<HTML>There is much truth to what Benjy Kramer wrote, but I think the issue of
parental/ lay involvement is more complicated.
A good part of the problem comes from the fact that few educators make
the effort to develop boards of education who understand how to work with
the principal and who know what types of questions to ask.
Good questions from laymen help correct policies, expose areas that need
to be addressed, and in the end galvanize support. When laymen know that
good questions will be addressed thoughtfully while off-the-cuff or
disrespectful questions will be ignored, they begin to get informed
before making statements. When principals resent questions, they wind up
getting answers instead. We educate people to ask questions of their
doctors; indeed, most people understand that good doctors welcome
questions. It's no different in education.
Setting up the proper lay structures is the job of the professional
educator. He or she has to show lay leaders how they can become
informed, how to research an issue, whom to speak to in other schools,
etc. (Getting them to read Lookjed is a simple enough start.) The lay
leadership has much to contribute in making a good school--and it is not
simply money. But it is the job of the professional leadership to show
them how to do it.
Joel Wolowelsky</HTML>
