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Show I'" t' . REFLEX . i JOURNAL BULLETIN I w LEADER AUGUST 12, 1982 Education Forum By Students Better With Parents Help TOM BUSSELBERG By TOM BUSSELBERG SALT LAKE CITY Those who exercise power in the school arena have a subtle way of taking over the schools and operating them as a personal business for private ends, Salt Lake Schools Supt. M. Donald Thomas told those attending the InternaIntional Conference for volvement in Schools, recently. Parent-Citize- Students tend to achieve higher test scores when parents are involved in their (MindMkig schools. THATS ONLY one advantage to strong n THE LESS power that is exercised by any one individual, the better it is for all, he added, noting, though difficult to remember, it is the salvation of democracy. Speaking of the topic, The Politics of Education, he addressed the need to carefully utilize power in effecting positive ends in the schools. Power is life, a powerful drink, it can refresh, stimulate, reform and produce beneficial results or it can corrupt and destroy. It can be a moral and at the same time a dangerous human behavior. a? (MhxeO TYING POLITICS and power together he told the gathering of educators from across the country, all political action is a matter of power the ability to make others do what we want them to do. Power is exercised when parents force the school district to fire a particular employee. Power is demonstrated when the board of education terminates the superintendent of schools. Power is used to ratify ERA, pass the federal budget or establish a particular program in a local school, he continued. Power is exercised when we have our children mow the lawn, do their homework or practice their piano lessons. EACH instance these are individual actions which come from the belief a particular thing is the right thing to do. Anyone who presses for a certain aim, or who tries to persuade someone to say or do a particular thing, is exercising political power. The exercise of that power is either successful or not depending on whether or not those asked to do certain things do, in fact, engage in doing the things theyre asked to do. He used the example of a volunteer program, the theme of the international confab. In a particular school district there is no volunteer program. A group of parents wish to establish a program. They meet, they discuss what action needs to be taken. They call members of the board of eduction and they visit with the superintendent. They talk LN CC Power is life, a powerful drink. It can refresh, stimulate, reform and produce beneficial results. Or it can corrupt and destroy. It can be a moral and at the same time a dangerous human behavior. 99 M. Donald Thomas to teachers and principals. They raise money. They obtain the support of senior citizens. done. should conform to a criteria of ethical principles. Such action makes it easier to select from the many power options available and decide issues such as: should mandatory prayer be established in the schools? Should books be excluded from public libraries? Should children be segregated based on race? Should parents have access to school information about their children? Stressing power should be used positively Supt. Thomas continued, in the exercise of political power, we have a tendency to believe that a good end justifies an evil means. It simply cant be done. WE DONT improve the educational opportunities of minorities by burning the cars of board members. We dont improve the working conditions of teachers by striking against the educational services needed by the children. Whatever the policital actions taken by anyone those actions WITHOUT A moral criteria the exercise of power is dangerous and unpredictable. It can save us or destroy us. It can create better schools or destroy them altogether. Pa-eactions, similar to the actions of others, must be reflected in a moral context or not be exercised at all. He went on to stress the position of power increases with the knowledge of the communicator. Knowledge is power. Great knowledge is great power, overwhelming THEY ENGAGE in a number of activities aimed at establishing a volunteer program in the school district. Their actions are an exercise of political power. If the volunteer program is established, they will have been successful in the exercise of that power. Effective political behavior is the process of doing what one believes ought to be nt knowledge is overwhelming power. There is no better substitute in the exercise of political power in the school setting than to be extremely well informed about laws, regula- tions, budgets, educational research, test scores, etc. SUCH THINGS as knowledge and articulation of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution will adequately establish the need for a free and appropriate education for example. for handicapped children, followed be must by comKnowledge munication, Supt. Thomas went on to say, noting that in political action, attempts to influence by enlarging the field of experience which limits the actions of those we wish to influence, he continued. That is why parent participation in schools is so effective and why legislators who visit schools are supportive or the PTA is so successful or where teachers who make We Need Volunteers To Succeed home visits are appreciated. TO WALK a mile in the shoes of another is still an effective basis for communication. It establishes a common experience from which to exercise political power. Now the fireworks begin, he emphasized. There are some who believe communication is effective when power is exercised in brutal ways: intimidation, threats, verbal abuse, public ridicule, etc. All such actions are not only not effective, they are counter-productiv- e. parent involvement in public schools raised by Carl Marburger, executive director of the National Committee for Citizens in Education who addressed the International ConInvolvement in ference for Parent-Citize- n Schools in Salt Lake City July 23. What diffrence does it make when parents get involved in education?" he asked the group assembled at the Hilton Hotel. studies show compelling arguTwenty-si- x for ments parent involvement can be said. he made, IF SCHOOLS treat parents as powerless, that does nounimportant and inhibited, thing to help the schools or the children who are supposed to be educated there. More recent research goes to say parent involvement helps test scores, etc. Families provide the most important lessons in involvement of all. If theres no continuity its difficult to mesh, between the school and family, he said. "When parents-citizen- s are involved, children go to better