Dear Editor,
It’s a mistake to claim that parents of Gilroy High students and
teachers at the school are enemies, based only on the actions of
the officers of the GHS Parent Club.
Dear Editor,
It’s a mistake to claim that parents of Gilroy High students and teachers at the school are enemies, based only on the actions of the officers of the GHS Parent Club. If you had come to the last GHS Parent Club meeting, you would have seen that very few parents attended and therefore the GHS Parent Club does not truly represent a majority of parents of GHS students.
If a complaint is being filed by the club’s board, I must emphasize that the complaint is being filed only by the officers of the club, not by a large group of parents. I am a parent and a member of the GHS Parent Club. I was never asked if I thought a complaint should or should not be filed. I may or may not have supported filing a complaint – my point here is that I was not offered the opportunity to state my opinion and therefore, any action taken by the “GHS Parent Club” at this point, only reflects the opinions of the current club officers, and possibly a few others.
The same goes for the resolution that the board enacted with regard to the Day of Silence. Any resolution they made reflects their opinions only. If there was a motion to file a complaint or a motion with regard to the Day of Silence, then I, and many others, missed it. I object to their opinion being attributed to the entire GHS Parent Club, and by extension, to me.
What I would like to see is a club that reflects the participation of more than a dozen parents, and with a clearly defined vision to support teachers and students. The current club has done an outstanding job supporting teachers and students in practical ways. With the money raised, the GHS Parent Club has bought much needed supplies for the teachers, bought books for the library, sponsored teacher appreciation days and much more, including organizing and presenting a wildly successful career fair.
However, I do not support the idea of a GHS Parent Club attempting to drive policy reform in the school or taking it upon itself to become involved in controversial issues such as the Day of Silence. Individual parents can, and should, take a stand on those kinds of issues, as they see fit. Also, focused committees can be raised to address issues relating to policy and desired new curriculum (as has been done effectively in the past, e.g., the introduction of honors courses).
A single organization, which represents all sorts of parents at the school, should not take a stand on controversial issues unless it has unanimous agreement from all its members on the issue. Even the casual observer knows that getting a unanimous vote on anything in Gilroy is not in the plan. And plainly, all it does is cause is division among people who otherwise would be happy to work side-by-side for a common cause.
I would encourage members of the GHS Parent Club to discuss what the charter of the club should be, vote on it, make it clear, and stick by it. If you have a child attending GHS now, or an incoming freshman, please attend the last GHS Parent Club meeting of the year and participate. It’s up to us to set the tone and direction of the GHS Parent Club for the coming year.
If I’m in the minority and most people think that the club should be involved in more than what I have defined above as appropriate, they should go for it. In that case, they need to make it clear in their statements, stands, and resolutions that they do not represent the entire parent community and they should not call themselves THE GHS Parent Club. They could call themselves The GHS Parent Club Which Does Not Necessarily Represent the Opinions of a Majority of Parents (that’s GHS PCWDNNROMP for short).
Lisa Clark, Gilroy
