Parents who see unresolved issues in their schools may try joining other like-minded groups to pursue concerns and issues. By joining the BC Council for the Family I met other people concerned about families and schools.
The BCCF Fall 1985 Newsletter announced the formation of the Family and Education Committee. One of the first things done was to send a letter to
Jack Heinrich, Minister of Education, giving him the background to the Council’s long-standing concern about the relationship families have with their schools. This is a concern directly expressed by many families. With the positive reply received from the Minister, in which he states he ‘would be happy to provide the support requested’ the committee hopes that they may be able to work with the Ministry of Education and be of mutual assistance.
In particular, the committee is concerned with how the family is portrayed in the curriculum and how the family is treated in home-school relationships. The committee has asked to have access to sets of materials related to the curriculum, together with descriptions of the curriculum review process and to policies and procedures regarding parental involvement.
The terms of reference for the Committee included the following:
Cognizant of the UN Declaration of Human Rights, Art.26, Sec 3
Parents have a prior right to choose the kind
of education that shall be given their children.
The Committee will pursue their task, keeping in mind two fundamental principles which flow from the above declaration:
- the right to information, and
- the right to family privacy
The purposes of the study shall be to enquire into:
- the influence of the public education system upon attitudes towards the family as an institution,
- the influence of the public education system upon attitudes towards parental authority,
- in the home and
- in the child’s school concerning the child’s participation in school activities and choices among school courses,
- the attitudes and practices of schools towards parents when they ask questions concerning their children’s courses of study, curriculum content, progress, behavior, etc.,
The terms of reference included the expectation that the committee would make recommendations concerning the need, and the ways and means, of encouraging parents everywhere to become knowledgeable about their schools and what is being taught, …
More reports on this committee in later Postings on this Site…