Every year at this time, teachers, students and parents question if Parent-Teacher Conferences are really worth it. Unless there is something critical to discuss, why bother spending an average of five to ten minutes talking about topics you most likely already know?

As you get older, a student knows when they don’t understand something and when they need to ask for help. Parent-Teacher Conferences are helpful for when you’re younger to set a foundation, but in high school you should have the common knowledge to know what you need to do in order to succeed. I believe a teenager should be the one to take charge and set up a one-on-one conference with the teacher or their guidance counselor.

High school students are at the age where they need to take responsibility of their own actions and don’t need their parents to hold their hand. A student is in their last years of school before college and they aren’t going to have their parent telling them to study and do their work when in college. The students need to get used to being on their own and branching off from their parents to become more independent.

Don’t get me wrong, Parent-Teacher Conferences aren’t bad.  They just aren’t as necessary as they were in elementary or middle school. Parents should start giving their child more responsibility of their own choices. If a parent wants to meet with a teacher and talk, that’s totally okay, but forcing the process and providing a night to do it is old-fashioned.  There’s nothing wrong with still wanting to be involved with your child and know how their doing in school, just make an appointment.  At this age, students should be the one to take action and make an effort to do something themselves first.