Grades Can Wait, The Kid Has The Mic: The New Parent-Teacher Conference

A tiny chair, a big shift. When a fifth grader leads his own conference, the room changes: honest reflection replaces guesswork, goals become concrete, and trust builds between home and school. We unpack that story and reveal the social dynamics that make conferences productive—or painful.

We walk through the five interaction types you’ll feel at any meeting—exchange, competition, cooperation, conflict, and accommodation—and show how student-led structures keep everyone focused on growth. You’ll hear why students who present their progress develop stronger communication skills and are more likely to hit academic goals, and how parents gain clarity when data comes in kid-friendly language. We also share the mindset and role shifts that matter: teachers move from authority to mentor, parents from audience to ally, and students from subject to speaker.

Ready to try it without overhauling your whole system? We lay out a simple pilot plan, practical tools for student reflection and portfolios, and a communication script for families so expectations are clear. Even small steps—like inviting students to share a strength, a challenge, and one goal—can reduce tension, boost motivation, and create shared accountability. If you’re looking to reimagine parent-teacher conferences with student voice at the center, this conversation gives you the research, the structure, and the words to start.

If this helped spark a light bulb, share it with a colleague or parent who champions student voice, download the reflection and goal-setting template from the link in the description, and subscribe so you never miss a Tuesday Talks conversation. Your turn: what’s one question you’ll ask your student at the next conference?

Full episode & FREE Student Reflection & Goal Setting Template download links ➡️ https://linktr.ee/drtiffanyslp

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Tuesday Talks is hosted by Dr. Tiffany. She has been a Speech/Language Pathologist for 20 years. She's also a speaker and educational consultant. Dr. Tiffany hosts webinars and in-person workshops for teachers and parents.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome And Today’s Focus
• 0:58 Why Student Voice Belongs At Conferences
• 2:11 A Son Leads His Conference
• 5:40 Social Interaction Theory Explained
• 9:25 Exchange Vs Competition In Meetings
• 12:05 Cooperation, Conflict, And Accommodation
• 16:12 Why Student-Led Changes Outcomes
• 19:29 Research On Engagement And Results
• 23:20 Shifting Roles: Teacher, Parent, Student
• 26:15 Practical Steps To Pilot The Shift
• 30:05 Tools, Training, And Family Communication
• 33:24 Partial Participation And Small Starts
• 36:10 From Grades To Growth And Ownership

Transcript

SPEAKER_01: 0:01

Welcome to Tuesday Talks, your educational podcast helping parents become strong advocates for their kids and teachers to make big impacts in the classroom. Here we go. Hey, hey, hey. Welcome, welcome, welcome to another amazing Tuesday talks. Thank you so much for joining me for another great episode. This is where we build stronger connections between home, school, and community one conversation at a time. And I don't take it lightly that you take time out of your day, your busy days, to just take a listen and capture all of the richness of the conversations that we have. Hopefully, this makes a couple of light bulbs go off, just help you think about education and the topics that we cover in a different way, or maybe just reinforce what you already have held on tightly to. So today we are going to talk about reimagining parent-teacher conferences, not as one-way updates, which is typically the tradition, but as a three-way conversation that includes the most important voice in the room, which is the student's voice. We are also going to explore the social theory behind why these interactions matter, how concepts like exchange, cooperation, and accommodation shape trust and accountability between schools and families. And then we're going to look at how student-led conferences are transforming that process. You heard that right. Student-led conferences. And we're going to look at how research shows students who take part in these conferences become more motivated, more reflective, and more successful learners. And then last but not least, just like every episode, I am going to end with practical steps that schools and teachers can take to prepare students to lead or at least participate in their own conferences. Because when students learn to talk about their learning, they learn to start taking charge of their learning. So a few weeks ago, I sat in one of those little tiny elementary school chairs because it was conference day for my son. You know, those kind of chairs that remind you of just how small your child once was, and maybe how small you were. But this time there was something different about the conference. Instead of me or his teacher leading the conversation, my son led the conversation. He walked us through his learning portfolio, pointed out his strengths, even explained why he doesn't ask questions when he's confused in math, which is one of his non-preferred subject areas. And it was very insightful. So take a listen. You know me. I have lots of questions. Okay, so what has been a challenging area for you this year?

