, with 5 high)

4A:  4.4     4B:  4.2

STUDENT COMMENTS

I did enjoy my conference, so my parents could see how well and bad I have done this year.  I like the cookies and lemonade.

I sort of enjoyed it.  It was a little nerve wracking, but I got through it.  I could have been doing something else, but I decided to go anyway.  


I only liked the conference because we got cookies and apple juice.  It was fun learning about what my parents thought of me.  My parents (mostly mom) thinks that the student-led conference is a big deal.


The conference was stress because the planner was hard.  It was very valuable to my parents. They asked me a lot of questions at the end.

The conference was ok.  It wasn’t so important to me, to my parents it wasn’t either . . .

I enjoyed my conference because I showed all of the work I’ve done this year. It was important to me and my mom, because it was the last conference and it needed a lot of effort.

I enjoyed how my parents listened. 

It was fun.  I like the cookies and refreshments.  I got to show my mom my stuff.

At first I was really nervous, but once my mom and dad told me it would be okay, I felt fine.

It was better than I thought it would be.

I did my conference at home where it was more comfortable.  I ended up showing my mom a lot of stuff.  I don’t like presenting things.

It was really nerve wracking and stressful.  I think my parents enjoyed seeing what we were doing in class.

I think that my parents thought it was valuable, but for me not all.  My parents already know how well I’m doing.

It was weird seeing how much my writing changed from last year to this year.

I did not really like my conference, but at the same time it was nothing really bad.  It was fun to get snacks and stuff.  I think my mom enjoyed it, but I did not really.

I thought it would have been worse than it was.  And we got cookies!  It made me write about myself.

I deeply enjoyed talking about things. Interesting.

I do not enjoy having my mom know that much about me.  I like to be mysterious.  My mom likes to know about me, but my dad was being real like I don’t really want to be here, can we get food?

I really disliked my conference and feel like it was just a waste of time.  Mom and dad want to know what I do at school, but I don’t want to tell them.

I never like conferences . . . The apple juice was good, but my parents were paying more attention to the conference.

I enjoyed it because I got to talk to my mom about school and showed her my work.  It was important because she can see how I’m doing.

It was easy and fun. 

I enjoyed the conference, but it got really boring at the end.  The first half was fun, and I enjoyed it. 

I really enjoyed getting all of the feedback from my parents. Even if it was about something I need to improve on.   I and my parents really like to know what I go good and bad.  The conference is the perfect way.

I liked speaking to my parents.

I was waiting to get it over with.  I didn’t really see the point other than showing parents my grades and I can do that with PowerSchool.

My conference was great.  It was very fun actually.  It gave me a chance to show my strengths and weaknesses.  It was a very valuable way to show my skills in school.

It went pretty well.  I didn’t mess up and my parents paid attention.  I had fun!  It was very important because my parents knew my grades and how I was doing, but they have a better understanding WHY I’m here.

I don’t like sitting and talking to my parents, especially because I could be doing something else of greater importance, such as reading or drawing or walking.  I can’t speak for my parents.  I have no idea what goes on in their heads, but I’m pretty sure they want to know.

My parents weren’t paying attention.  My dad was walking away and looking at projects and other things, like A., and whiteboards.  My mom just stared and said things like that’s nice and you’re so blah-blah-blah.  It was a complete waste of time.

I thought at first it was going to be scary, but then it was actually fun.  My mom did not want to see what we did over the year.  She wanted to talk about my grades.

Yes!  It was really fun being the director of the conference. I liked that you could say what you thought about yourself without the teacher being with you all the time.  The conference planner was a very good idea. At the beginning I was nervous and anxious, but while I was doing it, it became more fun.  Yes, it was important.  It shows what I feel about school and the subjects.

I enjoyed my conference because it was a way to show what I have learned without showing best work or work I am most proud of.  This conference let me tell my mom what I like about school.  My mom seemed to get an understanding of what we do and learn everyday.  My mom and I both came away with something valuable.

Yes, it was a lot better me doing the conference with my parents.  It showed how good I am in school and how I am bad in it.

I enjoyed my conference because it wasn’t that big of a deal.  It was important to my parents because they wanted to find out what’s going on in my life.

I enjoyed my conference because it was fun talking to my mom about how I’m doing in school because I’m usually too busy doing work.

It was very fun, but I didn’t finish.  I would like to have more time.  My parents really like to know what I do in school.  It was nice for me to look at what I’ve done.

You can’t really say it was fun. We just do it because you have to.  My mom thinks it’s very important.  THE ASIAN WAY.

I was  tad nervous.