December 2011

"I find myself suddenly in the world and I recognize that I have one right alone: that of demanding human behaviour from the other." - Frantz Fanon

Children learn best when the significant adults in their lives - parents, teachers, and other family and community members - work together to encourage and support them. This basic fact should be a guiding principle as we think about how schools should be organized and how children should be taught. Schools alone cannot address all of a child's developmental needs: The meaningful involvement of parents and support from the community are essential.

The need for a strong partnership between schools and families to educate children may seem like common sense. In simpler times, this relationship was natural and easy to maintain. Teachers and parents were often neighbours and found many occasions to discuss a child's progress. Children heard the same messages from teachers and parents and understood that they were expected to uphold the same standards at home and at school.

As our society has become more complex and demanding, though, these relationships have all too often fallen by the wayside. Neither educators nor parents seem to have enough time to get to know one another and establish working relationships on behalf of children. In many communities, parents are discouraged from spending time in classrooms and educators are expected to consult with family members only when a child is in trouble. The result, in too many cases, is misunderstanding, mistrust, and a lack of respect, so that when a child falls behind, teachers blame the parents and parents blame the teachers.

At the same time, our society has also created artificial distinctions about the roles that parents and teachers should play in a young person's development. We tend to think that schools should stick to teaching academics, and that home is the place where children's moral and emotional development should take place.

Yet children don't stop learning about values and relationships when they enter a classroom, nor do they cease learning academics - and attitudes about learning - when they are at home or elsewhere in their community. They constantly observe how the significant adults in their lives treat one another, how decisions are made and executed, and how problems are solved. All of the experiences children have, both in and out of school, help shape their sense that someone cares about them, their feelings of self-worth and competency, their understanding of the world around them, and their beliefs about where they fit into the scheme of things.

These days, it can take extraordinary efforts to build strong relationships between parents and educators. We therefore reach out to parents, making them feel welcome as full partners in the educational process. Parents, in turn, have to make a commitment of time and energy to support their children both at home and at school. The effort involved in reestablishing these connections is well worth it, as many communities across the country -- including those we work with -- are discovering. Our experience is that significant and meaningful parent involvement is possible, desirable, and valuable in improving student growth and performance. Going by the negligible number of periodic feedbacks we receive, this is an area where we would like parents to focus on.

Regardless of a parent's direct involvement in School's activities, it is vital for parents and teachers to communicate effectively with one another. Each has a piece of the picture of a child's development, and each can be more effective when information is shared. Constant communication helps to ensure that both schools and homes are responsive to a child's unique needs and therefore support his overall development.

Some of this interaction should be face-to-face, either at the school, at home, at the parent's worksite, or at another convenient location. It must be considered an integral part of schooling, and adequate time must be provided during regular working hours for school staff to carry it out. At the same time, this communication must be recognized as a critical part of parenting, and parents must make the commitment to meet periodically with their children's teachers.

With warm regards,

Lieutenant General (Retd) Arjun Ray, PVSM, VSM
Chief Executive Officer
Indus Trust