"Fighting for parental rights in schools." That's a key campaign slogan one political party is trumpeting in this provincial election.
With one of my first classes of students at Lincoln School in Winnipeg
I was a Manitoba teacher for thirty-five years and spent another decade visiting classrooms in the province to mentor university education students doing practicums.
At a reunion at Mitchell School where I taught for many years, I hug two of the women who served as wonderful parent volunteers in my class.
I know from experience that teachers and parents are an invaluable team when it comes to children's schooling. Their cooperation is vital.
Campaign sign I photographed on a Main Street recycling bin
So, I'm trying to understand why the word fighting was chosen for a campaign slogan because it evokes a definite feeling of animosity and makes people think somehow educators and parents are enemies or are on opposite sides.
Few things could be more detrimental to a child's educational success than ongoing conflict between home and school.
A promise is being made to fight for parental rights in four areas.
- Parents must be informed about the curriculum being studied.
Currently, any parent who wants to know what their child is studying can look at the province's curriculum website which has readily accessible and well-organized curriculum documents for all grades. They can also check the schoolwork their kids bring home or visit the classroom.
As a general rule, teachers almost always reach out to parents to discuss their child's behavioural changes at school- image from the National Education Association website
- Parents must be informed of behaviour changes like bullying at school.
Most teachers I know instinctively reach out to parents about bullying and other changed behaviours because parental cooperation is vital to finding constructive solutions.
Of course, teachers have a legal and professional responsibility to not disclose information about behaviour changes to parents if they suspect it could be detrimental to the child's well-being.
- Parents must be given advance notice about speakers who are invited into classrooms and give permission for their child's photo to be taken.
Author visit at Munroe School in Winnipeg
As an author of children's books I get invited to schools as a speaker regularly and I know parents have almost always been informed about my visit. It's noted on the school or classroom website, calendar, social media, or electronic newsletter.
On most of my visits, the teachers take photos of me with the kids but they always first ask students whose parents have requested they not be photographed to step aside.
I have no problem with a future Manitoba government enshrining these four reasonable rights formally in the Public Schools Act.
But they won't need to fight to do this, since these rights are already being respected by almost all schools and teachers. There is absolutely no need to be confrontational.
There are parental rights that should receive politicians' attention in this election campaign, rights that are definitely worth fighting for.
- The right of parents to have jobs that pay a living wage so they can house and feed their children.
- The right of parents to access timely, quality, medical and dental care for their children.
- The right of parents to find affordable daycare placements for their children.
- The right of parents to know their children are safe on neighbourhood streets.
- The right of parents to expect their children will have fresh air to breathe, clean water to drink and green spaces to explore.
- The right of parents to be assured no matter their child's race, religion, culture, gender identity or sexual orientation they will feel accepted and respected in their community.
Which political party will engage in the most vigorous 'fight' for these important and crucial parental rights is something to consider carefully as we cast our votes in the provincial election tomorrow.
Other posts..........
Four Schools- Four Great Experiences
Universal Child Care- A Wise Investment for Canada
15 Reasons I Am Thankful to Live in Canada
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