It has often been said that it takes a community to raise a child. I have some thoughts on how we can maybe help the most important people in the community better help raise children – their parents.
I was watching Morning Joe on MSNBC this morning while working out (see video here). The discussion came up about the test cheating scandal in Atlanta.
The topics turned to parent involvement and accountability, as it typically does. All agreed that parents need to be involved and that we needed to develop ways to make that happen. I thought of a way that would help, but not totally solve that problem. Many parents struggle to be supportive and involved AT school because they have to work during the school day and maybe even a second job at night when they could be home with their children. We cannot change that quickly enough to help this generation of children
However, perhaps we can influence on employers to not penalize parents when they are legitimately partnering with their child’s school and teachers. We can make this a voluntary program for employers but we can also exert some community pressure on employers that do not support the idea. It would cost little money to organize and implement such a program.
Frankly, if we are ever to take ALL the steps needed to seriously improve education in this country, it is going to take the efforts of all stakeholders in the community, including the employers.
List can be published in local newspapers and on websites calling out employers who are NOT cooperative. Most employers do not want negative community PR.
There are details that need thinking through, but I think this one has potential. Little investment of money, as money is NOT the answer to the plight of our schools, and great opportunity to get the most important people in a child’s lives better engaged in their education.
Thanks to @MSNBC, @Morning_Joe, @MorningMika, and @PoliticsNation for their ongoing discussions. I hope they go deeper and more consistent with this focus.
Our children deserve it.
The Umenum 