Language & Parental Involvement

For the past year and a half, the Seventh Montessori School in Amsterdam has been offering the Language and Parental Involvement course by TopTaal. It has been a success, as parents now play a much more active role within the school. Funded by the municipality, the Language and Parental Involvement course is intended for fathers and mothers of primary school-aged children. Through this program, the municipality encourages parents to learn the Dutch language and increase their involvement in both their child's school and their language development. The objectives of the course are threefold: improving parents' language skills so they are better able to support their child's development, increasing parental participation at their child's school, and finally, preparing parents for further steps toward participation, volunteer work, or education.

The curriculum was developed by the professionals at TopTaal. And it is successful. The Seventh Montessori School is one of over forty participating schools. Three times a year, parents can sign up for a series of twenty lessons. After that, they are expected at their child's school two mornings a week. The school does need a suitable classroom for this, but the costs of the lessons are otherwise minimal and limited to a blackboard, pens, and paper. Principal Eva Meilof believes it is important for parents to feel at home in the school. For that reason alone, she is pleased with the TopTaal courses. 'In the past, you saw that parents had more difficulty asking questions or offering help. They would drop their children off at the school's front door and leave immediately. Now you notice that they are starting to see the school much more as part of their own lives. And they ask questions and help out at school.'

Lice mother

To feel more confident in this society, parents of non-Dutch origin often need guidance. Courses in which they not only improve their language skills but also get to know the school better help with this, according to Eva. 'These are parents who find it difficult to make contact. In the lessons, they often deal with the same themes as their children; if it's Children's Book Week, teacher Anelli tells them a lot about it. And when we have a Health theme week, attention is also paid to that within the Language and Parental Involvement course.'

It is not easy for the teacher to provide a tailored approach to every student every time. The educational level of the participants varies greatly. Anelli also sees that one parent primarily wants to learn to speak better, while another parent in the same group benefits much more from explanations about upbringing. How do you deal with a child who only wants to play video games? And what do you do with a child who has trouble controlling their energy? By addressing questions that are relevant within the group, Anelli ensures that parents become more proficient in parenting, but also that they find each other more easily. They build a network and become well-informed. Both Eva and Anelli find it very wonderful to see.

The yield of the lessons is high, Eva believes. 'We have a group of enthusiastic people who learn new skills in a relaxed way. That is good for themselves but also for their children. Because the parents are at school more often, it is easy for them to immerse themselves in their children's world. In addition, they regularly help out at school, as a lice mother or in the library, for example. They support each other a lot in this. For children, it is very good to see that their parents continue to learn. I would find it terrible if the lessons had to stop. Fortunately, there is no question of that at the moment.'

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