Have you sent an invite?

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Editor's note - Once again, Kabir discusses one of his innovative approaches to education. This time it is his insightful way of involving parents in communicating with the educators. An interesting idea that can be implemented in schools.

Author’s note – I work as a Gandhi Fellow in Kaivalya Education Foundation. Based in Brihanmumbai, and functioning as Headmaster Sahyogi (Coach) for School Excellence Programme (SEP) in Municipal Schools of the city. Here I’m sharing a new idea of involving parents in the education of their wards by me in Mumbai Municipal Schools.  

It was a common hypothesis that parents from lower strata of our society have no time to focus on their wards’ education. They have to rush for their own livelihood and cannot take time out to visit the school. This was something I have been hearing from a very long time in Municipal Schools of Mumbai. Even in one school where Headmaster took an initiative to invite parents for a meet. The turn up was 20 while the student’s strength was at a mighty 700. 

I came across a fact that parents were invited by “word of mouth”.  Headmasters fix the parents meeting, teachers are informed. They pass the message to children-whose responsibility is to bring parents along. Now in such a tender age who remembers such things. Even agenda of such meetings include preachy ideas like “sending children on time to school/wearing uniform of school every day etc.” Teachers/Headmasters speak for whole time; bully the guardians’ for not engaging in child’s education. Parents are supposed to be passive listener. There is no update on child’s learning. So naturally, the parents stop coming to school as they found it boring and useless. 

Instead of using “word of mouth”, thought of inviting parents through letters. I took this idea to Maneklal Urdu School where headmaster was a little more welcoming to innovation.  Students wrote the invites with the help of their teachers, who in turn requested them to get it signed by their guardians and bring back. The invitation included agenda and timing. Agenda was very focused on child’s learning in school. Teachers shared the worksheet and other input from their records with parents instead of bashing them complains about their children. The turn up of parents rose from 20 to 80 persons. The school had strength of 180 children. It was an achievement for us. 

In another school (Jai Maharashtra Marathi School) Headmistress Ms Chhaya Bhange used the idea of invite but she added her own flavour. The school got a prize in Lezim so she decided to have same performance for parents as they didn’t have a chance to see  their kids’ performing. 80 parents turned up in a school where strength is 180.

Ms Saeeda teacher from Jai Maharashtra Urdu School was invited to be a part of the event. She took the idea of invitation to her school with her own imagination. In their school Headmistress Ms Nigar Sultana and Ms Saeeda planned to exhibit learning material for parents. The material was to be prepared by children from their syllabi. In classes where teachers had good relationship students came up with so many exciting models, charts-made from egg-shells, waste cardboards, bangles etc. Here the number went high from 200 to 600 guardians turning up in a school where strength is 1000. With a small idea of inviting parents through letters and some creative inputs of leaders (headmasters) of school we were able to fetch enormous number, now the target is to increase the quality of interaction where teachers and parents both participate in the learning process of the child.

And now if someone in Municipal Schools says parents have livelihood issues, they will not be interested to come for parents meeting, I have an answer - Have you sent a proper invite?

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