1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:04,120 Welcome to the Teachers Named Teachers Podcasts, the podcast for teachers who don't want 2 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:09,199 to just survive teaching but actually thrive. Open House, back to school Night, 3 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:13,240 Meet the Teacher, whatever it is that it's called. At your school, 4 00:00:13,400 --> 00:00:17,600 there's always a night when parents get to come in and meet teachers, 5 00:00:17,679 --> 00:00:21,399 and it's just a really informive time and it's kind of a big deal. 6 00:00:21,640 --> 00:00:25,800 Parents and teachers get to spend some time together and then parents can ask teachers 7 00:00:25,839 --> 00:00:29,039 some questions and then they can get a feel for what the coming school year 8 00:00:29,120 --> 00:00:31,879 is going to be. Like. I've definitely held many of these as a 9 00:00:31,920 --> 00:00:35,119 teacher and been to quite a few as a parent, and let me tell 10 00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:39,280 you, there are some ways to make this a really informative and helpful event 11 00:00:39,439 --> 00:00:43,600 or just something that's kind of cringey and one that kind of crushes and burns. 12 00:00:43,759 --> 00:00:47,399 So today I'm going to be going over five things that you should never 13 00:00:47,520 --> 00:00:51,320 ever do at open house, and more importantly, five things that you should 14 00:00:51,399 --> 00:00:56,000 do. This will not only ensure that parents feel comfortable leaving their child in 15 00:00:56,039 --> 00:01:00,640 your capable hands, but it will also set a positive foundation or a good 16 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:04,120 working relationship with the parents and be sure to stay until the end because I 17 00:01:04,239 --> 00:01:08,959 have a bonus sit for how to hold question and answer sessions so that they're 18 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:14,239 not awkward, because they can get awkward. Now, I'm not going to 19 00:01:14,319 --> 00:01:19,400 go over specific activities that you should do or handouts that you absolutely must give. 20 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:23,640 I mean, you can go on Pinterest or teachers pay teachers and get 21 00:01:23,680 --> 00:01:27,439 some fabulous ideas, and honestly, open house looks different at the elementary, 22 00:01:27,560 --> 00:01:32,760 middle and high school level. Instead, I'm giving you general tips for a 23 00:01:32,840 --> 00:01:37,480 successful open house regardless of what grade you teach. So the first thing that 24 00:01:37,519 --> 00:01:42,200 you should never do at open house is overload the parents with information. While 25 00:01:42,239 --> 00:01:46,400 I know that this is a perfect time for you to give them important information 26 00:01:46,519 --> 00:01:49,799 that probably their child isn't sharing with you, you definitely don't want to give 27 00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:53,359 them too much. You have to remember that, like you, they're coming 28 00:01:53,439 --> 00:01:57,760 here after work, they're probably tired, and they can only handle so much. 29 00:01:57,920 --> 00:02:00,920 When it comes to things like handouts, you want to focus on things 30 00:02:00,959 --> 00:02:06,239 that you know that you want to physically give them because maybe it's not making 31 00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:09,159 it home in their child's backpack, so maybe any kind of federal forms that 32 00:02:09,159 --> 00:02:15,039 they're supposed to fill out or information sheets with contact information. Maybe you want 33 00:02:15,039 --> 00:02:17,319 them to sign up for parent conferences right then and there, and hey, 34 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:21,520 if they showed up to open house, they get first DIBs on the times. 