SPEAKER_03: 3:16

Most mainly IXL. I don't think I like math, but I have to do it. If I don't do it, then I won't go to middle school. Um I don't sometimes I don't understand the math actually, so I watch the video and get this video. Because sometimes people will do that.

SPEAKER_01: 4:11

So it was really shocking that he wasn't asking questions in math because he didn't want to seem like one of the kids that doesn't try to answer it on his own first and just asks the teacher or a peer in class for help. That kind of blew my mind. I knew that he wasn't asking questions. I have been prompting and guiding and prodding and pushing and all the things to get him to speak up and ask questions when he's confused. I thought he wasn't asking questions because he didn't want to seem like he was lost and didn't know what was going on. And I know that feeling all too well. That's that like sums up my entire elementary and middle school math journey. I didn't want to ask questions because I didn't want my teacher to know that I was lost. So I have told my son, like, please do not suffer in silence in math because everything just stacks on top of each other. So fifth grade, ask all the questions because all of those concepts, they're gonna come back to haunt you later on if math is not one of your preferred subjects. So I thought he wasn't asking questions because he didn't want the teacher to know he was confused. But he wasn't asking questions because he thought the teacher was going to assume that he wasn't ever really trying to answer the question. He just wanted to get the answer so he could move on. And as I listened to this, it was just a 20-minute conference. You know, most teacher parent conferences are about 15, 20 minutes because you have so many students that you have to meet with. Um, that's the typical time. And as I listened, I realized something powerful was happening. This wasn't just a conference about my kid, it was a conference led by my kid. It wasn't about grades, it wasn't about behavior charts, it was about growth, it was about ownership and pride. And myself as both an educator and a mom, I couldn't help but think this is what the future of school family partnerships should look like. And that moment with my son reminded me every conference is kind of a social interaction. There's a give and a take, there's cooperation and compromise and even a little competition sometimes. And when we understand those dynamics, exchange, conflict, accommodation, we can design conferences that really strengthen relationships instead of straining them. And I know if you're a parent or you're a teacher, you have experienced that strain before in a parent-teacher, parent-teacher conference. Like as the teacher, I know myself as a speech therapist in the schools, sometimes the classroom teacher would ask me to come sit in on a parent-teacher conference. And right off the bat, I could pick up vibes if this was like a teacher-parent relationship that was really strong and mutual and respectful, like within the first two minutes. Or I could tell that it was a very strained relationship. And as a parent, I'm sure if you're listening, you enter that classroom for that parent-teacher conference either on pins and needles because you're not really sure what this is all going to lead to, or you come in there all fired up because you have ammunition and you are ready to just like lay it all out on the line about what needs to happen for your kid. Either way, just the way that you enter the conference, whether you're the teacher or the parent, really sets the tone for that conference. And so the social theory really explains why these interactions matter and how it can guide the way we reimagine these parent-teacher conferences for the future. So I just want to talk about what's really happening when we sit down at that conference table. Because at its core, a parent-teacher conference isn't just a meeting, it really is this social exchange. And if we look at it through the lens of social interaction theory, it can help us understand why some conferences flow smoothly and others feel tense or unproductive. And I know we've all been either in that smooth flowing conference, a very intense conference, or you leave thinking, I left here with more questions than I started with. I left here even more confused about where my kid is before I left. And as a teacher, you might be thinking, before this conference, I felt like I had good, solid footing, and now everything's been up-ended. And you end that conference with less answers, and that's not what the conference was designed to do. So when we talk about the social interaction theory, there are five main types of social interaction that show up in these conversations, like the ones you're having at these parent-teacher conferences. We have exchange, competition, cooperation, conflict, and accommodation. I'm gonna say those again: exchange, competition, cooperation, conflict, and accommodation. And we're gonna look at each one of those. So exchange is that give and take between the teacher and the parent. The teacher shares updates, the parent adds insight from home. And when both contribute honestly, it really does build trust. So for instance, he's doing really well with