Devil's Advocate

I interviewed someone I know who works as an educational consultant. He has written books on the state of education in the United States and calls for a new way of educating our youth--with an emphasis on critical thinking. I showed him the link to our blog and asked him to tell me what he thought about the issue.

“PTA general sessions can suffer from certain of shortcomings if not handled right – for instance:

· Rushing by the teacher, who wants to dispatch the session, because he/she is either too busy or is uncomfortable facing parents

· Parents who raise a topic of very narrow interest (even “rathole” the conversation about their kid in particular) during a session of common interest

· Superficial feedback by teachers so preoccupied with child’s self-esteem that educational outcomes are glossed over

In that context, one-on-one parental sessions can be far more specific, and address multiculturalism if parents are exposed to how their child reacts to others’ points of views and behaviors, and is tuned to the misconceptions and biases that the parents themselves bring about. It will thus help parents to understand that their attitudes/behaviors/values get imprinted on their children, unconsciously not just deliberately.”

Interesting to see how PTA meetings may be a way to open the door to communication with parents, but one-on-one meetings are still one of the best ways to gain information about students and their families.