35 00:02:21,759 --> 00:02:24,319 You can hand out your syllabus anything like that that you definitely want them 36 00:02:24,360 --> 00:02:28,719 to have right then and there. But if you do have a lot of 37 00:02:28,759 --> 00:02:31,599 information that you want to give them and you don't want to overwhelm them with 38 00:02:31,919 --> 00:02:37,039 a packet of stuff, then you can split that up through emails or other 39 00:02:37,080 --> 00:02:42,000 types of messages or even I've created videos for parents and then given those out 40 00:02:42,120 --> 00:02:46,439 over a period of time via email or through our learning management system. That 41 00:02:46,479 --> 00:02:51,240 way parents can get these bite sized pieces of information that they can actually absorb 42 00:02:51,439 --> 00:02:55,439 and understand. So this is definitely a time when less is more, simple 43 00:02:55,599 --> 00:02:59,520 is better, and especially when it comes to paper, because I'm going to 44 00:02:59,599 --> 00:03:01,879 tell your right now, there have been many times when I've just recycled the 45 00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:06,520 majority of the papers that a teacher has given me. The next thing that 46 00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:09,759 you definitely never want to do an open house is use a lot of educational 47 00:03:09,879 --> 00:03:15,960 jargon. I remember going to my daughter's second grade open house and the teacher 48 00:03:15,039 --> 00:03:19,439 seemed really competent, but I was kind of turned off by the fact that 49 00:03:19,479 --> 00:03:23,439 she was using a lot of educational jargon, like a lot of big words, 50 00:03:23,639 --> 00:03:27,960 And mind you, I am a teacher and I understand what all of 51 00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:30,639 this jargon is. But I was sitting there trying to come through the lens 52 00:03:30,759 --> 00:03:35,479 of a parent, and I just knew that it was going over a lot 53 00:03:35,560 --> 00:03:38,039 of people's heads. I mean, maybe you're trying to prove to them that 54 00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:42,120 you know what you're doing and that you know what you're talking about, but 55 00:03:42,199 --> 00:03:45,080 really, all you're going to do is get them to tune you out because 56 00:03:45,120 --> 00:03:47,400 they don't get it, and they get bored, and again they're tired. 57 00:03:47,599 --> 00:03:52,919 So you want to use clear and accessible language with them. You want to 58 00:03:52,919 --> 00:03:55,680 talk in a way that even their students would understand, or maybe, let's 59 00:03:55,680 --> 00:04:00,759 say middle school students would understand. And it's not that we're dumb things down. 60 00:04:00,879 --> 00:04:04,319 It's just that parents don't need to know what the standards specifically are. 61 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:09,080 They don't need to know what r L seven point one is. They don't 62 00:04:09,080 --> 00:04:13,120 need to know exactly which concepts their students are going to be learning. In 63 00:04:13,199 --> 00:04:15,759 math. You can give them a general idea, like their times tables, 64 00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:19,560 they're going to be learning about dividing fractions things like that, but you don't 65 00:04:19,639 --> 00:04:26,160 have to get into the nitty gritty because they don't understand it and probably they 66 00:04:26,160 --> 00:04:29,560 don't care. The third thing that you never want to do at open house 67 00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:34,120 is promising unrealistic expectations. Now, you can definitely discuss goals that you have 68 00:04:34,279 --> 00:04:38,439 for them and how you'd like to help them improve their reading and writing, 69 00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:42,879 or help them improve in math, or memorizing their times tables, or have 70 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:46,600 them past the ap biology tests or something like that, but don't make promises 71 00:04:46,639 --> 00:04:50,800 that you absolutely know that you cannot uphold. For example, you can't promise 72 00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:56,199 that all the students in an APUs history class will get a five on their 73 00:04:56,199 --> 00:04:59,720 test. You just can't. Don't promise that students are going to reach a 74 00:04:59,759 --> 00:05:02,920 certain reading level, that they're going to get a certain score on a standardized 75 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:06,519 test. These are things that definitely you can communicate that you are going to 76 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:11,560 be working with the students towards and that there is going to be a push 77 