Parents in PD!
Why the Parents
Sessions that reach out to parents,
assist not only in how to support
student academic learning, but cover
a plethora of issues, such as children’s
language development and their learning
styles, parent nurturing and discipline
strategies, child abuse prevention, anger
management, and nutrition and health
practices. These sessions can also help
parents build parenting skills by assisting
them in reaching their own academic
and vocational goals. These outreach
strategies help foster partnerships
between schools and families.
I changed the global landscape of my
daughter’s education, by playing an
active role in teacher professional
development. When my five-year old
daughter was introduced to a world
of digraphs, phonemes, chunking
and blending, I felt intimidated.
Consequently, I contacted her teacher
and asked for assistance in this regard.
I participated in a teacher professional
development session, which catered
to the teaching of phonics for teachers
and parents. I gained a rich breadth
of knowledge in the field, which I am
proud of. Now, I am always so excited to
assist my daughter with assignments!
Role of Parents in TPD
(Trading Roles)
As parents, we have potential and we also
have a vested interest in the future of our
children’s education. Our abilities become
manifest when we are included in the
design of our children’s education and
our skills and talents are made available
to support the delivery. For instance, in
the past, parents’ expertise in different
fields (the use of technology, craft, cake
decorating, farming and cosmetology)
were used to conduct workshops during
teacher professional development sessions
at the school level. As parents, we became
a group learning from and supporting
each other, supporting teachers, and
better yet, supporting our children.
This stimulated reciprocal relationships
between us and the teachers. This also
allowed us to progress from a latent to an
active resource to our children’s school.
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