comprehension, but needs more practice reading aloud. Might be something that the teacher shares as an update. And then the parent might chime in and say, okay, well, we'll read together each night and track progress. That's an exchange, it's a mutual effort for a shared reward. And that reward is student growth. So then there's competition, and it can sneak in when parents feel they must defend their child, or when teachers feel like they're being evaluated. We know that feeling. Suddenly it becomes about proving who's right instead of collaborating, and that competition can easily derail the partnership. But when we shift from proof to partnership, the energy changes completely. So that competition is unhealthy. That's what leaves the conference feeling unproductive. We don't need to compete against each other. We need to collaborate. But it's hard to do when someone is accusing you of either not doing your job as a teacher or not doing your job as a parent. I know for me, you can't come for my integrity in the workplace, and you cannot come for my tenacity in parenting. That will make the clause come out super fast. So really avoiding that competition that can kind of sneak in, making people get on the defensive, is really ideal for these types of social exchanges. The next one is cooperation. And this is the sweet spot when both sides are working together. So for instance, a teacher says, Let's make a plan to help your child organize their assignments. And the parent says, Okay, we're gonna use that same checklist at home. That's consistency between home and school, and that creates really powerful outcomes. The next one, conflict, happens too, because real conversations involve real emotions. So a parent might expect daily updates, and a teacher has limited time. But when we handle those moments with curiosity instead of defensiveness, conflict can become a bridge to understanding and not a wall. And I'm sure, especially if you're a teacher in the younger grades, little communication folders that go home sometimes with the kindergarten and first graders, you put the smiley face, a little behavior chart in there, the certain color, maybe, and that goes back and forth. And so parents come to expect that. Maybe in first grade, it's not as dynamic of an exchange. And then by like second or third grade, nobody's filling out a behavior chart unless it's written in the kid's IEP to send home every day. The teachers are just there's too much going on, and they're fully expecting you to read whatever newsletter goes home, ask your kid how their day was. And so then when you come to that conference and you've been expecting these daily updates that you've gotten in the past and you haven't been getting them, and the teacher now is on the defensive because you're saying, Hey, this was my expectation, and you didn't meet it, you automatically have put that teacher on the defensive, or vice versa. I know as a teacher, you've all experienced the book bag, the book bag that you put things in to go home with the kid, and then it comes back the next day in the exact same way that you sent it out the day before. And you're like, nobody looked in this book bag, nobody checked this book bag at all. And then I'm gonna get a question from the parent about X, Y, and Z. And if they had to just check the book bag, they would have the answer to the question. And so now you feel like you're on the defensive in this conference because you really want to say, Y'all don't check your kids' book bag. You have to check the book bag. Why aren't you checking the book bag? That's what you want to say, but of course, professionally, you can't say it in that manner. You might phrase it like, you know, it's really important to check that book bag every night. I send home notices, information that I think would be helpful in answering some of your questions, right? But that conflict can come in and the emotions start to rise, and now things have derailed. The conference is now about this emotional exchange back and forth, and nothing's really getting solved. The kid is now not the center of it, the two adults are. So the last component of this social interaction theory is accommodation, and that is the art of finding middle ground, a compromise, a truce, a new way forward. That's when the relationship gets stronger instead of strained. And these interactions really do form a cycle from conflict or competition towards cooperation and exchange, and that's where student-led conferences can shine. They balance the dynamic and keep everyone focused on the same goal: student growth. Everyone's focused on it. The student is leading the conference, they are sharing. And so I'm gonna walk you through like what that looks like in real life and what the research says about student-led conferences and how they're changing the way students see themselves as learners, which I think is so important. So, in shifting towards parent or student-led conferences, these the model that we have followed for forever, this parent-teacher conference, it just wasn't designed for students to have a voice. It was designed to get updates. I come in as a parent, you tell me how my kid is doing, show me some work samples, I might ask some questions. Thank you very