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:15,279 for that, but don't actually tell them that you can guarantee it. Sometimes 78 00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:18,360 I feel like teachers they have these lofty ideas of what they can do, 79 00:05:18,519 --> 00:05:21,879 and again they feel like they have something to prove. But you're just going 80 00:05:21,959 --> 00:05:26,319 to be setting yourself for failure and you're going to be setting up yourself to 81 00:05:26,360 --> 00:05:29,639 be attacked by parents who said, you promise this, but you didn't follow 82 00:05:29,680 --> 00:05:33,240 through. The next thing that you should absolutely never ever do at open house 83 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:38,360 is talk about your personal issues. So you definitely want to avoid getting too 84 00:05:38,399 --> 00:05:43,360 personal with the parents and talking about things that are happening in your life. 85 00:05:43,360 --> 00:05:45,720 I mean, yes, you can talk about the fact that you have a 86 00:05:45,720 --> 00:05:49,160 family, maybe you have five kids and a dog something like that, but 87 00:05:49,240 --> 00:05:54,079 you don't want to go into anything overly personal. You don't want to talk 88 00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:57,959 about how you're going through a divorce or a death and the family or just 89 00:05:58,120 --> 00:06:02,839 anything like that. This include it's bragging about anything that you've accomplished. I 90 00:06:02,839 --> 00:06:08,480 mean, you don't necessarily need to tell them about your curriculum vitae, or 91 00:06:08,519 --> 00:06:11,319 you don't need to tell them about all the places that you've taught. You 92 00:06:11,360 --> 00:06:14,560 just want to keep it brief when it comes to the things that are about 93 00:06:14,600 --> 00:06:17,680 you, because you are going to be under magnifying glass anyway, and honestly, 94 00:06:17,680 --> 00:06:20,600 they didn't come to hear about you. That's that's not why they're here. 95 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:24,519 If they want to know more about you, they'll probably stock you on 96 00:06:24,600 --> 00:06:27,519 social media. The most that I really like to tell them is that I've 97 00:06:27,519 --> 00:06:30,560 been teaching for twenty two years and how much I love teaching seventh grade and 98 00:06:30,720 --> 00:06:34,120 I love teaching their students. That's about it. That's what they get out 99 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:39,040 of me. I don't tell them about my daughter or my divorce or anything 100 00:06:39,120 --> 00:06:42,680 like that, so just keep it to educational issues and focus on the students. 101 00:06:42,800 --> 00:06:45,759 And the last thing that you definitely don't want to do at open house 102 00:06:45,959 --> 00:06:48,480 is to be negative the whole time, which is funny because this part of 103 00:06:48,480 --> 00:06:54,720 the video is kind of negative. So we want to refrain from being negative 104 00:06:54,839 --> 00:07:00,839 about certain students, about the school, administration, district, things like that, 105 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:04,120 Yes, maybe you are unhappy at that school, maybe something is really 106 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:09,120 unfair in terms of your situation at work, but we don't want to bring 107 00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:12,079 that into open house. You don't want to sit there and try to get 108 00:07:12,079 --> 00:07:15,240 them to sympathize with you or anything like that. We want to keep things 109 00:07:15,279 --> 00:07:19,199 positive at open house because again, the parents are here to get to know 110 00:07:19,319 --> 00:07:23,040 you. They're kind of sizing you up, and they just really want to 111 00:07:23,040 --> 00:07:27,120 know more about their child's education and what's going to be like for them during 112 00:07:27,160 --> 00:07:30,720 the school day. So we want to focus on the positive aspects of school 113 00:07:30,759 --> 00:07:33,439 and the learning environment. Even if a parent tries to bring up something negative, 114 00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:36,639 even if they try to bring up something that they saw on a Facebook 115 00:07:36,680 --> 00:07:41,560 group or that they saw in the news, just redirect