This year, my children's school had not one, but two back to school nights. To many weary working moms, this would seem like a disaster: two evenings on which to arrange child care, finish dinner early and keep in motion past the usual 8 p.m. collapse on the couch. But I actually welcomed a break from rushing from room to room in order to catch teachers for both children. (The school put grades K-2 on one evening and scheduled 3-5 the following week.)
It's easy to see back to school night as a useless, pro-forma exercise that takes a lot of time and effort without delivering the kind of information you easily extract in a parent-teacher conference. But it's important to attend for a number of reasons, not least of which is the message you send your child about the value of academics.
How is back to school night handled in your community? Any advice for making the most of this fall tradition?
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