Thursday, 28th March 2024

Thursday, 28th March 2024

Volunteering in School

23 Jun 2017

You can make a difference and help the school shape not only your child's education, but those of many others by volunteering in the school.
You can make a difference and help the school shape not only your child's education, but those of many others by volunteering in the school.
You can make a difference and help the school shape not only your child’s education, but those of many others by volunteering in the school.


As parents, you and the teachers share the responsibility of educating and nurturing your child not only with vital knowledge and skills, but also with positive attitudes and values. Effective collaboration between the school and the parent can help the child receive the maximum guidance and help he/she needs to navigate confidently through their school experience.

Have you received invitations to participate and volunteer in your child’s school/class activities and wonder how and what parents can volunteer in, that can best deliver benefits to your child? And how the manner of volunteering should change as your child grows up? Many schools have parent-volunteer projects with worthy goals. Volunteering your time and talents to support your child’s school, the teachers and the students of the school can be done in different ways, depending on the school context and your availability, preference and interest. These can include:

  • Assisting with classroom and/or class-related activities and programmes;
  • Volunteering your services for school events and functions;
  • Providing your professional or personal expertise on school matters/programmes;
  • Volunteering your time to attend to the welfare needs of students in the school;
  • Networking with other parents through school-organised parent support platforms; and
  • Getting involved in the school’s Parent Support Group.
Your volunteerism will plug both you and your child into a world of shared resources and learning. With the knowledge and viewpoints you bring as a parent, your involvement is a vital element in this home-school partnership that has both direct and indirect impact on your child’s school experience. Through this connection, you can make a difference and help the school shape not only your child’s education, but those of many others as well.
 
The volunteering landscape can tilt when your child enters secondary school or junior college/polytechnic. By this stage, your child may see the school as his/her territory and not their parents’ territory. Staying involved at this stage to strengthen the parent-teen bond may see you volunteering in different ways that your teenage child is comfortable with. By choosing to continue with your volunteerism by way of role-modelling, you are influencing and sending a strong message to your child of the spirit of volunteerism that he/she will be inspired to do likewise one day.