much. And the teacher's on to the next one because the other parent is probably sitting in the hallway. But what happens when we invite the student to take the lead? And I think that's where student-led conferences can really come in and change the game. Because in these meetings, students take the lead in sharing their work, reflecting on their progress, and setting new goals. So it's a shift from talking about the student to talking with the student. And there's research out there to support this. So in 2019, educational leadership study found that student-led conferences increase student engagement and communication skills. You saw in that clip my fifth grade son explaining what his challenges were in math, why he wasn't asking questions. And that conference went on for another 20 minutes after that. And we really dug deep and he set some new goals for himself. He at one point was just throwing out all these really lofty ideas about how he's gonna keep up with his day-to-day tasks and things that he needs to accomplish. And I asked him, How are you gonna remember all that? Now, in my mind, I'm thinking he's gonna say, Oh, that agenda that you got me, mom, I'm gonna write it down in that. No, no, no, no such luck. He looks at me and he says, Well, can you remind me to do those things? And I said, Absolutely not. I have enough to remember on a day-to-day basis myself. I cannot add your schoolwork onto my list of things to remember. So, no, that's not an option. But just building up those communication skills is something that that 2019 study found an increase in. And kids were really more engaged in their learning in that conference and what was being discussed. Teachers also saw greater accountability, and parents said that they understood their child's learning better. Now, if you are a parent that does not have an educational background, you go into these parent-teacher conferences, and they're telling you your kids reading on this level, and their math level is this, and you're like, I have no idea what these numbers mean. In that conference with my son, he's telling me his IXL level and his Lexia level. And I don't know what those numbers mean. But I have a chance to ask my child questions who is likely going to explain it in a way that I can understand it, versus maybe the teacher who's talking at a higher level of you know, background knowledge in a subject that I don't know much about. So parents are understanding more about their child's learning. And isn't that what we want as educators? Don't we want the parents to understand their child's learning better? Because when they can understand it, that's the hook. That's the hook. When they don't understand, it's just like, oh, I don't even know what that's about. Like you already are in this fixed mindset that I don't know what it's about, I don't have time to learn what it's about. But when you can understand it and your child is explaining it to you, that really does set a different precedent. There was another research project, the Harvard Family Research Project, that found when students participate, parents reported stronger trust with the teachers. Because guess what? You're not just taking the teacher's word for it. Now you are getting it straight from the child. Now you know, oh, Miss So and I missed this assignment because Miss or Mr. So and so was absent for a week and I didn't understand anything the substitute was telling me. Kids are honest, especially when they feel like, hey, I'm trying to keep myself out of trouble. They're honest. And so this builds stronger trust in the teachers because you're getting information straight from your kid right there in front of the teacher. So then you are more invested in believing what the child is sharing, and in turn, that trust bleeds over to the teacher as well. There was also a 2022 study in the Journal of Educational Research. It actually was a meta-analysis that revealed students who reflect and present their own progress are 25 to 30 percent more likely to meet their academic goals within one semester. Let me repeat that. Students who reflect and present their own progress are 25 to 30 percent more likely to meet their educational goals within one semester. So this isn't just about student confidence, this is about results. So imagine a student come to you and say, at the start of this semester or the start of this grading period, I was struggling with fractions. I practiced at home, my score went from a 65 to an 88. My goal is to hit 90 next time. If your child is leading that conference and shares that kind of information, that's ownership, that's reflection, that is leadership. And aren't those all the things that we want our kids to have that you want your students to have? So these student-led conferences they are reshaping relationships. Teachers are becoming coaches instead of evaluators. Parents are becoming partners instead of observers, and students are becoming leaders in their own learning story. And when that happens, y'all, the tone of these conferences changes from tension to collaboration, from what went wrong to what's next. One principal in Illinois shared that after shifting to student-led conferences, discipline referrals dropped by 20% the following semester. The