When PTMs Become One-Sided: Why a Child’s Growth Needs Both Teachers and Parents

Parent–Teacher Meetings (PTMs) are designed to strengthen the bond between home and school, ensuring every child receives the best possible support in academics and personal growth. But often, these meetings end up feeling one-sided, with the responsibility for a child’s progress placed entirely on teachers.

Why Does This Happen?

Parents naturally want the best for their children. When they see academic struggles, behavioral challenges, or gaps in performance, their instinct is to question the role of the teacher. Since children spend long hours at school, it may appear that the teacher is the only one responsible for shaping their growth.

However, what often gets overlooked is the crucial role of the home environment. A child’s routine, discipline, values, screen time, sleep habits, and encouragement at home directly influence their performance at school.

Teachers’ Role vs. Parents’ Role

Teachers provide structured learning, nurture curiosity, and instill discipline within the classroom.

Parents provide the emotional foundation, daily habits, and reinforcement of values outside the classroom.

When one side is missing, progress becomes uneven. A teacher cannot replace the support of a parent, and a parent cannot replicate the structured learning environment of a school.

Shared Responsibility, Shared Success

Education works best when there is partnership, not blame. PTMs should not be about pointing fingers but about joining hands. Instead of “What is the teacher not doing?” the conversation should also ask, “What can we as parents do at home to support this?”

Simple actions like ensuring regular study habits, reducing distractions, encouraging reading, and maintaining open communication with teachers make a world of difference.

Moving Forward Together

At the end of the day, both teachers and parents want the same thing—a confident, capable, and happy child. Let us use PTMs as an opportunity to celebrate strengths, identify areas of improvement, and commit together to the child’s growth.

Because raising a child is not the responsibility of one—it is the responsibility of all.