Rachel Parkes

I’ve come across so many interesting videos like this one over the past few months- thanks for reminding me of this one!

The last point this teenager makes is something I never thought of because in my mind, schools will always exist even if only as a place for students to do their learning. However, homeschooling is becoming a more viable option as she explains that the power of the internet allows students to research and be in their own world entirely. I wonder how as educators we are going to maintain the necessity of school as an institution or if we are going to determine that an alternative is the direction the world is moving in.

Thanks for sharing this video- it was so interesting to watch young people from all over the world share their thoughts about their experience with social justice and how it is currently affecting them. I wonder how that video might differ if the older generation was also filmed in comparison what that perspective might be.

I find this to be such an interesting concept and think it is important to consider the age of the students when talking about student-led conferences. This is actually something my school is considering piloting next year. In addition, what about students who are not comfortable engaging with parents and teachers during conferences to discuss their academic growth- how do you build a culture that cultivates these values and principles?

I’ve seen a number of schools showcasing this approach towards engagement. What I find essential in order to facilitate such sessions is the ‘rules of engagement’ that prepare teachers, students and parents to benefit from these sessions. As it is not the ‘traditional’ approach of conferencing, new norms need time to be part of the accepted culture and these ‘rules of engagement’ help guide the process towards this goal. The big idea of this approach is certainly giving students more voice in shaping dialogue about their development in a more student-centric manner.

Kevin, I completely agree. In addition, I think it will also take time for parents to (re)adjust their expectations of what will be presented. For example, I imagine may parents want to be explicitly shown how their children are learning and growing, but they may need to infer certain aspects of their growth based on the conversation. I could see many parents wanting a follow up conference after the one with their children.

I find this to be such an interesting concept and think it is important to consider the age of the students when talking about student-led conferences. This is actually something my school is considering piloting next year. In addition, what about students who are not comfortable engaging with parents and teachers during conferences to discuss their academic growth- how do you build a culture that cultivates these values and principles?

Thanks for posting this article. I think a lot about parent involvement and the ways that we can "bring" them into the classroom. However, I haven’t considered the idea that the ways we seemingly attempt to bring parents in traditionally, are not accessible or desirable for all parents as well as parent-teacher dynamics.

I definitely wonder about how this might affect their families when they go home for the weekend and share their experiences in school as well, with their friends who are in their home community. In many ways, I feel like this puts the students in a challenging position to decide which is the "right" set of values and who they might be disappointing based on the direction chosen.