Inside Four Walls: Some Honesty

Parent conferences are a mixed bag. Some go well and others not so well. I will tell my favorite parent conference of all time another time, but this one is pretty good too. I have a student who is struggling a bit, and to top it off this student hasn't been doing the homework.

The counselors usually try to give the student an out, or an excuse, as to why something isn't getting done. I'm not sure why they do this, but they do. It's kind of annoying because they are basically giving the student an excuse...I mean the student doesn't even have to think of one. I guess maybe they want to play good cop to the student in front of the parents?

Anyway, so the counselor asks the student about the homework;

Counselor: So I see you aren't doing your homework. How come? Is it because you don't have time to do it or you don't know how? 

Student: I don't feel like doing it. 

Counselor: Ok, so is because you just don't get it so you don't want to try? 

Student: No. I just don't want to do it.

It was pretty funny to watch both the parents and the counselor's reaction to the statements. When something like that is said, I feel like standing up and saying "ok well this problem seems to have been solved, I'll see you all later."

Most of my meetings have been the same, but it's one of those things that you are kind of required to do.