PTA EditorialBy Jyoti Pande Lavakare, President PTA |
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Welcome to a new term and new beginnings! As our children enter the next class, its time not just to celebrate their academic growth, but also support their socialemotional development and intellectual advancement. Whether our children are moving from junior school to middle school or from middle to senior, in today's dynamic and ever-changing world, influenced as much by global issues as by local, and one in which they (and us) lead virtual and real lives in parallel, parenting can seem overwhelming. There is enough research to prove that over-parenting/helicopter parenting can actually be as bad as under-parenting or raising kids in what is now termed as “benign neglect” (which is how most of my generation was raised!) and that authoritative (as distinct from authoritarian) parenting is the best style to raise balanced, sensible, happy individuals. But this isn't just about parenting–a word that didn't exist in the verb form when I was growing up. This is about preparing our children to inhabit a world that is deeper and more complex than anything that we ever had to deal with, live in a society that itself is getting harder to understand and trust, when you never know whether what you're reading or viewing is real or fake, when reality itself is getting twisted out of shape. How to do that? Well, apart from not blindly believing your social media without cross-checking in a real world (and worse, “forwarding as received,” all those WhatsApp messages and videos), we can begin by teaching even the youngest of our children the value of critical thinking and questioning, credible research and original thought. Of civil discourse, the value of intellectual friction, of agreeing to disagree, having an open mind, being flexible and reflexive in one's assessment. In today's world which is fast being radicalised and polarised along religion, race, class and caste lines, where user data is being used to manipulate minds, thoughts, democracies and world events, it is critical to teach our children to pause and question, to arm them with the skills they need to reclaim their own minds. And this must begin today, right now, in homes and schools and offices and playgrounds. As parents and teachers, we have to join hands to do this. Other PTA office bearers—PTA Vice President: Rinki Dhingra; PTA Secretary: Haripriya Padmanabhan; Joint Secretary: Gurudutt Tanwar; PTA Treasurer: Gayatri Luthra |
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Never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed parents can change the world.
The Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) of the Sanskriti School was formed in the year 2004 and is bound by the rules stated in the PTA constitution. A group of proactive, like-minded parents who are deeply committed to the idea that intellectual, emotional and physical development and growth of our children can only be pursued and achieved through a mutually supportive and effective relationship between the school, teacher, child and the parent. Each class from Nursery to Class 12 is represented on the Executive Council of the PTA through a democratically elected parent representative. Parent members from The Learning Centre (centre for special needs) also are included on the Executive Council. Teachers are represented in the council by the Junior, Middle and Senior School co-ordinators. The Executive Council also has 2 members each from the junior, middle and senior schools from the parents belongin to the Civil services. Two parents are nominated- one by the school and the other by the Executive Committee of the PTA. The Principal is the Chairperson of the PTA. To facilitate the processes of the Executive Council, the PTA has been structured to include an Executive Committee which comprises the
The members of the executive committee form the primary interface between the school and the parent body.
The key role of each member is well defined and engaging. Two-way communication between the school and the parent body forms the key.
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