The Pat Kenny Show The most annoying thing about parent-teacher meetings!
Nov 25, 2025
Jen Horgan, an Irish Times journalist and host of the Conversations with Parents podcast, teams up with Simon Lewis, a primary school principal and host of the If I Were the Minister for Education podcast. They dive into the ups and downs of parent-teacher meetings. Jen highlights the difference between primary and secondary experiences, revealing how primary meetings foster a more holistic connection. Simon discusses how informed parents lead to better conversations. They also touch on the frustration of parents who monopolize time, leaving others in limbo.
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Speed And Strategy Matter
- Parent-teacher meetings feel strategic and competitive, especially at secondary level with multiple short meetings.
- Long, chatty parents disrupt the flow and turn the event into an endurance test, slowing everyone down.
Speed-Dating Queue Anxiety
- Pat describes surveying queues and choosing which teacher line to join like speed dating gone wrong.
- He and other parents sometimes split tasks to cover multiple teachers but fear parents who want long, joint discussions.
Primary Meetings Are More Relational
- Primary school meetings are more holistic and relational because there's typically one teacher to build a relationship with.
- Increased parental contact outside meetings means face-to-face meetings now often confirm a teacher's personality and approach.