As the country painfully seeks solutions to the growing problems within our schools, we seem to be overlooking an already existing significant resource which we need to use to our greater advantage.
I speak of Parent Teachers Associations which, as far as I am aware, exist in almost every school. From time immemorial this group has been a part of the education landscape. In some schools there are strong PTAs, making a significant contribution to the welfare of those school. They are on the frontline fighting for better and improved conditions and are always there in full support. While on the other hand, there are schools where the PTA exists only on paper and there is seldom a meeting held.
Invariably, the schools where the PTAs are vibrant tend to do better. This is because the machinery to negate against matters such as delinquency is in place and the relationship between home and school is stronger. When robust communication between teachers and parents exists, the likelihood of children slipping through the cracks is reduced.
Better performing children are those with solid support from their parents who will actively participate in the affairs of the institution. Such parents form part of various committees and can be relied upon to contribute to the overall functioning of the faculty.
In contrast, we have parents who merely drop their children to school and expect teachers will do the work of moulding and shaping their characters as well as ensuring their academic development. These parents are seldom seen during the children’s school life and there is little or no interaction between them and teachers. Included in this group are those who will come into the school and be abusive, threatening the well-being of the teachers. We have heard of several of these incidents.
It is time to harness this resource. The PTA can become the single most important investment in the education system. A well organised PTA in our schools can immediately and significantly reduce the level of delinquency. Make them legal entities. This will include compulsory membership with clearly articulated roles and functions for parents within the schools.
Our PTAs will also have a training role for parents, to assist them in developing the required skills to treat with their children more effectively. One of the contributing factors to school delinquency is a deficiency in parenting skills or deficient parenting styles.
PTAs need to move away from the fund-raising function to take on more active developmental tasks in the lives of the children. Parenting our children is now a national responsibility, a role for the wider society and it is no longer my children, my business.
The National Parent Teachers Association needs to sit with the Government, and develop a legislative framework within which to operate. As a society we can maximise the potential of this tremendous resource. We now have our Children’s Authority and Child Protection Unit, please don’t leave our PTAs behind.
Garvin Cole,
Tobago