Parent Evenings - who to see?

[BucksBornNBred]

We have never prepared questions either but then the Parent evening was always "sold" as being more of a chat with DS with us as onlookers! I guess what I do enjoy is meeting the teachers so I can put a face to the name and to (hopefully) understand why DS is critical/complimentary of said teachers.

I remember in Yr7 I was blown away by how perceptive his English teacher was (they literally just described DS in a nutshell which was pretty impressive after such a short time).

Thank you for all the comments. At least I know there is no right or wrong that I have missed! We can't choose all subjects but I know at least one that he will not be continuing so that is one less choice!

[BucksBornNBred]

One more question, if I may. We have chosen to see the careers advisor. Will he/she have all the relevant info at hand or will it be a waste of five minutes? DS really does not know what he wants to do (other than make money) so we though we would see what was on offer. Any advice would be appreciated as we have no idea what to expect here.

[kenyancowgirl]

5 minutes isn’t really long enough for a CA unless you are asking specific questions such as what are the best A levels to become a ******? But it is enough time to meet the CA and ask for a proper ally with your child to go through career ideas. Some schools offer Morrisby testing which can then be gone through by the CA, or they can do the old fashioned interview/grunt work way. But definitely worth making that first contact in 5 minutes.

[BucksBornNBred]

Thank you KCG. My answer just disappeared so I will try again. I guess we want to make as much as we can from five minutes and hopefully inspire DS to look at careers in more detail. We have no questions that we can think of unless they have any idea of where his strenghs lie.. if you could help me understand how to deal with our short time to make DS understand he has to start making choices, I should be truly thankful. You mention an ally... would the CA know who that would be? I know his strengths but not sure if that is the way he sees his career going.

[kenyancowgirl]

No - I typed appt but it was auto corrected to ally.

I would explain that he currently has no careers ideas and therefore he is not sure what next steps to take. Whilst he could take subjects he enjoys, there is a risk he may then narrow his options - so, what can they offer to support his career planning? Eg an interview to go through his strengths/weaknesses/interests/hobbies/ideas, or Morrisby or something similar and, when can that be organised. That’ll probably fill your 5....

[BucksBornNBred]

No - I typed appt but it was auto corrected to ally.

I would explain that he currently has no careers ideas and therefore he is not sure what next steps to take. Whilst he could take subjects he enjoys, there is a risk he may then narrow his options - so, what can they offer to support his career planning? Eg an interview to go through his strengths/weaknesses/interests/hobbies/ideas, or Morrisby or something similar and, when can that be organised. That’ll probably fill your 5....

Thank you KCG ... I will try to put some questions together. I don't want him cutting his options but he currently has no idea (other than making money!) I just need to find a way to optimise our five minutes. His strengths seem to be physics, history and english so no idea where that could lead him. I need to go on that site where it gives predictions again but I am hoping more for a personal idea during the meeting or am I wrong?

[BucksBornNBred]

Morrisby?

[kenyancowgirl]

Sorry - I went to bed as I have the winter cold/flu thing - Morrisby is pretty good if your school pays for it (or you pay for it but your school has the license!) - there is one called fast tomato (I think) that does another simialr thing - alternatively look at TSR as it has careers streams.

To be honest History and English are really good solid A levels - research, politics, journalism - with physics he could look at some aspects of engineering (tricky without maths though) Economics degrees don't require Economics at A level and they are the highest earning graduates (then Medics then Geographers). History and English are both heavy essay subjects though so, he needs to be prepared for that. As a broad base, if they are subjects he loves he is keeping options fairly open - although ruling out the science options that require Chemistry, obviously (but that may already be a natural rule out if that is not where his interests lie!)

Good luck!

[BucksBornNBred]

Thank you so much KCG for taking the time reply when you are feeling under the weather. DS has been warned that History is essay heavy but he seems to have a natural talent for both subjects (and Physics). He is good at maths but doesn't have a very good teacher this year which is a bit of a pain. He definitely doesn't want to be anything medical so Biology probably won't be pursued! And he seems a bit "meh" when I mention Chemistry careers! I will do some more research to maximise what we can get out of the session. It is a short time with someone he doesn't know and who doesn't know him but we are trying to help him understand he needs to start thinking about these things.

I hope you feel better soon

[Sally-Anne]

Morrisby is pretty good if your school pays for it (or you pay for it but your school has the license!) - there is one called fast tomato (I think) that does another simialr thing

Fast Tomato is Morrisby's own DIY version. £5.00 for several years instead of £100 or so charged by schools. Well worth a look!