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I had a wonderful experience with a group of
parents recently. For 90 minutes, I led a
workshop on writing instruction for about 20 moms
who were interested in learning a bit about what
their children were learning in school. I started
with a brief discussion of how the writing
instruction of today differed from the instruction
most of us received a generation earlier and then,
for the last hour or so, the moms and I wrote
together using the same lessons and classroom
format their children had been experiencing
throughout the year.
Judging from the friendly smiles, frequent
laughter, pointed questions, and positive
comments, I felt, as did the school's principal,
that the parents not only enjoyed themselves but
found the experience valuable. And the writing
they did was pretty good, too — which I think
confirmed for them that what their children were
being taught was both authentic and practical.
As I was leaving, I was struck by how appreciative
and excited the parents were, how happy the
principal was, how everyone seemed to agree that
this kind of communication between a school and
its families did so much to foster better
teacher-parent relations and a positive school
climate — and how rarely an evening like this
takes place. Over the years, I have offered to do
free parent education nights like this one many
times. But this night's effort was one of only
four I have ever been asked to give.
To my knowledge, I'm not the only person who
doesn't host many parent education nights. As I
travel around the country, I have found only two
or three schools that have ever attempted to
enlighten their parents on the details of daily
classroom instruction and I've never found a
school that has a comprehensive ongoing program
that provides parents with the details of daily
teaching practice in all core subjects.
I understand the many reasons why schools don't do
much in the way of formalized parent education.
For one thing, it takes time and effort to do
well; for another, most schools I have observed
don't have a consistent approach to teaching; I
have even visited some schools where giving
parents information about specific teaching
practices is considered dangerous or at the very
least inappropriate.
It's human nature to fear the things we don't
understand — especially when what we know so
little about has such a big effect on our
children. Much of the dissatisfaction people feel
about our schools today comes from their
frustration at not understanding what goes on
within them. The best way to handle that
frustration would be a pro-active approach to
parent education at every school.
I've worked in enough schools over the years to
understand why more administrators and teachers
don't put together parent education programs. It
certainly takes some time — another thing to add
to an already too full day — and it is not without
risk. But I have never understood why parents
don't ask for it. Why wouldn't parents want to
develop an in-depth understanding of the
philosophies, methods, and specific techniques
that were shaping the learning lives of their
children? What I know of "open house" nights and
report card conferences confirms for me that
parents don't get nearly the knowledge they need
from these.
Almost every school I've worked with has a PTA,
PTO, or similar parent support organization. These
groups are filled with intelligent, inquisitive,
caring people who are sincerely interested in the
well being of their schools and their communities.
Why can't these organizations request and perhaps
even facilitate ongoing programs that would allow
them to understand in specific detail how their
children are being taught? What better way would
there be to encourage constructive communication
between parents, teachers, and administrators,
improved satisfaction with our schools, and better
support for students at home?
Parents are a vital piece of the educational
puzzle. But as things exist today, most are forced
into an awkward passivity as the frustrated
spectators of their children's school experience.
Giving them a chance to get into the game could
turn passive critics into active supporters and
potential adversaries into probable advocates.
Parent education isn't just good school policy,
its good school politics, too. If local levies,
state funding, and the help of private business
are important, why not cultivate this support by
giving education consumers a better understanding
of what they are paying for? If our nation can
endorse the idea of leaving no child behind, why
should we be content to leave behind adults?
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