it to what you're 116 00:07:41,600 --> 00:07:45,399 focusing on in the presentation, that you're focusing on the students in front of 117 00:07:45,399 --> 00:07:47,519 you now, and that what happened in the past is the past, but 118 00:07:47,600 --> 00:07:51,040 you're looking forward to the school year. Just something like that. Now, 119 00:07:51,120 --> 00:07:55,839 let's focus on the good stuff, the things that I really think that everyone, 120 00:07:55,959 --> 00:07:59,120 regardless of what great you're teaching, should do at open house. So 121 00:07:59,160 --> 00:08:03,120 the first thing is discuss communication channels. This is really important because parents want 122 00:08:03,160 --> 00:08:07,399 to know how they can get ahold of you, whether or not you want 123 00:08:07,399 --> 00:08:09,399 them to get ahold of you. So what is the easiest way for them 124 00:08:09,439 --> 00:08:13,160 to get in touch with you. Do you want them to email you? 125 00:08:13,279 --> 00:08:16,800 Do you want them to call you during certain hours, call and leave a 126 00:08:16,839 --> 00:08:18,720 message with the school with the time to call you back. Do you want 127 00:08:18,720 --> 00:08:22,079 them to reach you through your learning management system? How do you want them 128 00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:26,560 to get ahold of you, because they are going to have questions and you 129 00:08:26,600 --> 00:08:28,959 want to make it easy for them so they can feel at ease and honestly, 130 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:33,480 having a working relationship with parents, no matter how difficult they are, 131 00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:37,200 it's really going to make the school year easier in general. Now, if 132 00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:39,799 you are using some kind of online learning management system, this is a really 133 00:08:39,879 --> 00:08:43,639 good time to demonstrate it for them. I typically do that, but actually 134 00:08:43,639 --> 00:08:46,159 what I do is I make a video and I send it out to the 135 00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:50,240 parents because I only have ten minutes with them, But if you have a 136 00:08:50,279 --> 00:08:52,320 longer amount of time, I would definitely show them how to log in, 137 00:08:52,559 --> 00:08:56,759 maybe even have them go through the steps with you and just show them around 138 00:08:56,799 --> 00:08:58,639 so that they know what they're looking at once they're there. And then I 139 00:08:58,679 --> 00:09:03,000 also like to be honest about how long it takes me to get back to 140 00:09:03,039 --> 00:09:05,600 them. I tell them within twenty four hours I will return their message, 141 00:09:05,720 --> 00:09:09,679 because sometimes parents want you to get back to them right away. Sometimes they're 142 00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:13,919 messaging you at ten o'clock at night and they think that you're going to apply 143 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:16,919 them, which, by the way, do not do that ever, But 144 00:09:18,240 --> 00:09:22,080 be honest with them and they will respect your time a lot more. Another 145 00:09:22,120 --> 00:09:24,799 thing that I definitely think that you should discuss at open house is your teaching 146 00:09:24,799 --> 00:09:28,279 approach. I really think that parents want to know what kind of a teacher 147 00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:31,759 their student has. So are you a teacher that is a little more strict 148 00:09:31,879 --> 00:09:35,720 or maybe you're a teacher that is a little more and bubbly and fun and 149 00:09:35,879 --> 00:09:39,480 just sort of you like organize chaos. Maybe you like a lot of group 150 00:09:39,519 --> 00:09:43,399 work. Maybe you like students take a lot of notes. You like to 151 00:09:43,440 --> 00:09:48,320 have lectures and then have students break out into groups and then do individual quizzes. 