Parenting in Disguise: Unraveling the Village

Format

Individual Presentation

Location

Plimsoll

Strand #1

Family & Community

Relevance

In many rural areas, parents are underemployed and uneducated, or they work out of town during the 2nd and 3rd shifts. Due to lack of education and conflicting work schedules, many parents do not find it easy to have an active involvement in their children's school or even in their communities. Therefore, this proposal is well within the focus of FAMILY AND COMMUNITY.

This proposal is directly related to the FAMILY AND COMMUNITY STRAND. It is becoming more and more necessary for parents and others in the community to take an active role in the lives of their children and their children's education. In this presentation, we will show a direct correlation between parents of students and the rest of the community to the overall well-being of students who received needed support. We will show how the benefits are holistic in nature. We will unravel the village, to show how simply the very complex task can be achieved.

Brief Program Description

MAIN OBJECTIVE: To provide target audience with a tried-and-tested approach to improve parent and community involvement in student life.

TOPICS:

(1) Breaking down communication barriers

(2) Aiding parents to re-establish ownership of their self-worth

(3) Relaying examples of involvement (including collaboration with others in the community)

TARGET AUDIENCE: Teachers, School Counselors, School Administrators, and Mental Health Specialists

Summary

Parenting in Disguise: Unraveling the Village

This presentation will unravel the village that is often mentioned in this phrase: "It takes a village to raise a child." Parents will be identified as the key figures of the village; the community is secondary. Myths about parents will be debunked to reflect the core values of concern that parents hold dear yet are so reluctant to make public. Discussed will be strategies on how to overcome missed opportunities to invest in parents and their talents that can be used to effectively help reach students and to provide a more conducive environment for student academic success and mental health. Ideas on how to engage the rest of the community will be conveyed. The goal is to connect the dots from students to parents, parents to school, and parents to community. At the end of the presentation, participants will feel empowered to take this approach back to their communities for immediate implementation. Handouts will be provided.

Evidence

For the past three years, I have worked in a rural community as a healthy relationship facilitator of an outside organization. This rural community does not have an established PTO or PTA. However, I have been humbly privileged to see more than 100 parents per year show up annual celebrations over the course of the 3 years and 15-30 parents at routine meetings. The entire school district took note and has been in awe over how many parents have shown up. Local and state government officials have inquired about the parent involvement success and have frequented the events to see for themselves. Currently, the programming is being modeled for implementation by other agencies and in other school districts.

Biographical Sketch

Mrs. Martha Nelson Jones is a retired Behavior Specialist for the Muscogee County School District. She founded SMIA (Successful Motivation in Action) in 1998. SMIA's purpose is to spread the message that every human being is born with an intrinsic (inherent, built-in, natural) motivation when focused can handle all things in everyday life. "There exists within all of us the ability to accomplish our most desired goals." SMIA's mission is to help each individual to realize their goals and diligently strive to achieve them. Each seminar is designed to focus on intrinsic motivation. "Inside each unique individual there is a huge flow of intrinsic motivation." SMIA's purpose is to focus the individual on his or her own intrinsic motivation and use it to produce successful actions, thus creating SUCCESSFUL MOTIVATION IN ACTION. SMIA gives immediate attention to this issue. SMIA seminars can be tailored to fit all ages from kindergarten to college and pre-adolescence to senior citizens.

Keyword Descriptors

parent, community, involvement, support, communication, family

Presentation Year

2016

Start Date

3-8-2016 2:45 PM

End Date

3-8-2016 4:00 PM

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Mar 8th, 2:45 PM Mar 8th, 4:00 PM

Parenting in Disguise: Unraveling the Village

Plimsoll

MAIN OBJECTIVE: To provide target audience with a tried-and-tested approach to improve parent and community involvement in student life.

TOPICS:

(1) Breaking down communication barriers

(2) Aiding parents to re-establish ownership of their self-worth

(3) Relaying examples of involvement (including collaboration with others in the community)

TARGET AUDIENCE: Teachers, School Counselors, School Administrators, and Mental Health Specialists