“Children learn and develop best when the home and the school work closely together.”

            Active participation and involvement of parents in curricular and extra-curricular activities could result in a better understanding of the nature of the educational institution and the learning process.  The pupils, teachers and parents’ relationships are strengthened through associations in these activities.  More active participation and involvement of the parents should be done, since they are the first ones to influence the child’s development, and have always been the most important agents of socialization of their children.

            Organizations, like the PTA (Parent-Teacher Association) should exist in school.  Parents should be invited to participate and be involved in organizational activities.  They should be given individual responsibilities to encourage them to take part especially in the policy-making and in the assessment of the student’s performance.  Their contributions should be welcomed and recognized by the school.

            Parents should understand the goals and purposes of the school so that they will be more supportive of the expanded programs that the school wishes to pursue.

            Parents’ involvement and participation, however, is not merely for the purpose of substituting the services provided by the agency but rather link these services to the institution in order to increase and to strengthen them.

            Parents should not consider the school as a mere structure where children learn ideas all by themselves with the aid of teachers.  Parents should also feel and do their responsibilities to their children not only at home but also in school affairs.  Monitoring school activities as a part of their participation is expected from them to have better understanding of the total growth and development of their children.  It is quite alarming to note that nowadays, more children are without guidance since parents tend to be very busy all the time.  Some children are drawn into drug addiction, alcoholism, delinquency, etc. as a means of solving their problems.  The root of all these problems is with the parents, who are the most important agents of their children’s socialization.

            On the other hand, parents who understand the nature of their children, and who have more involvement and participation in school activities also have more successful and responsible children at home.   The school should, therefore, provide certain mechanisms to increase the participation of parents in school activities.  The partnership between the school and the parents would somehow lead to a better understanding of the programs that our schools initiate.  Eventually, our school would become more relevant to the needs of our pupils and of society as a whole.  Increasing parental involvement in charting out school activities and policies would bring about a meaningful education for our children.

 

By: Essel E. Reyes Alasasin E/S, Alasasin, Mariveles, Bataan