Schools are generally closed communities, meaning they are systems governed by administrators who oversee the schools’ functioning and who supervise teachers who provide instruction to students. Parents are invited and in some cases, spend a considerable amount of time in the classroom assisting teachers. However, schools are environments designed for those whose primary role is teaching and instruction.
Allowing teachers to thoroughly teach and devote their time to integrating creative approaches to the curriculum and allowing administrators to apply innovative approaches for teacher evaluation, thereby eliminating the need to function as a disciplinary figurehead, is one potential this model can provide. TG4S is, in part, a data-driven service informed by the information and feedback it receives from teachers and parents and observations made regarding student progress.
The challenge is to bring together two groups of people—teachers and parents—who, historically, have not worked together sustainably. This can be remedied by regular contact throughout the school year.
As a parent,I do not recall a teacher actively reaching out to invite me to the school that might motivate me to continue meeting and working together with them on my son’s behalf. If they did, I could always find excuses based on the time and day of the week, whether it interfered with a favorite TV or sports show or whether I felt exhausted from work.
I believed my lack of involvement would have little impact and that my involvement was of noconsequence to my son’s education. This became more evident in my career as a school social worker when my limited expectations regarding parental involvement were reinforced, and the most I could hope for was an informed parent who would arrive to ask about their child’s behavior or academic performance with a genuine desire to be involved.
Click the link below to access the challenge activity. You can also download the kindle version of the book for detailed information about challenge activities, forms and surveys.