016 All in the Family (2)
As we’ve pointed out in various teacher training lessons (under the Educator Empowerment Program, EEP), in order to get more parents involved in school affairs, there are two important things that have to be done:
First and foremost, schools have to explain to parents the value of their participation. That more than the free labor the school gets from volunteers, their participation offers a lot in terms of creating a good community spirit in the school, which impacts on their own child’s schooling experience, and yes, even on their child’s academic performance.
Second, schools have to develop an effective system for volunteer management, so that participation—year round—is sustained and volunteers are motivated to participate (Schools can learn about this from our EEP lessons on Family and Community Involvement in Education).
But just as there are so many little things schools—and teachers—can do to encourage the family to participate in school, there are also so many things they can avoid to make participation a breeze.
For starters, schools need to get rid of the impression that their call for participation means additional expenses for the parents. That, of course, is the biggest turn off—for any parent! Everyone knows that some PTAs have been reduced to a mechanism for solicitation for some inane beautification pet project (in some cases, with hints of petty corruption).
Schools must reinvent themselves to be a welcoming environment for everyone, parents and other family members included. This allows schools to get the family more actively involved in both the affairs of the school and in the education of their respective children.
As much as we are trying to empower teachers and students, we can and should empower the rest of the school community. And we can only maximize that community’s potential—the potential of the active participation of all members of that community—if we are willing to learn and adopt new ways of doing things.
Is it easy to do? Yes. If—and only if—you have an open mind. Otherwise, you’d still be seeing the 10 couples slaving away each week to keep the school clean, while a thousand others remain on the sidelines, oblivious of their own potential to help improve their child’s school and their child’s education.