Post-primary school parents don’t want much, but nobody is listening to them
And when it comes to communication, research shows that 80% of adolescents don’t talk to their parents about sexuality and 25% of young people experience undetected serious emotional turmoil.
These are just a few of the challenges if you are a parent in today’s Ireland. But such fundamental concerns don’t get a look in at the cabinet table. However, the National Parents Council (post-primary) is addressing these issues.
We are restructuring to meet the needs of 600,000 parents and 300,000 students in second-level education.
The constitution states that we are the primary educators of our children and, according to the Education Act 1998, we are equal partners in education.
The reality is very different. Those of us involved are all volunteers and give up a huge amount of free time in the interest of our nation’s children. We get a minute fraction of the total education budget. At various meetings we waste too much time attempting to cut our cloth to suit our measure when we should be talking about vital issues that affect our children’s lives.
We are not looking for much. We want realistic funding and genuine support from the many departments that our parents/children come into contact with. Nobody is listening to us; we are corralled nicely away into a sub-section of the Department of Education and Science.
The crumbs that fall from that table are pitiful.
Jim Jackman
President
National Parents Council (post-primary)
Glasnevin Business Centre
Ballyboggan Road
Dublin 11
