School Boards “Babes-in-the-Woods”

North Shore News, April 16, 2003

Parents deliberately left out in educational malpractice

Dear Editor:

I applaud the move by the education minister to restore some power to principals, particularly in supervision of best practice. After all, they are supposed to be the "principal" teacher and be a model and guide. Also the principal should have a close relationship with the parents so that the prime constituency – parents and students – are satisfied.

The need for this move demonstrates how far our system has drifted from its intent. I would suggest the whole School Act should be examined and reformed. Look at the drift and the costs. Why is it that school boards run community education and recreation programs (with principals) which should be run by community colleges or recreation departments? Why are school boards dabbling in international education? Why are school boards selling locally-developed courses? And on and on.

I hope others can add to this list of marginal and unnecessary, costly and diverting, behaviours. Why can’t school boards focus on education of the young as intended?

In the 30 years that I have been involved in education as a parent and grandparent I have always felt that parents were being deliberately excluded. I contend that this exclusion amounts to educational malpractice. Because parents are left out, everything has gotten off course, and serving the wrong "stakeholders" (employees and petty politicians). If parents ran the schools as they do in private schools we would have much better results.

Why not abolish the "babes in the woods" centralized school boards and have school-based management with parents as governors?

Tunya Audain West Vancouver