I distinctly remember when it hit me. I was hosting a large PTA-sponsored spaghetti dinner a year or so into my last headship and after everyone had settled into the room, I took a step back and zoomed out. This event was taking place in a room about as large as our school cafeteria and as I panned back and forth, the “a-ha” came screaming out of my consciousness. If you had taken a picture of a typical student lunch and mapped it onto a picture of this parent dinner, it would be a perfect match. The parents of the same children who typically hang out together were hanging out together. The parents of the same children who typically struggle to find friends to sit with were struggling to find friends to sit with. The same groups, the same pairs, the same cliques – what was true for the students was true for their parents.
And of course it was.
As our school year is winding down and parents look forward to our sharing out the faculty lineup for next year (coming soon!), I want to revisit territory I first staked out, here, in a blog post titled, “Do I have a stake in who my students are when they are not in school?”
In that post, I asked the following question: “Do I or does the “school” have a responsibility to address behaviors that take place outside the bounded times and spaces of school?”
My answer was most affirmatively, “Yes,” and I will let you (re)read the post to see why.
But, I also qualified my answer in the following way: “Let me be clear that I am purposefully leaving parents out of this behavioral equation. Not because I either blame parents for their children’s behavior nor because I abdicate parents of their responsibility to effectively parent. I am simply asking a different question.”
Well…I think I would like an opportunity to ask that question: “Do I or does the “school” have a responsibility to address the role parents play in behaviors that take place outside the bounded times and spaces of school?
And, again, I think the answer is, “yes”.
But, boy, is that more complicated.
The simple issue to explore is how to help parents best partner with school to truly become a community of kindness. The simple challenge is how to lovingly intervene when it becomes apparent that help may be required.
We are parenting in uncharted territory. Our children have access to information and to each other in ways we, not only never anticipated, but in ways that continue to change – and we may, or not, even be aware that it is happening. Whether it is through texting, chatting, or gaming, our children are in constant contact. And just like in reality-reality, their behavior in virtual reality provides opportunities for kindness and opportunities for its opposite. And parents play a crucial role in determining the outcomes.
Unfortunately, with rare exceptions, if it finds its way to me, it means the outcome was not-so-good. When it finds me, it usually means that a child has been excluded or disparaged. When it finds me, it usually means that a child has been exposed to language or content which may be inappropriate. When it finds me, it usually means that a parent is concerned about which influences are following their children from school without an invitation.
And when it finds me, I have to ask myself what am I to do?
This is normally the point in my blog where I would proceed to ramble on for another 500 words or so and provide the answer to my own question.
But to be transparent, I can’t. Because I actually don’t know the answer.
So, please, whether you are a parent, educator or concerned party, comment on this blog (or email me at [email protected] or come in for a coffee if you are local) and let’s collaborate on an answer. You can take the time it normally would have taken you to finish this blog post to formulate your response.
How do I address my fully accepted responsibility to care about the role parents play in behaviors that take place outside the bounded times and spaces of school?
