Live to live : Parents graduate from parenting workshop hosted by Clarendon school
Published:Tuesday | April 4, 2017 | 12:00 AMCecelia Campbell Livingston
MILK RIVER, Clarendon:
While schools struggle with parental conflicts surrounding students, one guidance counsellor decided to take matters into her own hands and created a 'parent support' training programme under the theme 'Live To Live'.
Eileen Osbourne, counsellor at Rest Primary and Junior High School in Milk River, could not be more proud as 19 of the 28 parents who initially started the six week intensive course received their certificates.
"The course was created from the belief that parents have a pivotal role to play in the lives of their children. If we helped the parents understand what is expected of them, I know they would perform better," she said in her overview of the programme.
The course, which covered topics such as rights of children, responsibilities of parents' contributing factors in deviant behaviour in children and alternatives to corporal punishment showed parents how to be better at their responsibilities.
futuristic outlook
The rationale for the theme to help parents, as outlined by keynote speaker Pastor Carlton Dunkley, is to help parents to look beyond the now and see the future to invest appropriately in themselves and their children.
"Parents were made aware of the critical role they play in the lives of their children, leaving with a better understanding of the rights of the child and their responsibilities," he shared.
Dunkley reminded them of the great task of parenting, pointing out that it is one of the most difficult jobs.
"If you have five children, you don't necessarily raise them the same way, they have different attitudes and different behavioural pattern. You can be trained to be a good teacher and doctor, but training to be a good parent is a step in the right direction. The job of a parent is something that we will have to continue learning as long as we live," he said.
Osbourne urged parents to do more research and not to stop at the training sessions hosted at the school.
Speaking on behalf of the graduands, Natoya Thompson said her life has been totally changed as a result of the training she received.
"It has been weeks of learning and grooming ourselves on things that we have forgotten. We will do our best to take the message across to other parents to help groom them in the right way," is the promise she made.
Of the 19 parents who graduated, there were two fathers in the group. Dunkley said this offered him great hope.