After reading all the posts here, I naturally had to chime in with
MY $0.02!
The way I see it, Daron represents a lot of pro-PTA people--they somehow feel morally superior for supporting the PTA, and feel PTOers are doing their children, school and America as a whole a dis-service by not supporting the PTA. NOT ALL PTA PEOPLE FEEL THIS WAY, especially those that are members of the PTA only because it's the parent-teacher group available at their school. In fact, I don't think there'd be a lot of PTA members at all if it weren't for that fact, and that because the PTA is hardly pro PTO, they don't go out of their way to educate people they CAN go PTO. Having had a rather unpleasant experience with my school's PTA, my views about the PTA are hardly unbiased. And by saying "the PTA", I mean the PTA AS WELL AS it's function as THE parent group in my son's school. I have a real problem with not with the PTA's stands on issues, because I agree with a lot of them, but I DO have a problem with anyone FROM THE OUTSIDE making demands of me, and telling me what I should or should not be doing in my school. However, pro-PTO people aren't perfect either, and have this nasty habit of acting like because a school decides to stay PTA they are somehow not able to think for themselves.
Personally, I'm not for the PTA as
THE parent group at a school. It's moved too far from it's noble beginnings and encompasses too much outside education to be able to say it speaks for ALL the children. Too many issues they are interested in don't effect ALL the children and it shouldn't say that it speaks for ALL the children. Hot lunches, immunizations, quality books, quality programs and quality teachers DO affect ALL children. I dislike that one must be a paying member and support the things that DON'T in order to be allowed to be an involved parent in your school. I DO think that every school
SHOULD have a
PTA, because it DOES have a national platform we can use to effect changes in our children's lives. But I think that membership should be left to the individual parent. I also think every school should have a
PTO. That is, a group of parents and teachers doing what IS GOOD FOR THE CHILDREN IN
THAT SCHOOL. Every school is different, and as such needs a group that reflects THAT SCHOOL'S needs and make-up. YES,
no PTO speaks for ALL the parents in that school, but it comes much closer than the PTA as a whole does. I think for someone to say ONLY one or the other is the best is crazy, because then you're silencing that "dissenting" voice that so often has something valid to say! Everyone keeps saying "I'm not knocking _________," but as soon as you say there should only be one or the other at a school, you ARE.
I think it also needs to be pointed out that Tim and his staff DO have a vested interest in making this website and magazine profitable. As they SHOULD, because it's they're
for profit entities! He isn't some sort of nonprofit saint, nor is the NPN network, and shouldn't be held up as so. He ISN'T EVIL though because of that either! So for Tim to not exactly be pro PTA isn't a problem for me becase the PTA can take care of itself, why shouldn't PTOs have a place--even if Tim does make a buck on it in this case? Should he or others affiliated with PTO Today point out shortcomings of the PTA, they may not be doing it to ultimately make a greater profit, but maybe can help those involved with the PTA see it's faults so they can be recitified. Like it was said, just because you're "for profit" doesn't mean you're all bad, just as being "nonprofit" doesn't mean you're all good.