Debate: Should parents be involved in all school decisions?

NEA Today, Apr 1996 by Bennett, Dick, Uderos-Blackburn, Gloria

In my experience as a teacher council member, I've encountered parents who are reluctant to serve on the council and even more reluctant to volunteer their time and effort in implementing the programs mandated by the Kentucky Education Reform Act.

I understand their reluctance. That's because years ago as a young parent, I, too, would have felt unqualified to help make internal decisions concerning my children's education. Now, as an educator, I still feel that parents are unqualified to make some of the decisions that must be made.

Take, for example, the matter of selecting textbooks.

Do parents really know the material that teachers need to cover? When a specific content area is up for adoption, finding the proper textbook to supplement instruction is a long and tedious procedure. Do most parents have the skills to evaluate and select the textbooks a teacher needs?

Instructional practice is another area that concerns me. I've spent years acquiring the skills required by my profession. A nonprofessional shouldn't presume to be qualified to make decisions about classroom instruction. I know that I would never presume to tell a brain surgeon how to operate on a patient.

Then there's the matter of selecting instructional materials. Most teachers are constantly looking for materials to enhance their teaching abilities--in catalogs, at conventions, in professional teacher stores. Teachers know best what supplemental materials they need in their own classrooms.

Teachers--not parents--are also the experts in school curriculum. In my own district, the two middle schools feed into the consolidated high school. I know what my students must learn in order to meet the high school requirements, as does my counterpart in the other middle school. Do parents know?

Assigning students to classes, allocating staff time, determining the best use of building space during a school day, and scheduling the instructional day and week are also areas where parents lack sufficient knowledge to make meaningful decisions. These are areas that are better handled by administrators and competent school staff.

I also feel strongly that parents should have no say in professional development decisions.

These days, a professional development coordinator provides the staff with a selection of professional development activities. The teachers, in turn, make their choices. How could parents possibly contribute to this process?

Of course parents want to be involved in the education of their children. And, as a teacher, I want them involved.

But the activities they can contribute to most take place after school. They can help their children with homework, read to them, help to reinforce concepts taught in class, even re-teach the same idea in a different way to help children better understand.

And there are other areas where some parent input is appropriate. These include extracurricular programs and some discipline/classroom management decisions involving their child only.

But parents certainly don't have the knowledge to make informed decisions in all areas in school management. Decisions in the areas I've cited are best left to trained and qualified professionals.