I met Oscar González because his recently published book “Family and School caught my attention. School and Family ”; the title seemed most suggestive, because I think it is necessary that Someone begins to open the debate on the real participation of families in schools, and about the acceptance of the role of parents in educational institutions.
On that occasion, the presentation of the work that I mentioned, was announced by a tweet in a town near our place of origin, so curiosity splashed with a bit of nostalgia, pushed me to contact Oscar. I met with an optimistic, vital, committed person, and eager to work.
Oscar is Primary school teacher, as well as writer, educational advisor and lecturer; obtained in 2013 the Teaching Prize, and collaborates as an expert in different media. He firmly believes that education is everything, and considers that it is urgent to establish an alliance between family and school, so that each part of this binomial agrees to establish a relationship based on 'sharing', instead of 'competing'.
Our protagonist today is also the founder of a project called Educational Alliance, which aims to improve relations between families and schools; Y runs a Parent School. This is where I just felt identified with its objectives, since I also dedicate myself to giving talks in Parent Schools. Said and done, we agreed on an interview.
Peques y Más.- Jose Antonio Marina says when he extends your book that 'parents and teachers form the basic pedagogical team'. And I also believe in this, what can you tell me about the advantages we would all get if we agreed to collaborate?
Óscar González.- First of all, we must bear in mind that if we all agree to collaborate, we will only find benefits and the main beneficiaries of this will be our children and students. And that is what we need: put the focus of education on the child because sometimes it is the great forgotten of it.
In addition, there are many more advantages: better communication between parents and teachers, greater empathy and understanding for the work of "the other", increased participation, etc. And of course we would help with this to promote a POSITIVE CHANGE necessary in current education so intoxicated by pessimism and discouragement. From the union and close team collaboration we will be able to add. From division and confrontation we will never be able to change things. The decision is in our hands…
PyM.- The first chapter of the book is entitled 'What can families do for education?' Even briefly, could you list the main responsibilities that families should assume in regard to the education of our children?
O.G.- The main responsibility is to become aware that "being parents" is not the same as having children. According to José Antonio Marina today there are those who say: “I want to have children, but at the same time I don't want to do without anything. Well, that does not work, because having a child, what appears is someone who claims rights, and that is a nuisance. ” We must assume our responsibilities as parents in the education of our children, in their day to day. I list some of them:
- Track your tasks
- Attend meetings and tutorials with your children's teachers.
- Spend time to be and play with them.
- Etc.
The school cannot educate without the parents and the parents cannot educate without the school ”: we need each other and the time has come to work so that we are part of a unique project, a project shared in team
PyM.- Are there objective differences in school performance in children with parents involved?
O.G.- Of course, studies show that those students in which their families are involved get better results (I also affirm it from my personal experience). In the book I mention some of these studies citing reference researchers. These are just a few examples:
- When parents are involved in the education of their children at home, they have better results at school (Henderson & Berla)
- When children and parents regularly talk about school, children's academic results are better. (Ho & Wilms)
- The results of parental involvement include improved school results, reduced absenteeism, improved behavior, and restores parental confidence in the education system (The Home-School Connection Selected Partnership Programs in Large Cities, Insitute for Responsive Education, Boston).
PyM.- I often think that not everything is in the motivation that we can have, because as you well know, in this country the conciliation is far from what we would like. How can interested parents make up for the lack of time?
O.G.- It is very difficult to replace the “lack of time” because time is what it is and we cannot stretch it… The really important thing is what we do during that time we dedicate to our children. It's about being with them performing activities, playing, reading, sharing, etc. It is often said to be "quality time." Here I would like to emphasize that it is necessary to raise your voice and demand that a REAL conciliation be established that allows fathers and mothers to attend meetings, tutorials with their children's teachers. Both politicians and companies have to put the batteries in this regard. That's why I won't get tired of insisting that an educational commitment of society is necessary since we all have something to contribute to education.
We need to put the focus of education on the child because sometimes it is the great forgotten of it
PyM.- I am a mother and I have contact with many parents because of my work activity, you may have another opinion, but it seems to me that it is often difficult for families to participate in school. Do you think there are reluctance about it? And if the answer is yes, what could it be due to?
O.G.- I do not like to generalize but it is true that sometimes it makes it difficult for families to participate in schools. They continue to be viewed with suspicion and distrust, as someone who will "supervise" the work of teachers. It's time to eliminate these misgivings if we want to establish harmonious and cordial relationships for the sake of our children and students. This occurs for several reasons. Mainly because both parents and teachers:
We make use of a double language: in front I say one thing and behind another very different. The sincerity principle and distrust appears in both directions.
There is a lack of knowledge about the "reality of the other." It is necessary to have greater empathy and knowledge of the reality that we have before us.
PyM.- And on the other side there may be some distrust towards the other part of the educational community, that is to say towards teachers (and by extension management team or specialists), right?
O.G.- As I highlighted in the previous question, distrust occurs in two directions for the reasons I have stated before. That is why it is necessary not to forget that “the school cannot educate without the parents and the parents cannot educate without the school”: we need each other and the time has come to work for us to be part of a SINGLE PROJECT, a project shared as a team.
We can and should improve our education system. To do this we must start by becoming aware of the need to change it, not deny the educational crisis in which we are immersed and get under way.
PyM.- Finally (and forgive the daring) I will get a little out of the line of this interview. I am optimistic and I think you can improve the quality of our education system, but what would be the way ?, or what is the same, what things should change?
O.G.- I am very happy because I also consider myself optimistic, something necessary to educate and improve things. Of course we can and should improve our education system. To do this we must start with become aware of the need to change it, not deny the educational crisis in which we are immersed and get going.
The key is there: it is not about having good ideas but about putting them into practice. There's a phrase from Gandhi that I love “You must be the change you want to see in the world” I like to adapt it to education and affirm that “You must be the change you want to see in education”. The change begins in oneself, in their educational center, in their classroom, in their AMPA, etc. And it will be extended and extended to the rest. To do this we must stop being part of the problem to become part of the solution. For this we must have a lot of patience and be aware that in education the changes are slow and progressive: I do not believe in the short-term changes of our politicians more concerned in the next elections than in the next generations, that is, the future of our society.
Before thanking Oscar for his collaboration with Peques y Más, I must say that in addition to the interview, I also promised to review his book, and I will not leave any more time, tomorrow, An entry awaits you on “Family and School. School and Family ”, a work (I believe) essential in homes, and also very valuable for all members of educational communities, willing to work to make this relationship better.
Thank you Oscar, for having dedicated your time, and for sharing your experience with us, thanks for helping to drive change in education, and for making us see that yes it is possible, as long as we all work for it.
