Everyone is an Expert

     Sometimes it seems as though everyone is an expert at education.  And it makes sense because everyone went to school at some point in their lives (or they are currently in school).  Education is often in the news.  Politicians debate about education and comedians joke about education and business leaders laud the value of education.  So it makes sense that there is a lot of knowledge about education out there.

     It would be fair to say that (from time to time) the diverse knowledge about education in a community can sometimes lead to disagreements.  But on the whole, I believe that hearing different points of view leads to better decisions for our schools and for our students.

     Parents often cite their own experiences in school.  Some are positive and some are negative.  Often we want to keep the things that we felt worked well and change the things that we felt didn't work very well.

     I've always felt that it is incumbent on public schools to explain their decisions to the public.  In doing so, it helps to educate the public about the issues that our public schools face today.

     And every public school wants to have a good relationship with their students' parents.  Parent involvement leads to better academic results for children and it strengthens our schools.

     I think that the hard part is to hear from as many parents as possible.  Often, it is the parents that are the most happy or the most angry that tend to speak up and be heard.  Schools want to gain the expertise of all of our parents.

     So don't be afraid to speak with your child's teacher or principal.  There want to hear from you.