Are adults neglecting the voice of students too much?

Kids are known to throw drama tantrums, especially when they become teenagers as they think they have all of sudden become the smartest beings in the world and no one can outdo them in smartness. Many students also feel as though their parents and teachers do not give enough significance to their voices as all adults think of teenagers as complete idiots who do not even know themselves. This is not a good thing as this will do harm to their self-confidence and self-esteem not only in the present but also in the future. This brings a question into the limelight, should adults pay more heed towards what students have to say at least regarding the problems they are facing academically?

Is authority and pride of parent/teacher more important than the problem that student is facing?

Parent-teacher conferences are something students do not look forward to especially if they go the conference along with their parents. These conferences are dominated by the teachers and the parents and the students are given very little chance to speak for themselves.

What if instead of the conference being led by the adults, the students were given a chance to lead the conference? There may actually be more benefits to such conferences not only in terms of the efficiency to the outcome of the conference but also to boosting social skills of the students as well. These conferences will not only give students the opportunity to address their strengths and weaknesses but also to ask for advice regarding what they can do to work on those weaknesses from the adults. The adults will be required to have patience and show some respect and manners that the students need by carefully listening to what the students have to say. They are after all the ones who will be giving tips to the students as to how to overcome their weakness. Interaction with a group of adults will also help in improving their social skills which is a fundamental part of one’s character and something that is not taught in schools either. The teachers and the parents from the interaction can determine where the students stand and how confident they are in themselves.

Students are often not mentally involved as they get discouraged by both the scolding of parents and teachers and that too at the same time.

Parent-teacher meetings or conferences are often deemed as nightmares by most of the students as they end up getting roasted from both the parents and the students. But was the purpose of these conferences to scold, humiliate and scold students and hence do more harm than good to them, or was it to help students overcome their weakness and problems that they are facing academically? This is why perhaps conferences being more student centric by giving the students the chance to express themselves should be considered for a change. Whom else other than the students would know the problems that they are facing in learning? After all, it is neither the parents nor the teachers but the students themselves who are learning.