Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Organizing Parents To Address School Problems
Dear Guidance Guy,
You responded to a parent's problem by asking her whether she was willing to organize a parent's group to address the problem. How do you do that? We don't have class lists with contact information for other parents. We do have teenagers who wouldn't think of giving out private info on classmates or dream of having "mom" contact anyone. We don't have responsive administrators (they blindly support the teacher in all matters), school board members (some of our school board members blatantly show their hatred for parents), or an effective superintendent or ethics board.
All the facts in the world will only count if we go to the press. That's the only time change is even considered. So we suffer through and horrible teachers keep getting paid the same as great ones while our elected officials keep supplying these bad apples with more and more power. Parents are left with nothing but the press.
How do you organize? PTA/PTSA are fund raising bureaucracies; they are so not interested in student problems. Rate My Teachers is great, but we still need a way to contact one another and go in numbers to address real problems.
Susan
*** *** ***
Dear Susan,
Your letter makes a lot of assumptions about how your school and its Parent Teacher Association functions. While there may be a lot of truth to what your saying it's also true that holding these opinions is going to make it difficult for you to see anything else. Going to the press may bring attention to whatever problems you're experiencing, but it automatically creates an adversarial situation between you and others.
I'll answer your question first. There are lots of ways to make informal contacts that can become more structured when the time is right. If you have some specific concerns that people can rally around the old "two who get two, who get two," etc. can become a significant number pretty quickly. That's one way to get recognition. Sporting events, clubs, even PTA meetings are ways to network and find like minded parents. Of course this means you will need to work within the mainstream school activities to get this started.
Now...without knowing the circumstances of the issues you're experiencing, I find it hard to believe there are no ways to positively affect the quality of education. I suggest starting with a specific issue you'd like to address - then seeing what YOU can do to help improve it. Is there something with instruction or curriculum you can help with? Many schools have parent committees that deal with particular challenges they're having. Volunteering a few hours a week in an office or classroom will help you to see the school more clearly, and be a way for the powers that be to see you as a valued resource with something to contribute.
I suggest finding a way to work within the system and using the press as a last resort. Let the system work for you and your child as much as possible. If you do feel the need to go to the press your own peace of mind - and credibility with others - will be stronger.
Best of Luck,
The Guidance Guy
You responded to a parent's problem by asking her whether she was willing to organize a parent's group to address the problem. How do you do that? We don't have class lists with contact information for other parents. We do have teenagers who wouldn't think of giving out private info on classmates or dream of having "mom" contact anyone. We don't have responsive administrators (they blindly support the teacher in all matters), school board members (some of our school board members blatantly show their hatred for parents), or an effective superintendent or ethics board.
All the facts in the world will only count if we go to the press. That's the only time change is even considered. So we suffer through and horrible teachers keep getting paid the same as great ones while our elected officials keep supplying these bad apples with more and more power. Parents are left with nothing but the press.
How do you organize? PTA/PTSA are fund raising bureaucracies; they are so not interested in student problems. Rate My Teachers is great, but we still need a way to contact one another and go in numbers to address real problems.
Susan
*** *** ***
Dear Susan,
Your letter makes a lot of assumptions about how your school and its Parent Teacher Association functions. While there may be a lot of truth to what your saying it's also true that holding these opinions is going to make it difficult for you to see anything else. Going to the press may bring attention to whatever problems you're experiencing, but it automatically creates an adversarial situation between you and others.
I'll answer your question first. There are lots of ways to make informal contacts that can become more structured when the time is right. If you have some specific concerns that people can rally around the old "two who get two, who get two," etc. can become a significant number pretty quickly. That's one way to get recognition. Sporting events, clubs, even PTA meetings are ways to network and find like minded parents. Of course this means you will need to work within the mainstream school activities to get this started.
Now...without knowing the circumstances of the issues you're experiencing, I find it hard to believe there are no ways to positively affect the quality of education. I suggest starting with a specific issue you'd like to address - then seeing what YOU can do to help improve it. Is there something with instruction or curriculum you can help with? Many schools have parent committees that deal with particular challenges they're having. Volunteering a few hours a week in an office or classroom will help you to see the school more clearly, and be a way for the powers that be to see you as a valued resource with something to contribute.
I suggest finding a way to work within the system and using the press as a last resort. Let the system work for you and your child as much as possible. If you do feel the need to go to the press your own peace of mind - and credibility with others - will be stronger.
Best of Luck,
The Guidance Guy
# posted by Larry Hochman : 2:44 PM
