Schools making a mockery of parental ‘partnership’
Kylie Lang, The Courier-Mail
December 13, 2017
WHAT a joke! Parents are forever being encouraged to be more involved in their child’s education, but only so far as it suits the school.
Mums and dads are urged to share in the homework load, be engaged, join supporters’ committees and contribute to fundraisers, but when they dare to take a stand against practices they view as unethical and unjust, they’re told to back off.
This is not right.
The latest incident involves a group of about 1000 parents and alumni of Anglican Church Grammar School in East Brisbane pushing to disband the school’s governing church council.
The parental uprising at “Churchie” comes after the private school allegedly secretly apologised and paid out $130,000 to a convicted killer and conman over alleged historic child sex abuse.
Dr Tom Biggs, head of Rescue Churchie, says the group is expecting conflict and confrontation in getting the church to “let go” but “we are determined the time to fix this is now”.
Proactive, direct and swift.
The Anglican Church is furious. Archbishop Dr Phillip Aspinall has hit back at the alleged “hush money” payout, saying the church was unable to disclose apologies and payments for privacy reasons.
The Churchie saga comes hot on the heels of high-fee paying parents questioning the integrity of other school governing bodies and protesting against what they say is unconscionable behaviour.
The Presbyterian and Methodist Schools Association (PMSA), which governs Somerville House, Brisbane Boys’ College, Clayfield College and Sunshine Coast Grammar School, is also facing a vote of no confidence.
The scandal involves, among other things, leaked documents, lewd text messages, “secret men’s business” in nude Korean bathhouses, an alleged cover-up of sexual assault at a sports camp, and the shock resignations of top-level school staff.
Parental lobby groups, which have accused the schools of demonstrating behaviour that goes against “Christian ethos and values”, continue to seek answers and demand change.
They are entitled to do so.
At a time when the Federal Government is pouring money into building better relationships between home and school, shutting parents out is making a mockery of a partnership that has been proven to boost children’s academic outcomes.
The government’s recently upgraded free Learning Potential app for parents stresses the importance of getting involved in every aspect of a child’s journey, from numeracy and literacy to understanding the way school boards operate.
In launching the app, part of a $4 million commitment to supporting parent engagement, the government says that “effective engagement” is more than just participation in school meetings and helping with fundraising.
“It is actively engaging with your child’s learning, both at home and at school. When schools and families work together, children do better and stay in school longer.”
School governing bodies outraged by incensed parents would do well to remember that the reason they exist at all is to educate children, and this goes well beyond academics to ethics, school culture and accountability.