WHO IS CALLING THE SHOTS ON EDUCATION…what happened to the PTA?
When I was growing up, and when my children were growing up, we served a vital local role through the PTA…and, later, the PTSA. The curriculum was chosen by the local school board, and the budget was largely funded via local funds under local control. At some point, in the infinite wisdom of political forces, the curriculum choice was moved to the state level, and local school districts were held hostage by the state in doling out the funding. Now, without being specifically critical of Common Core, the curriculum is being implemented by the states under the wisdom and tutelage of the federal government. So, with this in mind how do we as parents interact with the schools.
The short answer to this is something we may have forgotten in that it takes a village to raise a child. It’s perhaps a pipe-dream to resurrect a PTA level of parental involvement and/or curriculum control in today’s socio-economic environment. But, on a community-wide basis, there are some possibilities using volunteers that may or may not be associated with a particular school. Such possibilities include mentoring, recognizing academic and arts achievements similarly to athletic lettering, debate (forensics), spelling bee’s, particular artistic skills (per volunteer experience), and others. If implemented as extra-curriculars with volunteers, the government money control issue disappears. Other volunteer programs could be implemented as ‘after-school’ programs to accommodate the often disparate two-parent working environment.
Today, prominent educational issues do not address the needs of the particular child…at any point in time, or place, ideally to be matched with the skills of a particular teacher. Instead, we are dealing with more broad group issues of testing, teacher evaluation/ratings, and of the nuts and bolts of Common Core and it’s implementation. So, are we involved in education…or, more precisely, in children; their wellbeing and future? What do you think?