Why can it be a joy to talk to a board?

A couple of months ago, I was asked to talk to the Australian board of mainly music. ‘mainly music’, ‘mainly play’ and ‘mainly babies’ are community groups that young parents can join for weekly sessions with other caregivers (Preschool Music and Movement Activities & Music Sessions for Toddlers – mainly music and mainly play Australia). They offer support, friendship, and the joy of watching pre-kinder little ones play music or listen to a story in a structured environment.

When I think back to having babies, it was lonely without a large family around. Being part of a group where people are at a similar stage in life can bring about all sorts of support.

What encouraged me was that mainly music had the desire to link into educational institutions to learn more about trends within schools. They wanted to explore whether their service to the community could be enhanced with knowledge of what is happening specifically in primary schools.

How else can these services find out what trends primary schools are seeing develop, especially post-COVID, without opening a dialogue within these education institutions?

The first joy I discovered about talking to the board was the very nature of their desire to have me come and address them directly.

The main question they asked me to explore during my 20-minute board talk was:

‘What changes are you seeing in children entering the education system?’

Specifically, they were looking for changes that might help them shape the content of sessions to better prepare children for learning, realising that they play a small but helpful role, particularly with children who aren’t exposed to early learning.

As part of my talk, there were four key points that I believe are important to any parent who is engaging in the community with preschool children.

1.     What happens at school? There are genuine fears today for parents thinking about what will happen to their children when they send them to school. Will they be bullied? Will they be hurt? Is it safe? Will they have a learning difficulty? Will they make friends? A rise in anxiety for new parents is real and terrifying.

How refreshing and exciting it was to see the care and desire to help understand these fears. Many board members had children a while ago and did not have the COVID-19 baby experience, nor did they experience seeing the daily news of violence in some schools. Opening this conversation enables discussion about how we can allay as many fears as possible and what to do when difficult times come in a child’s life, which will inevitably happen at some point.

2.      How will we fit in? Schools are more culturally diverse than ever, which can create a lack of understanding between people. There is a spectrum of thinking on technology, risk-taking, social and emotional skills, teaching experiences and what generally creates a good life and a good person.

Opportunities to encourage mixing and understanding each other's cultures can enhance our experience of life. It also means that children will grow up together in a world with more curiosity and acceptance of other's ways. It generally doesn’t mean some people are right or wrong, it is just another way of living and thinking.

Enabling time to get to know each other culturally builds a way of life and helps us to think about other possible ways of bringing up children that might indeed be helpful.

Where else do you get to talk to a diverse group about topics such as whether overscheduling a child is helpful or not, what foods will encourage a child to eat their vegetables, whether children can walk to school and at what age, to name a few.

3.      How will we cope? The effects of COVID-19 still linger. Absenteeism in schools continues to rise, mental health and special needs are increasing, and the cost of living is increasing the worries of parents.

It is better that we do life together, connecting and supporting as a community, as a village. When someone can’t cook or afford books for their child we can all do something small – who knows what situations we all will face one day when we too need someone to help out. Even the opportunity of having a uniform drive with hand-me-downs can be so helpful. Community groups have a wonderful chance to help and eliminate the shame of asking for help.

4.    Is learning different now? There are changes in the school curriculum that pre-kinder playgroups do not have access to. For example, traditional ways of teaching reading have gone. This can create a surprise and huge anxiety and confusion for new parents as they just don’t understand how to help their children in the new ways when they get there.

Having someone in the community group who is well-read in the latest educational trends can be helpful in frontloading parents on what is to come and how to prepare for it. Or better yet, inviting local educators to come and speak to parents or your board would be a wonderful service you could provide.

It was a quick 20-minute talk with what was hopefully a helpful PowerPoint to a board that is responsible for the effective governing of the services mainly music provides as well as their investment and care for our children's futures. I hope that the words spoken will speak into small changes to help future parents and how we do life together.

I encourage all educators to avail themselves to boards and groups to keep the education conversation alive.

If any boards would appreciate some insight into education for parents or community groups please contact me via my website www.thinkingeducation.org