Sunday, September 14, 2008

Parent Teacher Partnerships

Parent Teacher Partnerships reported this week:

“Education doesn’t only happen in the classroom” is the message of the guide as it calls on parents to accept greater responsibility in association with teachers and education institutions for their children’s education success.

Teachers are appealing to parents as their children’s first educators to partner with them in developing their children’s education potential rather than placing the burden solely on teachers' shoulders.

There is a lot of sense in this initiative. The rules are simple:

1. prepare your child for school
2. share the responsibility for your child's education
3. partner with your child's teacher
4. participate in your child's school
5. communication goes two ways
6. support your child's teacher and school

Sadly things have changed because this was the way it was years ago. Parents relied on teachers to educate their children and enable them to join society fully equipped with all the education they need to succeed in society. Teachers also reinforced values and morals taught in the home. Manners. Respect. Responsibility. It was rare for a parent not to back up a teacher when a child misbehaved.

Now it is not as rare to find feral children with no manners, no respect and no idea of responsibility. How can teachers reinforce positive values when there are none?

Years ago my mother was stunned when a child told her that he/she had found a diamond ring, and when asked whether the parents reported the find to the police the reply, from the parent, was that it was a case of "finders-keepers".

One of the school excursions by the school was a train ride into the city and a walk over the Harbour Bridge. There was a furore as some television crew was filming the Milson's Point railway station and footage was shot of a teacher patting a straggling child on the bottom to hurry that child into the train. Outrage ensued that this teacher had laid a hand on the child. Someone complained to the Ed Dept. that this teacher had assaulted the child. There was an investigation .

My mother was so cranky with this. It caused many problems for the teacher, who was an excellent teacher and a very caring person for the infants school children in her charge. It was a black mark on her name and it knocked her for six.

When a teacher did not perform, and these were teachers responsible for laying the groundwork for the three Rs in infants school, there were measures which could be taken. Counselling. Teachers were usually straightened out and all was well.

It was always a traumatic experience when the inspector was visiting. The teacher hoped like mad that the class disruptive trouble maker was on their best behaviour


A PDF of the partnership document from Australian Scholarships Group and NEiTA here.

11 comments:

kc said...

“Education doesn’t only happen in the classroom” There's the joke of the decade. Nowadays, there's very little education that DOES happen in a classroom. The question is, why in the hell are we paying so much money for such crap!

kae said...

Hi kc!
I was speaking mostly of the infant's school area, where kids learn the basics of the three Rs - however, these days teachers are expected to be teaching them everything, and not only reinforcing the things which should be taught in the home.

High school and the middle level (Primary here) are lost causes (need a lot of work!), the feral monsters which pass through there are becoming worse, ill disciplined, ill mannered, how anyone can teach them I don't konw.

kc said...

Little ones like to learn. What they need to learn doesn't take special programs or supplies. Of course, Barry wants to teach sex education to kindergarden classes but so far it's still a time of ABC's & 123's & colours. By the time they hit 5th grade they know they have more rights than adults, that there are no consequences for any misbehavior, & there's little hope for the monsters after that.

It's "nice" (no, not 'nice' but you know what I mean, don't you?) to know this is a problem with y'all, too, not an American aberration as the libtards would have us believe.

kae said...

I don't know when it started, I do know that people our age were dragged up with manners and respect. Woe betide us if we misbehaved; if we misbehaved at school and went home to whinge to parents about getting into trouble from teacher, well, we'd cop it again.
Learnt very quickly to be good and behave well. Respect.

There isn't enough respect in schools now - it's not reinforced by parents, as are manners which seem to have been thrown out the door.
You're right about kids knowing more about their rights now. And I'd add that they know nothing about responsibilities, and obligations to other people in society which is what makes communities work.

/rant

kc said...

I will never figure out how Lovely Daughter (young wife & mother with full time job, part time college) got to the point where she sent a MySpace birthday greeting to MY brother...whom she barely has met & hasn't seen at all since she was about 7. Granted, his birthday is September 11, but the fact that she DID that really touched me.

So, SOME of 'em learn some manners. The rest will either be Customer (no)Service reps or inmates.

kc said...

I'm about to fall asleep in my chair, Kae, so think I'll go make some tea & see if I can stay awake long enough to finish a chapter in my book. G'Night, from the swamps of NE Florida!

TW: ntxpmsd -- don't like the look of THAT atall!

kae said...

kc
I'm sure the manners were instilled by her parents and reinforced by the teachers.
How old is your daughter? I'm talkin little kids today - where did the system break down? No respect for authority is becoming more common, and I just don't know where it came from. It used to be most uncommon.

I think the ominous thing with that word is the start and then the pms in the middle.

Nite kc!

Skeeter said...

Agree with all of the above, but the deterioration is even more scary when compared to us well-mannered pre-Boomers.
Kae, like our kids you were born into the Generation Jones (between Boomers and Gen X.
Have you checked to see if you fit the mold?

kae said...

Hi Skeeter
I've already covered the Gen Jones thingy on the blog! Way back on 18/6/08!
I was so happy to chance upon a slot to slip into in the generational name thingy. Somewhere I fit - I was never a boomer or Gen X.
It's raining here. Light.

Skeeter said...

Oops!
I've just checked my diary for 18/06 to see how I could have missed that post.
Believe me, it was a very busy week at Chez Skeets.

kae said...

No, no, not having a go!
Just was amazed that I did have a place to fit in, so to speak! And I found it quite by accident, too.

It's still raining here...