Curriculum Night: What Is It?

Curriculum Night. What is it? Well, most students in this school don’t really know. Curriculum Night is a night in which parents are invited to meet the teachers of BSGE that educate, grade and mentor their children. Teachers discuss with parents what is expected of students in class, the average amount of homework assigned, and the suggested amount of participation. Not many students attend Curriculum Night with their parents usually due to the amount of work that awaits them at home.

Most students wonder why we have curriculum night. “What is the point of going to Curriculum Night if our parents are going to meet them at Parent Teacher Conferences?” says an anonymous student. The main purpose of attending is to put a face and name on their child’s teachers. Parents need to know who is teaching their children and who will their children be seeing everyday. Also, the time parents are given to talk to their children’s teachers isn’t enough to discuss the general layout of the year.

Most teachers prepare for Curriculum Night by thinking about what they want to discuss with the students parents. Mr. Mehan prepares by making a handout of all the things he wants to discuss. Since curriculum night isn’t made for talking to individual parents about individual students, teachers have to come up with general statements about their expectations.

For those who aren’t sure what curriculum night is, your parents will receive the same schedule as you. They will go through each of your classes, and each teacher will explain what they do in your class. It is specified that it is only for questions about the curriculum being taught and its methods of teaching, NOT specific questions about a single child. Each session with each teacher is approximately 15 minutes long.

Mrs. Margaret Pasach is the Parent-Teacher Coordinator of BSGE. This is her first year organizing Curriculum Night. She started out last year as a parent and is now setting up this year’s Curriculum Night. Mrs. Margaret wants to create a fun and enjoyable Curriculum Night experience for both students and parents.

For some teachers, Curriculum Night is a great opportunity to talk to parents and get to know them better. Teachers such as Ms. Nikkolos simply want to learn more about the parents as “friends” without the pressure of grades. Mrs. Nikkolos enjoys showing the parents “what it’s like to be their children to be in my classroom.”