152 00:09:48,519 --> 00:09:52,440 The reason why this is important is because again, parents want to know 153 00:09:52,559 --> 00:09:56,759 what their student is kind of getting into, and also it allows them to 154 00:09:56,960 --> 00:10:01,120 better support their student. So if a parent knows that you are someone who 155 00:10:01,159 --> 00:10:03,200 does not like a lot of talking in class in general, and then their 156 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:07,639 student gets in trouble for doing that thing, when all the parent can say, 157 00:10:07,679 --> 00:10:09,039 well, you know, miss Slapri doesn't like it when kids talk out 158 00:10:09,039 --> 00:10:13,080 a lot in class, So why are you answering without raising your hand? 159 00:10:13,120 --> 00:10:15,639 Do you see what I mean? You can get more support if the parents 160 00:10:15,799 --> 00:10:20,720 know this about you. I would also discuss how you differentiate for diverse learners. 161 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:24,080 So maybe you have a different way of how you handle students that have 162 00:10:24,279 --> 00:10:28,360 behavioral issues that you already know about. Maybe they have something like an IEP 163 00:10:28,840 --> 00:10:33,200 or their NERD divergent. How are you accommodating for them? And what is 164 00:10:33,240 --> 00:10:37,799 the school policy in the school plan? What is the supports that are built 165 00:10:37,799 --> 00:10:39,799 in? The parents are definitely going to want to know that, and during 166 00:10:39,799 --> 00:10:43,279 that time when you're talking about your teaching approach, I'd also encourage parents to 167 00:10:43,480 --> 00:10:48,080 email you if they do have any known concerns about their own students, or 168 00:10:48,240 --> 00:10:52,840 if their student has some kind of a disability that they want to discuss with 169 00:10:52,879 --> 00:10:56,240 you. Invite them to message you or maybe even set up a time with 170 00:10:56,279 --> 00:10:58,600 you so you can get someone on one time and get to know their student 171 00:10:58,720 --> 00:11:01,399 better. In that way, you can also support them better. Now, 172 00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:05,080 the next thing that I really think is important for you to do at open 173 00:11:05,120 --> 00:11:07,360 house is to give an overview of the curriculum. Now, in the beginning, 174 00:11:07,519 --> 00:11:11,399 I said, don't tell them the specific standards that you're teaching or use 175 00:11:11,440 --> 00:11:15,679 a lot of the jargon, but you can tell them the general things that 176 00:11:15,679 --> 00:11:18,159 they're going to be learning that year. So if you have something like life 177 00:11:18,200 --> 00:11:22,759 science, Well, what does that mean? What are you teaching them in 178 00:11:22,879 --> 00:11:26,559 life science? If you're teaching them seventh grade English, like I am, 179 00:11:26,600 --> 00:11:28,279 what are some of the things that they are going to be doing that year? 180 00:11:28,360 --> 00:11:31,960 So maybe you tell them about the novels that you guys are going to 181 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:35,320 be reading, or what kinds of essays or other writing projects that you're going 182 00:11:35,399 --> 00:11:39,279 to be doing. Are there any field trips? Parents do want a general 183 00:11:39,399 --> 00:11:43,200 idea of what they're going to be learning. Don't just assume that because you 184 00:11:43,240 --> 00:11:46,559 teach math that they're going to know that it's just math. Sometimes they do 185 00:11:46,600 --> 00:11:50,120 want to know. So maybe you're teaching geometry and the parent knows that they 186 00:11:50,120 --> 00:11:52,759 can't help their student with geometry. So some parents will find a way to 187 00:11:52,759 --> 00:11:56,320 get them a tutor or just find some way to support their student because they 188 00:11:56,320 --> 00:12:00,639 know at home they're going to be out of luck if the students get stuck. 189 00:12:00,759 --> 00:12:03,399 But just make sure that you keep it simple. You keep it in 190 00:12:03,480 --> 00:12:07,000 terms that maybe like a sixth or seventh grader would understand, so that it's 191 00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:11,200 easier to grasp again when parents are tired and when they just want the basics. 