school didn't change its rules, they changed the conversation. So you have kids who are reflecting, who are taking ownership, discipline referrals are going down because now you have all three parties at the table. The traditional format of parent-teacher conferences where the kid doesn't even come. How is that benefiting the student? They're not there to take ownership for anything they've done wrong or get credit for anything they've done right. They're getting third-party information. When the parent comes home, they update, you know, your teacher told me this, this, and this. If it's anything negative, what do you think the kid is gonna say? That ain't true. I didn't, I did turn that in. I did tell her about so. Do you see what I'm saying? And now we pitted student against teacher. But if all three parties are at the table in a structured way, right? This isn't just a free-for-all where everybody's just you know on the defensive. This is structured, remember? We are really looking at that accommodation, that that final piece in that social interaction theory, that compromise, the truce, really looking for that way forward. We're talking about that cooperation as well. But when you have all three parties at the table and everyone's taking ownership, that just changes the vibe of the conversation. And now we are really looking forward to how can things change for the rest of the school year, for the rest of the grading period. And then also you're holding kids accountable about their discipline. I learned in my conference with my child leading it that when he sits next to certain kids, he is not getting work done. And I want the names. Tell me who you're sitting next to. Not so I can go say something to the kid. But the next time I ask you after school, like, hey, how was your day? You know, did you sit in a group to get your work done? Did you work alone? And he starts naming kids that he has identified as ones that caused, they both cause each other to be chatty. I'm gonna call him out on it because in his student-led conference, he already named those kids that he knows are not supporting the learning process. They're both all of them are in it together, they're all chatting with each other. So when I asked, you know, how are you gonna change that for the next part of the grading period? He said, Well, I'm not gonna sit by those kids. I'll either sit by myself or he named a couple other students that he felt like he could sit beside and get work done. And the great part about it was the teacher was right there to say, Yeah, those are kids that'll that'll he can sit next to and be able to get work done. See how that works? I asked the question. The kid, my kid could be telling me anything. I don't know these kids. I don't, I'm not in the classroom to see how things are working. But I asked the question, my kid answers it, and the teacher validates what my kid said. That is that I'm gonna call it triangulation for lack of better words, but that's that triangulation that needs to happen. And that is what these student-led conferences can do. Because these conferences help kids not only share their progress, but also take accountability and help them find their voice. They learn to reflect, self-assess, set those goals, skills that are going to serve them for life, right? This isn't just a strategy shifting from a parent-teacher conference to a student-led conference. This is a culture shift. And so you might be thinking, like, well, how do schools actually make this shift? So you don't have to overhaul your system overnight. If you're administrator, you're like, this sounds great, but this sounds like a lot. You can start small as a teacher. You can start small. It's a grade level. Y'all can start small to test it out, reflect, and then make changes so that it can grow and improve. So I recommend starting with a pilot. When I talked to my kids' teacher about this, this is how they implemented it. They started with a pilot. Choose a grade level if you're the administrator or a department or a cohort and try student-led conferences first. Then use feedback from that group to kind of refine the process. And everybody's process might look different. It might be different from classroom to classroom because kids are different, right? You're not gonna be able to make this carbon copy and say, do it this way. That's one of the problems with education, anyway, forcing everybody to do the same thing. And it doesn't work like that. We're dealing with human beings, but start with that pilot, one grade level, one department, one cohort, trying it out first and giving feedback, making changes to the process. Another step is provide a professional development. Teachers need time to learn how to coach students in reflection and communication. So educational consultants like myself offer professional development sessions or collaborative planning days that can focus on student goal setting, conferencing scripts, a portfolio development so that teachers feel supported and they have the background knowledge of how to implement this. I'm gonna say the word correctly, but I use it loosely because everything should be a work in progress. There's not gonna be this stamp put on anything in education that's like, yes, this