Having your say through the P.T.A.

Press, 7 May 1987, Page 12

Having your say through the P.T.A.

There must be about 2500 parents with children at my local high school, yet when the time came for the annual meeting of the Parent Teacher Association, fewer than 40 bothered to turn up. Stephni Jensen, who is the national president of New Zealand Parent Teacher Associations, agrees sadly that this is a fairly typical turnout. “P.T.A.S in high schools do not have very great parent support, yet it’s just as important to be

involved when your student gets to high school as it was at primary school, and the school needs your support just as much, though in a different way.” The school canteen is a typical example: not only does it provide reasonable food at reasonable prices, but it avoids the problems of students roaming the streets at lunchtimes. In many schools, it is the P.T.A. that runs the canteen, and very few could function without parent support, she says. She also feels parents have a lot to offer in sports, music, and similar activities, either sharing their coaching skills, or helping with transport. “Teachers put in a lot of their own time, but it needs parent support to keep these things going. Parents shouldn’t complain that their students can’t do certain things because the teachers won’t give up their time if parents won’t give up their time either.”

Being involved in the P.T.A. also gives parents a valuable insight into the day-to-day running of the school, and the pressures that both students and teachers face. She sees the main aim of the P.T.A. as bringing a doser relationship between home and school so that parents can co-operate in the education of their children. What it is not, is simply a fundraising body, she insists. “Of course, the P.T.A. will always support the

school in its fuiidraising efforts, but that’s not its primary aim. I feel more parents would come forward if .they felt they would not just be raising money with cake stalls.” She points out that the P.T.A.’s job is to keep parents informed on a wide range of issues affecting their children. If they want to be involved in discussions on subjects such as the four-term year, the new peace programme, and the new health programme, they need to be involved with the P.T.A. Meetings organised by the P.T.A. offer parents the opportunity to discuss the issues and put forward their point of view. Stephni Jensen is convinced that what they have to say is taken note of by the powers that be. “Sixty-seven of the N.Z.P.T.A.’s policies have been achieved,” she claims with pride, pointing to issues as wideranging as reductions in

class sizes and pupilteacher ratios (although they are pushing to have these even further reduced), tax exemptions for school donations, restrictions on firework sales, road safety and allowing girls to return to school after the birth of their child. “It may take time,” she admits, and has a fat list of policies awaiting implementation to prove it “But every Minister of Education in the 10 years I have been involved has always been very interested in listening to what parents have to say.” The Curriculum Review also calls for more parent consultation. She sees the P.T.A.S as a good vehicle for this, being the only parentinvolved organisation that is concerned with education right through from pre-school to university. As a voluntary body she also feels the national organisation can be a bit more outspoken than a statutory body, even though it does get a small Government grant. But if the Ministers are welcoming, she has to agree that some principals are a bit apprehensive about parent involvement in schools. “Of course, there are parents and parents: some can be more disruptive than helpful,” she feels, wanting to survey how teachers are working without really understanding the situation. :; “There are good teachers and bad teachers, and we should be concerned about quality,” she concedes. “But parents have to be very careful that they don’t downgrade teachers for something they don’t understand.” If there appears to be a problem at the school, she strongly advises against getting on your high horse on the basis of a gossip in the supermarket, but to make sure of your facts from the teacher or principal involved, or from the P.T.A. if it’s not a matter you can discuss with the staff. If you have any subjects you want to read about in this column, write to Mavis Airey, Parents’ Survival Guide, Home and People Page, “The Press,” P.O, Box 1005, Christchurch.