schools and do better. Every (piece of) research stresses the importance of parent involvement. ALL SCHOOL improvement programs should be for parent involvement, Mr. Marburger continued, noting parents have with some a lot of legitimate complaints lost the often have schools people feeling mission of what theyre about. The system often seems to work to protect itself from the constituency, he continued adding, Too often parents see that s a reason to pull out along with violence and the attitude of the staff as perceived by some parents. TODAY, AS new options are being surveyed in education, ranging from tuition tax credits to a voucher system, both possibilities that he said are creeping ahead, it must be remembered this is a time that parents need to keep economically ahead. Speaking of teachers, Mr. Marburger said many are caring, concerned and bright. But there are also some who are doing hostile, damaging things, a few who dont want . to do the best job. IN SOME areas, conflicts between teachers and parents are accentuated when teachers organizations tell their members not to join the PTA, for instance, claiming that groups too antaganistic. That makes it too hard to hold a common cause, he noted. The public by and large has a higher level of trust in its primary and secondary schools. When that begins to erode, we see how essential it is for smooth functioning. We only have that (smoothness) where people realize their goals are compatable. HE POINTED optimistically to current more trust is evident. a theres Also, resurgence where parents want to make a difference in the grass roots, figuring they only have their children one time around. He said that resurgence extends to schools, with many feeling if industry can make a resurgence, why not schools, as well. trends where THESE MEANS simply cannot justify any noble end. No good end can be attained through unethical means, he noted, adding, This doesnt mean that petitions, assemblies, debate and recall cannot be used. It simply means no good comes out of evil actions, regardless of the rhetoric of the saints who propound it. In Education by Tom Busselberg In less than three weeks, your child, or grandchild, or someones child you know will be back hitting the books in school. THE DAVIS School District will be facing more students than ever before, at more than 40,000, as its enrollment continues to climb in spite of the recession. A new junior high and elementary school will be opening along with other additions throughout the district. Even if the district was only marking time, enrollment wise, it would be no easy task to stay on top of things. The federal ment isnt handing governout funds any too plenti- fully, these days, and other problems are making that more worthless dollar harder to come by for the people who run our schools, as well. NO, THIS isnt a plea to support a bond election or another voted leeway appeal. It is a plea, though, to get involved in your local school. In a recent conference on volunteerism that drew educators from across the country held in Salt Lake City, Gov. Scott Matheson strongly endoresed putting volunteers to work in the schools. Both he and his wife, Norma, have participated in such projects. HE CALLED volunteerism aboslutely essential if we are to succeed at providing the type of education desired and to reach the goals we have in the state. And he didnt limit that involvement to parents for instance, but acting as in it together. all Were emphasized, for He stressed Utahns are their volunteersim through history and I would agree that now, if ever, is a time to put that tradition back into practice in Davis County. room-mother- s, well-know- n THERE ARE volunteers already working in the countys schools, surely, and I dont want to discredit them. But how much more could be done! In Boston, a city with about four times the countys population, there are 11,000 volunteers. Do we have a proportionate number operating in our 60 schools? THERES SO much more that can be done than running a ditto machine or cleaning the erasers. Especially in this county, where its residents have a educational level, a lot of expertise is out there, just waiting to be tapped. Teachers, with their relatively high pupil load, could put volunteers to work helping in the reading program, art, writing or any number of areas. AND WHILE the district is moving towards more teacher education in computers, there are people out in the community who already are as expert as you could want. They could be tapped through an alliance with businesses, such as exists in Salt Lake City School District. Under the adopt a school program there, a variety of businesses allow employees to work once or twice a week with students on everything from teaching journalism classes to tutoring. It not only helps the school personnel burden but raises the image of business and gives the businessman an outlet, to mention only a few advantages. NO, DAVIS County isnt Salt Lake City, but there are many businesses here, both large and small, and that number is on the increase. The Freeport Center, North Salt Lake area industrial parks or even some of n the home grown businesses could be tapped. What about your senior citizens? There are countless articles and reports written that indicate retirement can be the worst thing a person may ever have to endure. It often leads to rapidly declining state of health because they feel there is nothing to well-know- live for. DOZENS OF seniors in Salt Lake City can attest to the fact there is something to live for as they participate in that districts SMILES program putting seniors and students in the same camp solving a variety of learning puzzles. Yes, to accept volunteers into the schools means some adjustments. Teachers may not readily like the idea, at first. They may take Hr it as an affront to their ability to teach. If one teacher doesnt want them, fine. Another should. TEACHERS SHOULD take the time to figure out how volunteers can effectively help them in their jobs. How can the students be better served through use of a volunteer? As a side benefit, parent involvement may mean a better feeling towards the public schools. Issues such as the rental fee change that arose early this year wouldnt have to raise such a furor if parents were working closely with their schools. It can be so much more than punch and cookies when parents visit the schools. THE PUBLIC is smarter than many give it credit for. Use that talent, that reservoir. Get community councils going. It should make the load lighter, in the end, rather than more burdensome. Our schools are public, arent they? So why not get the public and the educator, involved! c f |