Job Discussion Forums

[pink_islands]

I hate to start a new discussion if this has been previously addressed, but I wanted to know if any of the saudi schools have "parent-teacher meetings" like we do in the USA. Do you ever have to talk to family members and explain to them that their son/daughter is not doing well?

[cmp45]

I cannot say if parent meetings are the norm or not especially at elementary or secondary level; however, the father and grandfather of a student I taught (at university) requested a meeting to find out why their son was failing his English courses. We met in the English director's office along with their son, who did not say a word throughout the whole meeting. Probably because he didn't understand what was being said. I was suprised to discover that the grandfather and father spoke very good English.
It was a delicate balancing act between sensitivity and bluntness. I told them that their son rarely came to class and when he did come, he was usually late, he rarely brought any text books, notebook or even a pen. He never participated or did any work in class. If the icy stares were daggers, the poor kid would be dead! They asked what could be done to help their kid improve. I told them perhaps one to one tutoring at home.
What I didn't say was that their son had zero interest in studying English (obviously) and why were they wasting their time forcing their son to attend university, when clearly he has no apptitude for it. Obviously the kid had no say in the matter.

Seems to me, many kids attending postsecondary institutions have little say in their future. It's their parent's great and often unrealistic expectations which cause more harm than good!

[bulgogiboy]

The college I worked at would, occasionally, request fathers to come in and discuss the students' poor grades/attendance. It wasn't a regular 'parent evening' though. Remember that, depending on your gender, you'll only ever speak to one half of the parents (either the father or the mother) so you'll never really get the whole picture about the parents' attitude.

[scot47]

At Prep Year in Uni my contactr with parents was mainly when indulgent fathers came to ask me to have their sons' grades changed to PASS. I never did.

[Imdramayu]

You the man for not changing their grades!