192 00:12:11,559 --> 00:12:15,080 Now, the next thing that I definitely think that you should go over 193 00:12:15,279 --> 00:12:18,559 at open house. Are your homework and grading policies? Now a lot of 194 00:12:18,559 --> 00:12:22,559 elementary teachers don't necessarily use the same kind of grading system that they do in 195 00:12:22,639 --> 00:12:26,559 middle and high school, but parents still want to know. How can they 196 00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:30,360 tell if their student is progressing? How can they tell if their student needs 197 00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:35,000 more help in a certain area. Sometimes the codes that are on report cards 198 00:12:35,039 --> 00:12:37,919 and progress reports just don't make any sense. So I would definitely take time 199 00:12:39,039 --> 00:12:43,080 to go over grading and homework. So definitely go over the school's policies if 200 00:12:43,120 --> 00:12:48,440 there are any regarding late work or if they're absent, anything like that, 201 00:12:48,519 --> 00:12:52,120 because you kind of have to go with what the school or district policy is. 202 00:12:52,279 --> 00:12:54,960 And then I would go over your individual policy. What's your late policy? 203 00:12:56,120 --> 00:12:58,559 Do they lose points after it being late a certain number of days? 204 00:13:00,120 --> 00:13:03,120 They only get a certain number of days to make it up if they were 205 00:13:03,159 --> 00:13:07,639 absent? What are your policies? Do students have an opportunity to redo assignments 206 00:13:07,799 --> 00:13:11,279 or do they only get one shot? I know that some teachers students can 207 00:13:11,360 --> 00:13:16,519 only redo or revise an assignment if they get a certain grade like a C. 208 00:13:16,960 --> 00:13:20,440 And then when they have the redo they can't get above a certain grade, 209 00:13:20,480 --> 00:13:24,759 So let them know that. Be very transparent and clear so that there 210 00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:28,080 isn't any confusion later on when their student doesn't get a score or a grade 211 00:13:28,159 --> 00:13:31,360 that they were expecting. I also like to give them an idea of how 212 00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:35,639 much homework they should expect their student to have. That way, their student 213 00:13:35,759 --> 00:13:39,279 isn't saying, oh, I have no homework in math, when really you 214 00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:43,159 assigned math homework every day. So the last thing that I definitely think that 215 00:13:43,200 --> 00:13:46,879 you should cover at open house are academic support services. So you should explain 216 00:13:46,919 --> 00:13:52,399 the availability of any kind of tutoring, whether it's in person or online, 217 00:13:52,639 --> 00:13:56,799 any academic interventions or special education services that are offered at your school. I 218 00:13:56,799 --> 00:14:00,679 mean, part of why parents are even there at open house is to find 219 00:14:00,679 --> 00:14:03,679 out how their students needs will be met. And so let's say that there 220 00:14:03,759 --> 00:14:05,679 is tutoring at your school, maybe even you offer it. Give them the 221 00:14:05,720 --> 00:14:09,120 schedule, let them know the hours and the days so that they can plan 222 00:14:09,240 --> 00:14:13,759 for it. Because chances are their student doesn't want to have to stay extra 223 00:14:13,840 --> 00:14:16,600 for tutoring and their parent is going to have to tell them to do it. 224 00:14:16,679 --> 00:14:18,919 So what's the protocol. What are their dates and times? Now, 225 00:14:18,919 --> 00:14:24,360 my bone is to pass a dou with doing an answer and question session at 226 00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:28,320 the end of open house. You definitely want to satisize some time for this, 227 00:14:28,759 --> 00:14:31,240 even if it's just a couple of minutes. And here's why. First 228 00:14:31,240 --> 00:14:33,200 of all, if you don't actually build in time for it, you're going 229 00:14:33,240 --> 00:14:37,919 to be bombarded with a line of parents staying after to ask questions. And 230 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:41,799 let me tell you, you might even end up staying an hour after open 231 00:14:41,840 --> 00:14:46,240 house is over because the parents will wait their turn if you don't get them 232 00:14:46,240 --> 00:14:50,919 a chance to ask during a Q and A session. It also leaves a 233 00:14:50,960 --> 00:14:54,519 really negative impression if you're unwilling to answer questions, because it's like you're hiding 234 00:14:54,559 --> 00:14:58,600 something and honestly, parents will have questions if you didn't answer it during your 235 00:14:58,639 --> 00:15:03,480 present. And another reason why I like to have these Q and A questions 236 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:05,840 is because if a lot of parents are asking the same ones, then what 237 00:15:05,879 --> 00:15:09,480 I like to do is write them down. So I'd like to send out 238 00:15:09,519 --> 00:15:13,399 an email or a newsletter or a video that I send to all the parents, 239 00:15:13,440 --> 00:15:16,799 regardless of whether or not they made it, that covers those questions. 