Pushy PTAs?

NY Times with an accurate portrayal of PTAs today, at least relatively affluent suburban ones. As a former PTA president I can vouch for it (though I didn't wear business suits to preside, I wore mom sweaters):

“It can be a fine line between parental involvement and overinvolvement,” said Joel R. Reidenberg, a school board member in Millburn, N.J., who called the new breed of parent groups both a “great asset” and a “tough challenge” for a school system. “Right now in the suburban schools, our society is grappling with the right balance,” he said.

While few school officials were willing to speak publicly about their specific conflicts with parent groups for fear of antagonizing them, many said parents routinely go over their heads to the superintendent or school board as matter-of-factly as if they were complaining to a restaurant manager about bad service. Other principals said that some PTA parents request special treatment for their children, like assigning them to a popular teacher or excusing them from gym.

Bad service. What a concept for public schools to grapple with---the idea that we are education consumers. Let's push a little harder.

That said, some PTA parents are like stage moms---their little darlings are prima donnas. That's their payoff for their volunteer work---preferential treatment.

And that's why more suburban parents don't opt out to private schools.

One trend that I hope continues is independent PTOs. The national PTA takes a slice of local chapters' dues and uses it for liberal lobbying. They work hand in glove with the NEA, which has destroyed most urban public schools.

Other education posts: Math: Stuck on Stupid, Mediocrity Rules, Say Yes to Single Sex Education, Core (In)Competencies, Outdated Education