Blog by Terry Muldoon, School Principal
Parent involvement in a child’s education is consistently found to be positively associated with a child’s academic performance. Parents who have a positive attitude towards their child’s education, school, and teacher are able to positively influence their child’s academic performance by two mechanisms:
(a) by being engaged with your child to increase their positive educational experience, and
(b) by being engaged with the teacher and school to promote a stronger and more positive student-teacher relationship.
Positive connections between parents and teachers have been shown to improve children’s academic achievement, social competencies and emotional well-being.
Parents and teachers both play important roles in developing positive attitudes towards learning and education for children, building their motivation and confidence as learners, and fostering their enjoyment of learning.
We want to be part of a positive partnership but we do not want to replace parents and take over parenting duties.
Australian parents increasingly ask schools to help socialise their children. Research shows that teachers feel they are being asked to do more “parenting” in the classroom. There appears to be a bit of uncertainty between parents and schools about where responsibilities start and stop. Where does a parent’s participation end and a teacher’s begin?
There are growing issues where parents do not trust their schools or expect schools to act as parents. For example:
For teachers things have escalated:
The demands on schools from some parents have become extreme, almost comical:
“Italians have reacted with shock after a US principal was sacked for showing students a picture of Michelangelo’s classic sculpture David after parents complained it was “pornography”. Hope Carrasquilla resigned on Monday as principal of the Tallahassee Classical school after the campus’s governing board told her to either step down or be fired over parental complaints that came in after sixth-grade students were shown the 16th-century sculpture, one of the Renaissance’s most famous pieces of art. — The Guardian, 2023
St Columba has an enrolment contract that requires parents to support the school in its practices, policies and protocols. Sending your child to St Columba means you will be required to abide by that contract.
We also have a code of conduct for parents and caregivers (as well as one for staff). This code protects our school and staff from threatening, abusive or inappropriate behaviour.
We know that some family circumstances can lead to heightened emotions but we cannot allow our staff to be made responsible for family decisions or fearful as a result of individual family circumstances.
Please give us information so that we can help, provide relevant legal or health documents that allow us to be aware of your child’s needs and act appropriately and meet with us to ensure that communication is effective. We are here to help but we are not able to act outside the law – privacy, family law, child protection etc. For example we are bound by the Family Law Act.
The Family Law Act (1975) provides that there is a presumption of equal shared parental responsibility. Under this shared responsibility, it is important that both parents are given all information concerning the child. This can include school reports, newsletters and information about school functions.
It’s the law.
We follow the law.
Want to share your thoughts on this story, or do you have something you’d like to add? Email me at principal@scas.nsw.edu.au
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