Educational Scenario Part One

Posted on Sep 11, 2009 02:39:22 PM

As you all know, I’ve been pouring my soul into my son’s school.  I’ve gone over and beyond what I think is really necessary to help.  Not just help the administrators and teachers because to be perfectly honest, as long as I can keep from adding more to their current tasks by helping educate parents on policies, procedures, how to use the monitoring computer software that the school uses, etc, then I feel really good about the fact that we have great teachers and they do a great job.  They just do not need anymore administrative tasks on their plates.

I’ve basically taken care of all school newsletters and PTO newsletters that happen via email, I’ve worked in classrooms, made copies, run errands for teachers and I’ve spent hours with parents discussing what I can do to help them, what I can relay to the teachers and administrators that would help them and more.  The biggest complaint which came from everyone that I spoke to was that they never feel welcome when they are visiting the school. 

I’ve mentioned this to you before I know, those of you who followed me from the other blog anyway.  I’ve even experienced it since school started this year.  So, obviously when one of the teachers asked me last spring to get involved with an email campaign, I was thrilled.  Then, two days before school started we had a plan in action and she got a job at another school.

I decided that even though the PTO members were pretty standoffish last year, I was going to force my way into their circle.  When I owned the daycare, all my employee’s had kids in this school and the general consensus was that it was a great school but the parents, teachers and admins were very clique’ish.  I was going to burst through that and I wasn’t letting a little click stand in my way.

I’ve done it, I’ve broken through, although the word PTO implies that they are a network for the parents and the teachers, the truth is, they have basically formed another group of people who are standoffish and cliquey too.  So, when the principal asked me to help support the parents and teachers as well as the admin, I agreed.  But even then I wondered if that wasn’t suppose to be the goal of the PTO. 

After carefully examining the on-goings of the PTO, joining them, doing a presentation at the first PTO meeting for the parents, introducing myself to any and every one I saw and explaining that I wanted to help.  I want to be their voice and I feel good about being able to do that.  So many are afraid to speak up for fear that their own children will be punished or mistreated because they have expressed opinions contrary to the admin, teachers and even the PTO.

I make sure that people know that I am a product of a teacher in this school system and that I attended school in this system.  I make sure they know that I taught in the system and now my child is a student there.  I honestly believe that I can be objective and see this from many sides.  And thus far, it’s been a great success. 

So, if you had met with a number of people and they had expressed concerns and you were able to show them in the policies and procedures (which we all know is a joke anyway) how to handle the situations they are concerned with or you can simply show them how to get into their child’s account to check homework and grades, etc, but every single person mentioned that they never felt welcome in the school, wouldn’t you feel obligated to make that information known to the people involved?

Well, I did.  And, I was met with a bit of resistance because obviously no one likes to think that they are a snob, cliquey and unapproachable.  But, the fact is, that’s exactly the situation.  I did mention that I liked to go eat lunch with my son one day a week and most of the parents said they would never do that because they felt like they weren’t welcome inside the school.

So, right now that’s top priority in my mind.  Break down these barriers.  The PTO people tell me they don’t understand why more people don’t join the PTO, the school personnel say they don’t know what I’m talking about.  So, for the most part, all I know to do is keep talking about it until I start to tear down the wall.  I’m fortunate that many of the parents are former classmates of mine, many of the teachers are former teachers of mine or colleagues but man, is there a lot of work to be done.

Part Two contains an exact scenario and I want your opinion.

Just an Idea – like a Brain Pop idea…

Posted on Aug 28, 2009 11:15:39 AM

I attended the PTO meeting for my son’s school this week…I know call me a trader. But, there was lots of interesting conversation and of course lots of talk about money.  Who doesn’t talk about money all the time?

One of the money issues came from the Fifth Grade teachers.  They had a subscription last year to a great online resource called Brain Pop.  I know, I feel like my Brain might Pop any day now.  Anyway, last year the PTO paid for the subscription for them and they were requesting that they do the same this year.

So, you know me, I have to see, if it’s an online application by all means, let me at it.  And, I figured…..so long as I was checking it out, some of you might be interested as well.

And whoa ya mommy, that is one heck of a site and I can see why the teachers were asking for it again.  You can get a seven day trial subscription to see what you are getting before you commit to it but hello world…that’s some serious Brain Pop right there.