240 00:15:16,080 --> 00:15:20,720 But you want to do this the right way. Don't leave too much time 241 00:15:20,759 --> 00:15:24,679 for this because they will ask a lot of questions. Give them maybe five 242 00:15:24,919 --> 00:15:28,200 minutes. I mean, if it's too much time, it's going to be 243 00:15:28,399 --> 00:15:31,679 never ending. Even if parents don't want to go home because they have more 244 00:15:31,759 --> 00:15:35,720 questions, just insist that time is up or open house, and that you've 245 00:15:35,799 --> 00:15:39,960 answered a lot of questions and that you're more than willing to answer more questions 246 00:15:39,080 --> 00:15:43,240 via email or a phone call or some kind of a conference. Here's the 247 00:15:43,320 --> 00:15:48,879 thing. If a parent starts asking you specific questions about their student where they 248 00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:52,159 go into a whole life story about their student, you need to cut that 249 00:15:52,279 --> 00:15:56,080 off. So just gently stop them in the middle and let them know that 250 00:15:56,080 --> 00:16:00,799 this sounds like a sensitive topic and you don't have time left for questions and 251 00:16:00,879 --> 00:16:04,440 answers, and that you would love to meet with them again. Open up 252 00:16:04,440 --> 00:16:10,080 those communication channels and give them some dedicated time at a later date, and 253 00:16:10,120 --> 00:16:12,279 plus be honest that you want to be able to give them a more detailed 254 00:16:12,320 --> 00:16:17,080 answer rather than answering on the fly. And it also allows you to take 255 00:16:17,120 --> 00:16:19,559 notes and really focus on what the parent is telling you. So basically, 256 00:16:19,639 --> 00:16:25,200 be really positive about it and They're going to feel more reassured if you're saying, 257 00:16:25,279 --> 00:16:27,759 yeah, this really is a concern. So I think this deserves something 258 00:16:27,919 --> 00:16:32,759 that's more of a dedicated time rather than here in front of everyone. So 259 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:36,799 definitely redirect those types of questions, and I promise you they're going to come 260 00:16:36,879 --> 00:16:40,840 up even when they come and see you after open house. When that line 261 00:16:40,919 --> 00:16:44,799 forms, just tell them again, like now really isn't a good time because 262 00:16:44,840 --> 00:16:48,279 there's a lot of people around, and also you have to get home to 263 00:16:48,559 --> 00:16:51,840 whatever, your dog, your family, just you have to be there early 264 00:16:51,919 --> 00:16:55,480 the next day. Things like that. Doesn't make sure that they don't hijack 265 00:16:55,639 --> 00:16:59,320 all of the question and answer time and they don't hijack your time after open 266 00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:03,000 house. I've talked a lot about parents in this episode, like a lot 267 00:17:03,039 --> 00:17:07,759 about parents, and I definitely think that it deserves its own episode. So 268 00:17:07,880 --> 00:17:11,519 be sure to subscribe to this podcast so that you don't miss out on my 269 00:17:11,720 --> 00:17:15,799 next one or talk about how to deal with parents, because you guys, 270 00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:19,400 it is a topic that is pretty rough for a lot of us, but 271 00:17:19,440 --> 00:17:23,119 it could also be really really positive. I really hope that you enjoyed this 272 00:17:23,160 --> 00:17:26,119 episode and gotten a lot out of it. I would love to hear from 273 00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:30,319 you about how your open house went, so be sure to email me at 274 00:17:30,440 --> 00:17:33,720 Kim at teachers Need Teachers dot com. Thanks for hanging out with me today, 275 00:17:33,759 --> 00:17:34,599 you guys, and I will talk to you next week.