is the gold standard for all students. It's just we're dealing with kids. You you it's very hard to say that. And I shouldn't say it's hard to say it. It's easy to say it. It's hard to make that reality. Um, so start with the pilot, provide those professional development opportunities, use reflection tools, give students structure, a simple reflection form, Google slide deck, a printable checklist. And I have created a student reflection and goal setting template that you all can use, and I will add that to my Linktree that you can go to and download easily and refine it for yourself because again, I don't know your students. So I've had I've given you the template and then you make it what you need it to be. But that'll be a good starting point. So using those reflection tools to help the kids understand like the structure of what is gonna happen for my son's school. They have taught them throughout the years that he's been at that school that hey, this is what happens during student-led conferences. And so they they've learned how to be ready for it. He had a little piece of paper where he wrote down his Lexia level, his IXL level, some strategies that he's gonna use to help areas of weakness of his, um, a short little plan of how he's gonna get the set number books read for the school year done with you know by June. So they have built this into their infrastructure. So using those reflection tools, I think would be very helpful and communicate with families. Parents might not be familiar with this format. So if you can send a letter or a short video explaining what to expect and how to support their child's role, it will be very helpful. And that's exactly what my child's um school does. They sent out a short video that's like, hey, this is what to expect, this is how it's gonna run, and this is what your role in it should be, and this is what your child's teacher's role is gonna be. It was very much student-centered. And if you heard at the beginning of that clip that I showed earlier, the teacher he's saying, Hey, we are here to listen. The teacher and the um the teacher's um assistant as well. We're here to listen, and you're gonna ask the questions, mom. Your son's gonna answer the questions, and then at the end, we're gonna give, they call it glows and grows, some strengths and weaknesses that they've seen. So they weren't just there as like decoration, they did give some information, but that was at the end. So communicating with families what this looks like, what the expectation of the kid is, what the expectation of the parent is, will help things run really smooth as well. And then encourage participation, even if it's not fully student led. If your school isn't Ready for this full transition, have the student join the last 10 minutes of the meeting or share one goal or one reflection. Those small steps really make a difference. So maybe you don't revamp the whole conference framework, but the student is still there. Maybe they're just not there for the whole conference. Maybe they come in for the beginning and leave out. Maybe they come for the end. I would probably recommend the beginning because we know how these conferences tend to run over. And if you're one of the ones later in the day, you're probably starting later because the conferences before you have run over time. So have them come in at the beginning, talk quickly about some areas that they feel really confident in, some areas that are challenging for them, and how they could what do they think could best support them to help those areas that are challenging? See what they have to say. Maybe they have nothing to say. And that is telling as well. That is just as telling as the chatty kid who can rattle off all the different things that need to happen. Because then you have a place to start with maybe giving suggestions, maybe giving them some vocabulary to help explain what it is that they need help with and how they need help with it. So really encouraging that participation, even if the conference isn't fully student-led, is still a great way to make small steps to the direction of a fully student-led conference. So when kids and schools and parents and teachers really shift toward student voice, everybody wins. Students are taking ownership, parents see growth, teachers build partnerships, and that's cooperation. Back to the social interaction theory. That's cooperation, that's accommodation, and that's how we move the cycle forward. Because when students become active participants in their own learning, the conference becomes something more meaningful. It's not just about grades. Yes, we want to know that our kids are on the way to making straight A's if that's your goal for your kid, or not failing a class if that's the goal for your kid. But the conference has to be more than just grades, it should be more about growth. What growth have we seen? Are we stagnant? We kind of plateaued, we regressed. What does that growth look like? Not so much about evaluation, but about empowerment. How are you, student, gonna take control of your learning? You heard my son say in that clip, math ain't my thing. That's my baby. I'm sad that I passed that on to him. I want him to be a math genius. But he said, I don't really like