We asked you to share your best funny parent conference stories, and you all delivered. Leave it to teachers to share the situations they survived and how they came out on the other end! Props for that. The stories were definitely fast. We read quite a few involving puppies, one about a hedgehog, and one or two awkward dating scenarios. Grab some coffee and enjoy the read!
TMI
“Halfway through the conference, the mother stood up and said she had to change her tampon.” —Becky W.
“When a mum told me she was fairly certain her child was ‘seeing’ dead bodies and communicating with spirits … that was new ground for me.” —Lea M.
“Does one in Zoom count? ‘Cause the lady was naked …” —Monica R.
Parent conference or speed dating?
“I had a mother and father that wanted me to call their son over spring break and encourage him to do better. I told them that I don’t want their son’s number, and I don’t want him to have mine. They asked me why, and I got to explain to them that their son asks me out every other day. They laughed. A lot.” —MsDgoteam, Reddit
When parents make the rules
“I was told by the father of a kindergartner that I couldn’t show Scooby-Doo because he didn’t believe in ghosts.” —Marika M.
“I was involved in a parent conference where the parent brought her attorney and threatened a law suitbecause her 8th grade daughter was not chosen as a member of the high school freshman cheerleading squad.” —Pam H.
“I once had a parent threaten to have me fired for giving her son a B on an assignment. She said I was keeping him from being an FBI agent when he grew up. He was in 4th grade.” —Darlene R.
“I once had a parent of a second grader tell me that it was my job to ‘fix’ their son.” —Michelle H.
Puppies, hedgehogs, and cookies
“Being offered a puppy from a mother because her student was finally passing classes.” —@Sankofa2
“I was meeting with a parent that spoke mostly in Spanish. My Spanish is weak. I can understand much more than I can speak. Turns out her English was about at the same level as my Spanish. I spoke in English with a little Spanish; she spoke Spanish with a little English. When we couldn’t get across an idea, we reverted to charades or drew things out. By the end, we were laughing so hard and leaning on each other.” —Cat_Yogi, Reddit
“A student’s father listened intently to everything I had to say about his child. Then, he kindly and respectfully asked how his son was developing as a person. ‘Was he kind to others? How could his son grow as a leader? Was he empathetic to others?’ At the time, it just blew me away.” —graciella11, Reddit
“My students know I’m obsessed with hedgehogs. On the last night of conferences, one of my favorite students comes in with her mom and had this fuzzy bag … mom pulled out a hedgehog, and I shrieked like a child! I got to hold him. It was the best thing ever. Mom informed me that her child talks about me all the time and wanted to do something cool for me.” —bridoe, Reddit