Sorry to hear you're being required to advocate for what you're entitled to, mon. Bottom line, I'd attend the conferences and not give a second thought about whether the teachers were pleased or displeased at your attendance. You are not being unreasonable.
Alert! Sympathetic rant follows.
This is another reason why a businesslike approach to educational feedback is needed. Why do publicly traded businesses have quarterly reports, analyst calls, and PR teams? Because feedback matters and drives future value. This is even more true for fostering human capital development. My engagement teams, for instance, have weekly-- sometimes more frequnt-- progress meetings, which are necessary.
I'd like to see biweekly progress e-dashboards that parents can check with updates from teachers. Unlike businesses, parents can't hire agents to monitor their investment. Teachers cannot afford to be so complacen with such a valuable resource in their hands, and parents should never be ostracized for being engaged.
End rant.
