With the permission of the parents and my mentor teacher I had the opportunity to observe two parent teacher conference meetings. Surprisingly I had two very different students and therefore two very different meetings.

           The first parent was a father of an AP psychology student who currently had a low A in the class. His son was only a freshmen and was doing miraculous in the class, especially in regards to being so young. However, the father had some concerns. The father believed his son could push himself further and do better. In fact, the family had just recently relocated from the Middle East just over a year ago, and the son had taken many classes that he was taking currently at William Penn two years ago at his primary school in the Middle East. Apparently the curriculum at his previous school was more advanced, expedited, and had a technique "of cramming mass amounts of information in." His son received high A's at his previous school and performed well academically overall. The father was concerned that the son was not challenged enough and was slacking off due to his learning environment, specifically his friends and fellow classmates, as well as due to "always being on his phone." We both reassured the father that his son was doing exceptionally well within the class, and if he continued his work and study habits he would be right on track with getting an A in the class. Personally, neither of us had never really seen him on his cell phone in class, perhaps due to the complexity of the subject of the course. My mentor teacher did however ensure that we could always further push and motivate students to do better and study more. She reassured the father that she keep a special eye on him, reminding him on how to stay prepared and a step ahead in class with the readings and assignments, and would offer him additional help whenever need be. The father left reassured and comforted that we both keep an eye out for his son while also pushing him further to succeed and excel within the class. 

            The second parent was a father of a sociology student who was also a freshman. His son had just scraped by the first part of the semester with a low C. Without the amazing help and effort of Mrs. Borst, I can almost guarantee the student would have failed. A week and a half before the end of block one, he had an F in the class, Mrs. Borst had constantly been reminding him it was not too late to hand in assignments, journal entries, and projects. Finally he rushed to complete as many projects and assignments he could to boost his grade. However, at the beginning of block two of the first semester he was once again with an F in the class. The student was already in a program in which, he has additional treatment to encourage and support his learning. He is to sit in the first row, near the teacher to hear her instructions, be close to the instructor so she can also keep a close eye on him to ensure he remains on task. However, he had not handed in any of journal entries and none of his homework assignments for block two. The father was frustrated as it turned out he was not doing well in any of his classes at the school. I myself had noticed that he was often distracted and not very motivated to work in class as he would often request to use the bathroom going on long walks, ask to go speak with other teachers, or would be on his phone playing video games. Mrs. Borst assured the father that he had managed to pull his grade up before to a C and he could certainly do it again. However, he would NEED to complete the homework and participate in class to even have a chance of getting a passing grade. The father suggested taking away his cell phone as it was apparently a clear distraction at home as well. The father also alluded to using the absence of his mother as an "excuse," which could most definitely explain the withdrawal from school and overall social interaction. Mrs. Borst again assured that she would keep an eye on him, remind him of assignments and important dates, and help him wherever she could but she would need him to put in the effort and the work to complete and participate in class work.