math, but I know I have to do it if I want to get to middle school. Isn't that life? As an adult, I might not feel like going to work every day, but guess what? If I want to get my paycheck, I better show up, right? That's a skill. My son is learning how to push through something that is non-preferred because he knows that that's a step to getting him to where he wants to be. That is growth, that is developing the whole kid and not just focusing on an A, not just focusing on how can we get this C up to a B, right? That really changes everything. Teachers in that model of student-led conferences, teachers move from authority to mentor. And parents move from audience to ally, and the students move from the subject of the conference to the speaker. Just hear how that sounds. In these student-led conferences, teachers move from authority to mentor, parents move from audience to ally, and students move from subject to speaker. They are getting their voice, whether they have a lot to say or very little to say. Both are very informative. Because the result is you get stronger relationships, you get deeper understanding, you get shared accountability. Just like I said, when my son was rattling off all these great lofty plans of how he's gonna remember his day-to-day task. And then I ask him, How are you gonna make that happen? And he turns to me and says, Well, can you remind me? Now I shifted the accountability. You're not gonna put that on me. Like the movie, don't put that on me, Ricky Bobby. You're not gonna put that on me. I'm not accepting any more tasks onto my list. I put that accountability back on him. You need to figure out how you're gonna remember these tasks day to day. And in that moment, the teacher made a note of it. The teacher said, Hey, get you an agenda. And he said, My son says, Oh, yeah, that would be great. I need to get an agenda. Now I'm sitting in my chair on pens and needles because I know I bought an agenda. And I showed him how to write it out, how to check off the goals, all the things. So I let him finish. And I said, Um, you could probably use the agenda that's at the house, right? Oh yeah, I do have an agenda, and I'm just like, oh yeah. And the next day, the teacher at the end of that conference, the teacher said, Bring your agenda tomorrow, and I'm gonna bring mine, and we'll fill out our agenda together because nothing feels better to me than checking things off my list. That's what his teacher said. So now every morning they take three or four minutes, write out their goals together for the day, their tasks, things they want to accomplish for the day. They do that at the top of the morning, and he's checking things off. We have just created an empowered kid. We have just give him an given him another tool for growth. I tried to do it on my own. I showed him the agenda. I went through and helped him, like, hey, this is what you could write out. These are some things, and he did it for a couple of weeks and then it fell to the wayside. But having his teacher say, bro, bring it every morning and I'm gonna do it with you. That was the magic sauce. That was the magic sauce. That wouldn't have happened if we weren't all sitting at that table together for that student-led conference. That's my point. There has to be all three parties involved: parent, student, teacher, and the student should be at the forefront of it all. So, as educators, parents, and leaders, we all want the same thing. We want our students, our kids to thrive. And student-led conferences really show us that that can happen. Not by giving them more information, but by giving them more voice. And I'm sure you've heard your kids say, nobody listens to me. You know, I'm telling you this is hard. I'm telling you I don't care about this subject area. I'm telling you that I love this subject, I'm telling you that I want to do more of this, but nobody's listening. Student-led conferences give them more voice. And as kids start to talk and use their voice, I think schools and school districts will start to listen more. And as a teacher, you can start to listen more and implement new things in your classroom as well. I hope you have found this episode to be a little light bulb moment for you. If you haven't heard of student-led conferences before, but also if you are trying it out, I hope this gives you more confidence that yes, you are headed in the right direction. So I am cheering you on to keep going down that road. Be sure to share this episode with another colleague, a parent who really believes in empowering student voices. Remember, a lot to say or little to say, both very telling in different ways. Share this episode. Don't forget you can download the student reflection and goal setting template on my link tree, and I have that link in the description. And help your students get started. Be sure to follow me at Dr. Tiffany SLP for more communication goodies, more educational topics. And remember, when students find their voice, everyone learns to listen better. Thank you so much for joining me for another amazing Tuesday talks. Please come back next week for a brand new episode. Like, subscribe, download all the social media things, and join me right back here next Tuesday for another great episode. See ya.