Parents Urged to Play More Active Role in Children’s Lives and PTA

President of the National Parent Teachers’ Association of Jamaica (NPTAJ), Miranda Sutherland, has called on parents, as partners in education, to monitor their children more closely.
“Parents let us not ignore the signs of our children. Listen to them, observe them, ask them questions and take action in the shortest possible time to address the minor problems that if left undone can lead to crisis. We must help them to build their self esteem and their personal standards. We must therefore understand that good values must be a part of their upbringing,” Mrs. Sutherland said at the official launch of the new academic year.
The function was recently held at the Ocho Rios High School in St. Ann, under the theme, ‘Education: It’s a Partnership’.
Focussing on the partnership and the role of parents, Mrs. Sutherland said that the NPTAJ was in strong support of the partnership, as it served to produce the requisite policies that strengthened better communication between the home and the school, and led to the supply of the necessary resources for schools, so that the expected outcomes could be better achieved.
“As parents we must initiate or continue to foster the ongoing dialogue with the providers of education, with the policy makers and most importantly, with the beneficiaries of education (our children),” she said, encouraging parents, especially fathers, to get involved in the PTA.
“It is true that schools feel a great sense of security when there is an active PTA and so we will continue our drive to support the strong, to strengthen the weak and to give rise to the new ones. Congratulations to you all, as we work as a family and in partnership for the best education for our children, knowing that every child can learn and every child will learn,” she said.