Parent Education
Note: For most Parent Education events and meetings there will a morning session, which will be held in-person in the gazebo on campus, and an evening session, which will be held virtually on Zoom.
In order to help our parents, students, and teachers work together as a “family unit,” we offer a Parent Education program that spans the Oak Grove experience from 1st grade through 12th grade. Parent Education events are led by teachers as well as outside professionals, covering topics like Growth Mindset, social media wellness, college readiness, inquiry-based dialogue, diversity & equity, teen sexuality, and more. In addition, the program emphasizes building relationships and support networks among parents, teachers, and community members.
Our Current Parent Ed Workshop
Our first Parent Education workshop for this year is framed around electronics use and smartphones. Parents will have an opportunity to share their family media plan and discuss various approaches to electronics use. We will also explore recommendations on appropriate and safe technology use from a variety of sources. For parents of older students, we will discuss the roles that social media, gaming, and smartphone use play in our children’s lives. Here are some questions that may come up in the discussion:
- To what extent do you model appropriate electronics use around your children? Do you and your partner agree on what constitutes “appropriate” use?
- How is your child’s experience different from your own childhood due to social media, ubiquitous screens, and smartphones?
- When is the best age for your child to get a smartphone, or another internet-connected device?
- If your child already has a device, what mechanisms have you put into place to make sure your child is using it safely?
- How much time a day does your child spend on a screen? Does his/her behavior change after spending time online?
- How does social media affect your own sense of self-worth and your feelings of anxiety?
- What strategies have you implemented in the home to encourage face-to-face interaction?
Time and date: Thursday 9/23/2021,
In-person Session: 8:30 to 9:30 am in the Gazebo. For currently enrolled families.
Zoom Session: 7:00 to 8:00 pm. Open to the Public: Invite your friends; Space is Unlimited!
Recommended reading: We will frame the discussion with some excerpts from the following articles and documents. Feel free to read the articles if you have the chance or even if you aren’t able to attend the workshop:
Oak Grove School Technology Policy
The Atlantic: The Dangers of Distracted Parenting
NYTimes: This Is Our Chance to Pull Teenagers Out of the Smartphone Trap
Common Sense Media: Device Contract Guidelines
Our Parent Education program takes a two-pronged approach
First, the program is designed to support parents in raising children and adolescents through workshops on subjects such as child development, communication strategies, harm prevention, and academic support. As students advance to the secondary level, we also include sessions on college readiness and the transition into adulthood. The second goal of the program is to build relationships and support networks among parents, teachers, and community members. Oak Grove is a close-knit community, and we seek to create a healthy dialogue between staff and families in order to best serve the needs of our students.
You can refer to the button above to see the current Parent Education schedule.
On February 11, 1974, the day the school was officially announced, Oak Grove School founder J. Krishnamurti said:
And this school here, we have been discussing with the teachers, with the parents, and with the architects for the last two years. This school is entirely different from the other schools in India and England. Here the parents are involved in it, which is a new kind of experiment because if the children are going to be different then parents must also be different, otherwise there is a contradiction between the child and the parents, and there will be conflict between them. So to avoid all that we thought it would be right that the parents as well as the teachers and the students work together as a family unit.”
Parent Ed – Social Relationships & Health
Blog, Events, News, Parent EducationHumans are social animals. Does the quantity and quality of our social relationships impact our state of health, future risk of disease, and our life span? Are the effects of relationships via social media the same or different from those of in-person relationships? Please join our presenter Dr. Pathik Wadhwa in a discussion that will touch on the biological and behavioral science behind social relationships, both in-person and virtual.
Embracing The Agile Mind
Blog, Events, News, Parent Education, Staff & FacultyFormer Head of School, Meredy Benson Rice, now the Director of Teaching and Learning spoke about her personal journey as an educator and how students experience education at Oak Grove School as part of the 2015 Do Lecture Series.
Parent Ed – Unplugging in Pandemic Life
Blog, Events, News, Parent EducationIf you were not able to join us for this timely Parent Education event, or would like to review, we have provided this recording of parenting expert Dolly Klock’s special presentation on the challenge of finding a balance between screen life and real life. The recording includes attending parents’ Q&A.
Talking About Confusing World Events
Blog, News, Parent EducationAs educators and parents, we have an important role in contextualizing disturbing world events like the recent violent takeover of our country’s capitol. After a year of challenge after challenge, this will require reaching into our deepest reserves of energy and resilience. But we must do what we can to provide a sense of understanding and stability amid chaos. We are obligated to take an active role in building a healthier, more just future.
Parent Education Workshops Continue on ZOOM
Blog, Events, News, Parent EducationOur first Parent Education workshop in the series of the year looked a little different, but the content was equally impactful. Organized and facilitated by High School history teacher Will Hornblower, Parent Education Workshops have been an incredible resource, and have recently been made available to the greater community.
The Parents of the School
Blog, Parent Education, Parent PerspectiveObserving a pair of California Scrub Jays through binoculars with students and parents in the quiet early hour before school begins… Witnessing the Pavilion transform into the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia of 1905… Discovering the studio of Leonardo Da Vinci surrounded by student-crafted renditions of Mona Lisa and Self Portrait in the medium […]