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Demanding Safety in Schools

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It’s an assumption of protection: schools are thought to offer safety, to provide a haven for students. Too often does that haven prove to be weak, however. Children are teased mercilessly; violence occurs; and parents think themselves powerless to correct it.

This pattern is a tragic one — and it must be stopped.

Safety precautions must be formed. Accomplishing this requires action, however:

Determine Policies

Knowledge is far more than a series of words and percentages. It’s instead an understanding of the elements that shape a school. Parents must demand access to the policies of their educational systems: learning what protocols have been put in place and what issues must subsequently be addressed. This is essential in devising a safety plan; all strengths and weaknesses must first be known.

Demand Statistics

Too often do parents think themselves unheard: their concerns ignored, their worries unheeded. School representatives offer bland assurances and little else, which sparks a need for change. Statistics must then be demanded. Individuals must seek out information regarding violence reports, accidents and more. This is the only way to verify whether safety has been earned.

Discuss Involvement

Education doesn’t rely on singular sources. It instead requires a vast collection of instructors, books and presentations. Safety is the same — needing involvement from all parents to be achieved. It’s imperative therefore that individuals discuss what can be accomplished: noting programs that need chaperones, after-school classes and more. A parental influence will have an immediate effect.

Safety is the right of all students. It must be fought for, though; and all parents must become part of the solution, rather than avoiding the problem.

Filed Under: First Aid, School Tagged With: , ,

Education Improves With Parental Involvement

Working parents often find themselves lacking the time to get involved with their children’s education. However, there are a large number of working mothers who do manage to take out the time for their child’s progress in school. Those parents who get involved can actually help their children perform better at school.

Benefits of Parents’ Involvement

It has been observed that when parents get involved with their children’s education it results in better grades, improved social skills, less absenteeism, assured graduation from high school and admission into a good college on behalf of the children.

Often responsibilities at work do not allow parents to get involved in this manner. What is essential is a balance between work and their children.

How Working Parents Can Work Out a Solution

Parents should check the child’s school bag, diary, books and other items to keep abreast with what the child is learning everyday. They must also talk to the child about daily happenings at school. If direct involvement in school parties is not possible, send something to make your child feel you are interested. Try and spend at least some time together each evening reading a book and talking about it or about other subjects. Keep a track of their homework, at the end of each day. Lastly, instead of the television ruling the ‘together time’, let it be spent in more productive activities.

Involvement in School Activities

Parents must make it a point to attend Parent-Teacher meetings, annual school functions, debates, conferences and concerts that may take place in the child’s school. These are great ways of interacting with the teachers and making your child feel you care.

Conclusion

Most busy parents find it difficult to balance family life with work. However, taking out time for one’s children and their education should be a priority in the agenda.

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Developing a student safety checklist

It is important to understand the risks that students might be exposed to while studying at school campuses. School safety is not just the onus of teachers, and parents. It is the priority of all people. School safety is a very frightening word. A school is most often than not seen as a harmless place. But words like school safety and student risk management give it other connotations.

If you are a parent who would like to ensure maximum school safety for your child, then you have to take the following checklist with you the next time you go to meet your child’s teachers. You can also invite other parents to take part in this exercise. Or you can even sit down with your child and your child’s friends to make the checklist.Here’s how your checklist should go…

1) Ask the school, how they prioritize school safety. Is it the first position, second position or which position?

2) Does the school have processes for disaster management?

3) Does the school keep a track of all the unsafe incidents that have taken place at the school? Do they have analytic reports on the same?

4) Does the school have prevention and cure plan? Do they have measures to prevent a catastrophe as well as come out of it?

5) Check the school’s safety list. What do they place as unsafe? Do they factor-in all the possibilities of danger or is it not a comprehensive safety list?

6) Do they have special point of contact or an office for emergencies? Does the school have specialized and trained personnel to deal with emergency situations?

7) Does the school provide counseling help for violent students?

8) Have they any certification to ascertain themselves as a safe education provider?

These are some of the checklist items that parents can have at PTO meetings. Some of these might help schools to understand what they are lacking in.

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How Parental Involvement in Middle School can Help

Parents often assume that once their children move from an elementary level to middle school, their involvement in school activities are not required. But, the fact is that children need their parents’ involvement more than before. As children grow, they wish parents approve the choices made by them.

Middle School Not As Same As Elementary

Parents shouldn’t expect middle schools to invite them personally. Middle schools do not function the way elementary schools do. Most of the schools do not have any sort of formal programs that are meant for parental involvement. Parents need to take the initiative to find out ways in which they can participate in the school activities.

Involvement in Schools

Unlike elementary schools, children have more difficult curriculums in middle schools. Children eventually get used to this.

  • It’s important for parents to meet each of the child’s teachers. Finding out what the teachers expect from the students help parents to encourage their children in working towards the goals.
  • Being well aware of the school policies is a must, so that parents know what kind of outfits are restricted to be worn.
  • Keeping a sharp eye on the child’s records or progress every year helps the parents in a huge way.

Advantages of Involvement

Taking active participation in all the school activities and child’s education helps in improving grades. By getting involved where it is necessary, parents actually show that they give importance to their child’s education. Due to proper involvement, even schools can run efficiently.

Support At Home

Normally, working parents do not have ample time to participate in school programs, but this does not imply that they can stay away from their child’s education. Parents can encourage the kids to finish off their home work at the right time. Spending valuable time with kids and learning to their problems is a must. The responses given by parents have a great impact on the children.

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