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E-mail This StoryThe Plano school district hosted the Empowering Parents program, out of San Diego, for an informational meeting Wednesday night at Williams High School.
“I want to educate myself about what more I can do for my kids,” Gary Hehemann said. “I want to learn how they can get an advantage in their education.”
Speakers Martha Parham and Dr. Darlene V. Willis delivered a dynamic performance to parents of Plano ISD students. Parham and Willis walked down the aisles of the auditorium speaking about their “Mean Ole Mamas.”
“When my friends could have candy for breakfast, we had to have bacon, eggs, toast, oatmeal, you name it. But when my friends could have candy and Coke for lunch, my mama said we ain’t having that,” Parham said. “We had to have bologna sandwiches or peanut butter. Dinner at my friend’s home was quite different than dinner at my house.”
“My mama was mean,” Willis said. “She insisted on knowing where I was at all times, she wanted to know where we were going, what we were doing and what time we’d be back home.”
Parents laughed together at their comedic performance of how “mean” their mamas were. The dynamic duo then spoke with parents about their Empowering Parents program and the College Bound San Diego program. The programs encourage parents to “take control of their child’s educational journey.”
The interactive workshop encouraged parents to not just be involved in their child’s education, but to be engaged. The parents need to be more engaged, realize they are their child’s first and best teacher, and the parents must fix problems in the household immediately, officials with the program said.
They outlined the parents’ obligation to their child as an empowered parent. First is to decide which educational track is best for the child, including attending a four-year university, a two-year college, career tech, military, etc. The parent must attend parent-teacher conferences and ask questions. They must also avoid the blame game and conduct their own academic assessment tests to see where their child’s deficiencies are. Parents were advised to start saving now for college. Parents should know the three educational tracks in the district, the minimum program, recommended track, and the distinguished achievement track.
A dramatic clip from the “Dr. Phil Show” depicted how “parents have let children take over.” The mother and child featured were sitting across from each other talking, then it escalated to yelling, then finally climaxed when the young boy slapped his mother. Willis warned that the event between the two didn’t start that night; it was something that built over time.
To take back control of the house, they advised parents to know first and last names of their child’s friends as well as the parent’s names. They also told parents they should know the passwords to their child’s e-mail, MySpace, Facebook, and cell phone accounts.
“It’s imperative that parents become more engaged,” Willis said. “As reserves dry up, control of the household is crucial.”
During the meeting, Cara Mendelsohn, president of the Plano ISD PTAs, passed around a sheet for the parents to include their name and contact information. Mendelsohn wants to start a Plano ISD Empowering Parents program. For parents that missed the presentation, contact Mendelsohn at president@planopta.org to sign up.
“I thought it was a fantastic and informative performance,” Hilda Benjamin said. “What I learned tonight I will incorporate into my life.”
For information about the program visit www.empoweringparents.org.
