Parents as Partners in Education

Parenting Now Symposium: Life Literacy

On Saturday morning, October 27, over 200 parents gathered at St. Patrick's High School eager to learn how they could become full partners in their children's education.  The symposium opened with  an inspirational keynote address by Ms. Pabi Rizal, a former student in the Ottawa Catholic School Board's Language Instruction For Newcomers to Canada program.

Pabi Rizal sharing her amazing story

One might ask, "What could a deaf Butanese refugee at the tender age of 21 possibly have had to say to a large group of parents looking for advice on how to help their children be successful at school?"  My answer to this question can be found in the brief introduction of the keynote speaker that I gave at the symposium:

Dear Parents,

In way of introducing today’s keynote speaker, Ms. Pabi Rizal, let me ask you to consider the following scenarios:

1.     1. Your grade 4 son refuses to go to school on a cold, rainy Monday morning because he says he’s being bullied at school.

2.    2. Your grade 8 daughter hides her report card from you for a week. You subsequently discover that she is doing poorly in many subjects.

3.   3. The school calls you at work informing you that your grade 9 son has been skipping classes for several days in a row.

Are you discouraged?  Are you saddened? Are you angry with your child’s school?

Now let me give you one last scenario:

-   Your child grows up in poverty in a refugee camp on the other side of the world.  She, like some of her siblings, is born deaf.  She comes to Canada unable to communicate either by spoken English or a recognizable sign language.  She experiences culture shock.

Are she and her parents discouraged?  Are they saddened? Do they shake their fists at the injustice of it all?

Ladies and gentlemen, “no”, because this is Pabi Rizal, and beside her is her family.  She and they have mastered the skills of life literacy.  She and they know that barriers, even enormous ones, can be overcome through partnerships among the home, school, parish, and the greater community.

Yours Truly with the remarkable Pabi Rizal

To view Pabi's presentation, use the following link:  http://www.ottawacspa.ca/media.php?mid=892

Several workshops at the Parenting Now symposium focused on the key areas of literacy and numeracy.  For instance, teachers Joan Barry and Kim Lacelle, along with Arts Consultant Janice Barclay, introduced parents to the new Ministry of Education resource guide Helping Your Child With Reading and Writing - A Guide For Parents.  Teachers Erin Elliot and Diane Proulx helped parents understand the new elementary math classroom, while a trio of Mother Teresa teachers - Chris Atkinson, Maureen McNeil, and Tom Steinke - introduced parents to the new technologies being used in the high school mathematics classroom. 

Congratulations to all members of the Catholic School Parent's Association, and in particular CSPA Chair Cathy Philpott and Susan Elsdon, Communications Coordinator, for this great event.