Discuss one memorable parent meeting you have had in the past.

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The interviewer wants to know about your ability to work well with the parents of your students. As you know, some parents can pose a challenge if they have unrealistic expectations of their child, or are not involved as much as they should be in their child's educational success.

As a part of your teaching job, you may be required to meet and talk to parents regularly, How do you interact with them? Is it a pleasant experience or do you dread meeting parents? The answer to this question will draw some light on how collaborative you are. Keep this answer positive, but don't exaggerate or be over-enthusiastic. A big part of communicating with parents is to be as open and constructive about their child's progress, and sometimes, these meetings can be uncomfortable. Be honest about difficult parents if you've had such an experience, and discuss how you overcame it.

"I understand that parent meetings can be challenging. Parents can get defensive about their child's behavior or be in denial about their children's struggles. In the end, both you and the parent wants what's best for the child. I will always speak honestly but empathetically to a parent about his or her child."

"One time, I had to meet with a very disappointed parent whose child had seemingly stopped improving after almost a year's worth of additional tutoring. He wasn't too happy and demanded that I list out my teaching methods and what I was doing wrong because his child wasn't seeing any improvements. I had to prepare all of his score reports to explain that he had been improving a lot for over half a year but he was fatigued and busy at school, so he had plateaued. I finally recommended the students to take a few weeks off tutoring, and the parent was able to accept that idea."

"One of my students this year would constantly disrupt class by distracting other students or refusing to participate or turn in homework. A few weeks after this behavior continued, I held a parent-teacher meeting and told the parent that while Amanda was bright and creative, I was concerned that she might be having some trouble focusing. The mom ended up telling me that she and her husband were going through a tough divorce. I realized that as a teacher, you only see one side of the student, but there are many sides to a story and it's important to be supportive of whatever at-home circumstance a student may be experiencing. We created a plan for her daughter that including visits with the school counselor, and her attention in class improved significantly, in a short period."

Anonymous Answer

"I was very welcoming, then I stated my goals and objectives of my class, reviewed grades and took notes of what was discussed, discuss the areas of strengths and areas that needed improvement. I completed an action plan, I listen to the parent, and at the end, I provided information on how to contact me so we could keep lines of communication open."