parents + schools = the right equation

I would be beyond naive if I thought my hubby and I were raising our children alone, especially our ten year old son.  JAM spends over six hours every weekday out of our presence at school, where we trust that his teachers and administrators are providing him with a safe and engaging environment in which to learn, as well as modeling behaviors that are consistent with our expectations as well.  I can't say that I love every aspect of our public school system in America (cough cough, test them until they drop, cough cough) or even every aspect of his specific experiences and environment, but as a whole, it is certainly full of some amazing and dedicated individuals who work hard to educate my son.

Although it's already Wednesday (where did this week go on me??), I wanted to point out that it is indeed the National Education Association's 89th annual American Education Week!  A decade of my own career was spent teaching in a preschool classroom, and my husband spent several years teaching at the high school level as well, so we have an intimate understanding of the importance of educators' jobs.

The NEA describes the annual celebration:

NEA’s American Education Week (AEW) spotlights the importance of providing every child in America with a quality public education from kindergarten through college, and the need for everyone to do his or her part in making public schools great.

Our annual tagline, Great Public Schools: A Basic Right and Our Responsibility, reflects the Association’s calling upon America to provide students with quality public schools so that they can grow, prosper, and achieve in the 21st century.

While I may have missed highlighting "Parents Day" yesterday, the idea behind the initiative certainly isn't limited to one day of the school year.  Parental involvement is clearly important, and it doesn't mean one single thing-- involvement might look different for different families.  NEA Vice President Lily Eskelsen presents this message in an NEA American Education Week video that I've been encouraged to share with you by a parent of one my former students, who just happens to work for the NEA.  She knows my commitment to education, and I thank her for asking me to be a part of the social media initiative that NEA is taking to spread the word about this celebration!

Watch the video, help your child with her homework tonight, head to the school's next PTA meeting, volunteer in the classroom, cut out laminated goodies for your child's teacher at night, work on the school's PTA website, visit the classroom once to read a story out loud, email your child's teacher to check in every once in a while, donate materials to a "school store," put a note (not too embarrassing!) in your child's lunchbox, ask your child what interested him that day at school- whatever you do, show your child that you care and want to be involved in his or her education, and share that message with your child's teachers, as well.

Happy American Education Week, and thanks to all those teachers who are busting their bums to help JAM learn!!


Teacher, parent, and education advocate,