Parent meeting in a reputed school – I was invited there to conduct the meeting. The agenda was parent orientation and discussion on ‘Ways to handle children behaviour’. The meeting was scheduled to be around 10 am. The meeting was scheduled for an hour. It was a startup school and hence the parent strength expected was around 100 in number. The discussion hall was fully ready with chairs properly arranged in the shape of a semicircle, teachers in the reception with list of student names, colourful charts that carried words “We welcome u”, “We are proud to be a team that inspires children”, display of student works, flower decoration etc.,. On the whole the atmosphere was friendly and inviting.
I reached there around 9.15 am and had a short conversation with the school head. After that we moved around the school and then reached the discussion hall around 9.45 am. I prefer being on time from my childhood and hence was little earlier at the venue. This got imbibed because of my dad as he modeled this behaviour and insisted on the same. He used to tell us about the consequences of being late and its repercussions on other’s time.
I was on time and so were the school head and the teachers. Around 35 parents were present in the hall by around 10 am. We invited the parents and appreciated them for being on time. When it was around 10.05 ten more parents joined. We started the discussion and the discussion was on its full swing. Initially many parents hesitated to participate in the discussion, but as we proceeded and encouraged participation, many participated. By around 10.30 many parents came in and sat in the last rows. There were many seats available in the front rows. Only a few of them sat in the front row.
During discussion many parents complained /expressed concern that their children hesitate to be seated in the first row. Many parents complained their children don’t get ready on time and hence they came late to school. I was actually looking at the irony happening there. I tried to lead the discussion towards reflection on one’s behaviour and a comparative analysis of their behaviour with their children. I motivated them to reflect on their behaviour on that particular day as well.
To my surprise and happiness, many parents came up with interesting responses like, “I never realized that I come late to meetings”, “I used to come late to meeting and justify my action connecting with the responsibilities I have. But now I realise that this is also an important responsibility”, “I knew that I am late, but I can’t help it” etc. That helped me to bank on their responses and I lead them to ponder on the influence of their behaviour on others. That boosted more responses and helped them realise that their behaviours play a major role in helping the child choose appropriate behaviours.
On the whole the discussion was fruitful and the entire school team including me was happy about it. I realized that when provided with opportunities and appropriate triggers parents are always willing to help their parents.
