Yeah-- on the pragmatic front-- to gain influence for real is a slow process that can't be rushed. The key is this:
Respect the time of the educators you encounter.
NEVER ask for something that costs money or time unless you have something of equal value (preferably MORE value) to exchange for it.
So only rich parents or parents who don't work full time should ask for anything? It's wrong for parents to ask the school to pay for an online course when their child has exhausted the in-person offerings? As a practical matter, I would be willing to pay, since we are well off. But what if we weren't?
Inflation-adjusted spending per student has risen substantially over the decades. When I went to public school a few junior high school students were bused to high school for a morning math class. Our current school, on a larger budget, offers nothing like this. Schools have been doing less (at least in some respects) with more money, and parents should not be ashamed to ask them to do more with more, although given the structure of government monopoly schools, they are unlikely to be successful.
Of course not; however, if you can't mitigate the fiscal impact, can you or your child do something in exchange for the inconvenience/expense? THAT is the kind of
quid pro quo that school staffers REALLY understand.
It might not be time or money, but it usually needs to be something that the school, principal, or teacher needs or something that would make their lives easier somehow...but
does not step on their toes in terms of autonomy or authority. Those kinds of things tend to be highly idiosyncratic and often require very creative thinking.
Honestly, most of this is about being a team player, and then being in the right place at the right time.
