Half-day seminar for parents with Catholic education at heart

The recently formed Association of Parents in Church Schools (APCS) is holding its first initiative: a half-day seminar on November 16 focusing on important and basic aspects related to participation.

The seminar is being held at the New Dolmen Hotel, Qawra, from 8.30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Among the speakers who have confirmed their presentations are Dr Peter Grech, who will deal with the law as it affects education. He will consider and comment, step by step, on the various national and international legislative instruments and how the principles entrenched in these laws affect and influence the parents and their right to educate their children.

Dr Grech will then explore the Malta-Holy See agreement of Sep-tember 1998, which confirms the right of the Church in Malta to educate freely and unhindered. Thus, Catholic education in these islands is guaranteed on a permanent basis.

The next speaker will be Fr George Deguara, the Archbishop's Delegate for Catechesis, who will speak on "What is Catholic in Catholic Education?" Parents often take for granted the education of their children, once they secure a place for them in a Church school.

They tend to sit back, and quite complacently accept all that goes on in their children's school. I suspect that parents are afraid to ask questions and raise concerns with both the administrators and the teacher in class.

"What makes Church schools different from others?"; "What targets are Church schools aiming at and actually achieving?"; "What Christian formation are the children actually receiving?" These and other serious questions are not being asked by the parents who have the highest stake in the school.

Dr Carmel Borg, head of Primary Education in the Faculty of Education at the University of Malta, will share his vast experience in the training of teachers and talk about "how parents can prepare and empower their children to learn to the best of their ability and potential".

Children learn best when they are well prepared and ready to enter the world of learning. This preparation comes from home. The parents are responsible for this pre-entry stage of the child's life. Participation begins even years before the child sets foot in school.

Short of this preparation, the task of the teacher becomes difficult, if not impossible. I am sure parents will have many questions to ask Dr Borg during the seminar.

Ray Abela has been given a slot in the morning to talk about the intricacies and concerns of parents in the use of the Internet. This input should also prove of great interest to parents, especially those, like me, who have difficulty in understanding the ins and outs of computing.

Do we know and understand the computer language and vocabulary? Do we know what information our children look up in the Internet? What are the possible dangers in the Internet? What is our responsibility, as parents, in making the Internet available to our children?

The Internet, as we all know, has great potential and many positive possibilities for the education of children. It gives the child the responsibility for learning, finding out and discovering.

However, there are concerns that we need to address to ensure that our children do not become the victims of technological advancement. Mr Abela will advise on the best way to go about attending to the needs of our children as they explore the Internet.

As director of Services in Education in Church Schools, I will listen to parents' ideas and vision of the Church school of the future. I am sure parents have a great deal to say on this subject. This session, close to the end of the seminar, will include suggestions and views to those concerned for the benefit of their children.

Apart from this last hour, parents will have the opportunity to ask questions at the end of each short input by the speakers. Thus, the parents will feel, even at this seminar, that they are not only participating but also contributing in the educative effort.

The APCS, set up on the initiative of the Secretariat for Education of the Archdiocese of Malta, is also currently drawing up a business plan, which it intends to adopt and work on during the next five years. This business plan is meant to serve present and future councils as a footprint for development in parental participation in the education of children, in particular those in Church schools.

Participation in this seminar is free, thanks to the various sponsors who have kindly offered to support the association. Anyone interested in attending can phone me on 2590-6302 (mornings only), fax 2590-6756; or e-mail brosavfsc@maltachurch.org.mt.