Dear parents by Gabbie Stroud
Allen and Unwin, 2020. ISBN: 9781760875268.
(Age: 16+) Subtitled Letters from the teacher - Your children,
their education, and how you can help. Gabby Stroud was a
dedicated teacher for fifteen years. In Dear Parents, she
shares her thoughts about education, parenting and the
parent-teacher relationship with the parents of a year 5/6 class.
The text consists of a series of emails sent to parents at intervals
during a school year, and organised into four, one-term chapters.
Unlike the professional detachment which usually characterises
teacher-parent communication, Gabby's emails are frank and
revealing. She discloses the exhaustion that results from trying to
meet the needs of her students, the demands of parents and the
education system's expectations. She also manages to find time to
parent her own children. Gabby's experiences provide evidence of the
complexity of teaching as she copes with a multitude of commitments
while catering for the learning needs of a class with diverse
backgrounds and needs. Classroom experiences give rise to
reflections about what she considers to be the negative impacts of
the crowded curriculum and standardised testing, both of which she
finds demoralising. Gabby's assertive responses to parents'
comments, questions, criticisms and praise are based on her
willingness to learn from experience and on her empathy for people
of all ages and backgrounds. Her writing ranges from blunt
descriptions of everyday life to candid observations about
Australian schooling and perceptive insights into the nature of
learning. Although the characters and setting are fictional, many
teachers will identify with her longing for the 'Magic Moments' when
students learn, as well as with her frustrations and weariness.
Parents may find that her revelations help them to understand the
challenging conditions in which teachers strive to encourage and
enable learning. They may also realise why some dedicated teachers,
including Gabby Stroud, have left the profession.
The author of Dear Parents is passionate about her vocation.
She has drawn on her personal experiences as a teacher in order to
raise fundamental questions about education in Australia.
Elizabeth Bor
