The assumption of the conferences is that it's a time for parents to learn about what their child has been doing in school. So, it lets the kid tell the parent and takes the teacher out of the hot seat. Our union is pushing for them to ease the "burden" on teachers.
They hope that there will be fewer conferences where the teachers ask administrator to sit in. So the school system is also pushing for it.
This is ridiculous. Schools that I have attended as a student or my son has attended always just had an open house night for that. About a month into school they have a few hours, like 5-7pm where parents can come in and see their children's work displayed, how the class is set up and what they're doing.
It seems a huge waste of time better spent discussing things more important to your child to have a "child-led" conference. While I obviously care that my son's education is individualized, I don't think that he should in any way be in charge of it. Given his druthers he would spend the day on Minecraft and Legos.
