I recently received a communication from a very involved – very engaged parent. She was writing about the request for attendance at a Ministry of Education Town Hall Meeting. The consultation is about an updated parent involvement policy. Draft Policy I really have to commend Kathleen Wynne for her efforts in including parents in their child’s education and the work she has done with parent involvement committees,
I’ll have adapted the communication to give you a generic sense of the message.
I understand some of these events are out of anyone’s control, others aren’t. As you both know I have been an active volunteer in the school system for many years. I am finding it difficult to fulfill many of my obligations. The majority of Regional are actively involved in their own schools, they are also parents. Our first obligation is to the family. I have talked to a few other Chairs, and parents and the feeling out there is volunteer burn out.
I get how important parental involvement is, but so is volunteering for cancer, kidney foundation, and family camps ect. I am involved in a few organizations and strive to find balance between family, working full time and volunteering my time. Take the next two weeks as an example:
· This week I would like to attend the council meeting ( at my child’s school), not only to be informed but to make quorum
· Thursday is our Regional meeting
·Tue was scheduled for school council meeting (for my other child) but a chair/principal meeting was called – moved that meeting to the following week
·I now realize my daughter is involved at a school event and Tue is the parent mass/dinner.
· There was also at least two other school related evenings the last few days.
That is not mentioning the other activities/sports of day to day life, or the ones I have had to decline from. Once I have committed to something, I try to do the best I can. I am the first to complain when someone takes on a task and does not follow through. I don’t want to be that person, so I am compelled to send this email.
This letter (rant) comes from a conversation I had with another parent last night. This women tries really hard and does a great job, she is the model of parent involvement. Last night she was explaining to me that her marriage and family life is suffering. I am sure there is more to the situation, but it made me realize that the education minister is coming to speak of parent involvement, but it is again another obligation, time away from your daily life.
Does this resonate with you? Is your life like this as well?
Some of you may recall my work with the Epstein model and in particular the Teachers Involving Parents in Schoolwork. So this parent’s comments supports my thinking that there is a need for a concentrated effort to help teachers create curriculum opportunities to include parents in their child’s learning. Parent engagement that happens at home and not necessarily at the school building.
Do you have a story – lesson plan – observation to share how you engage parents in their child’s learning? Are you an engaged parent? What vision of parent engagement would you like to see. If you were at the town hall meeting, what would you say?
