How many of you volunteer at your kids school? With what? How often?
If you don’t but would like to, what do you think your kids school can improve on and you can help?
Re: Volunteer
Arts and Crafts is a fun way to help.
PTA - head teacher usually loves this one, more money for the school = better biscuits in the staffroom!
Reading - always needs Parent readers
Ask your child's teacher what s/he might need help with.
Re: Volunteer
my aunt is a lunch monitor at her kids school. She brings her kids fresh garam garam khanna and helps to make sure that all the kids are being taken care of.
Re: Volunteer
I wish I had the time.
Since I don't, I usually go overboard when it comes to fund-raising......
Re: Volunteer
I attend all PTA and SEPTA (special-ed PTA) meetings. I serve on the boards of both. And it is truly amazing how important these organizations are in determining the direction of the schools, what they teach, how they teach and how funds are dispersed. Parents can have an incredible impact on local schools just by joining in.
Re: Volunteer
I want to, in fact promised my daughter that I will. I guess it will be something like helping them during lunch time.
I do volunteer every week or bi weekly as there are lot of helping moms in Zafis class. I usually check spellings, giving spelling tests to children, helping them in Maths. etc.
Re: Volunteer
I've heard teachers pay more attention to those kids whose parents volunteer, is that true?
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You know I think teachers actually do sometimes give more attention to the students whose parents are really involved. Not in all cases for sure. But they so appreciate when they have parents who care and help, they are more willing to go the extra mile for the kids of those parents.
I cant begin to say enough about being involved in the PTAs. We raised over 90 thousand dollars for our local elementary school this year!!! And many of these funds are given to teachers who submit grant proposals - things that they cannot as a school district afford to do but if they were given extra money they could do these things. The PTA gets to decide what of these proposals to fund. We've had spectacular speakers, we have an astronomy professor with a portable planetarium come in for a full week, we're funding large-screen internet for next year. We also saved four teacher positions which would have been eliminated with all the "new yawk" budget troubles. WE get to decide what to do with the funds. The teachers listen to us. And heck man there are about 30 (maybe less) of us!!! out of 400 or so students. So we 25 or 30 have a HUGE say in what goes on in the school. If I were a teacher, I'd surely pay more attention to those few who really care, make the effort and get involved.
Re: Volunteer
I volunteer with their parties about one every two months. I would liekt o do more.
The room mom's or dads plan a lot.
If you want to have an impact on the child's curriculum etc - you should join the parent's board. It's called the SCA at my daughter's school.
They fund raise as well as start looking at technology, updating curriculums, you can indroduce books about islam or have a country day so kids learn about other traditions and values. etc
I would like my school to improve on:
1. Having a full day kindergarden
2. Having hot zabiha food served for muslims kids in cafe (they have kosher food)
3. More science base projects
4. More field trips for the kids
5. More special services offered at school
You know I think teachers actually do sometimes give more attention to the students whose parents are really involved.
Absolutely right mama - I feel that too!
I've heard teachers pay more attention to those kids whose parents volunteer, is that true?
As a teacher, I DO NOT do this.
One of my students mother is one of my teaching assistants who works 25 hours a week, so is in my classroom everyday, every hour and every minute and I do not give him special attention at all. In fact, im always telling him off and she thanks me for it.
As for my Parent Reader helpers I dont even let them read with their own child. They can do that at home. They are there to help me with which children I would like them to hear read. If they have a problem with that: NO thank you, I do not need your help.
The set of parents I had last year were only 'helping' me as they didnt trust me, being a new teacher and all. They wouldnt even do what I had asked them to. Just sit and stare at their own child. For flips sake, take a picture of your child and look at that all day!
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Milly - the room moms in my daughter's school are pretty good. Infact they do a lot cleanup work so that the teacher can just concentrate on teaching the class
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Send them over here then! My Teacher assistant doesnt even tidy up after herself!
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^ you need to be more authoritative with her - pull her aside and give her a talk - maybe she just thinks you are too young.
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Shes 6'5 and very wide too, im scared of her! I do tell her what I would like her to do, I have a work book where I write lists of jobs that we ALL need to do, she doesnt read it and then she just laughs it off and says ' silly me' and im like ' NO DUMB SLOTH YOU'. She is such a sloth.
Re: Volunteer
We (I and my wife) do volunteer for our kids class trips and also for any IT related work at the school. I think I have made difference in IT setup a lot but more than that, its our kids attitude that motivates us. They are happy and excited when we volunteer on trips and they look forward to it.
On other side, we know all of their friends and have better understanding and picture of what they are talking when they refer to friends in their conversation.
This is interesting for me. We dont even have these volunteer requirements. In fact it would be considered pretty strange if I offered to spend some time assisting in my child's school. Only exception may be is when someone is actually training to be a teacher or something and they volunteer in their child's school for experience...which is very rare.
This is interesting for me. We dont even have these volunteer requirements. In fact it would be considered pretty strange if I offered to spend some time assisting in my child's school. Only exception may be is when someone is actually training to be a teacher or something and they volunteer in their child's school for experience...which is very rare.
and where are you located?
^^ I live in Kenya. I guess its more viable to employ assistants here (I am assuming here that they ask for volunteers because they are short staffed? Correct me if I am wrong)
And what a coincidence...I just got a letter today from my daughters school that they will be having a book week next week and are asking if any parents would volunteer to read to the kids during that time. Hmmm... thats a first. I think I should consider it.... .......inspiration from this thread :)