Flying: An Ode To The Parent.

Flying: An Ode To The Parent.

In honor of our 10th anniversary, Ouders & Onderwijs asked poet Gershwin Bonevacia to write an ode to the parent. 'Flying' became not only an ode to the parent but also to the hard work of everyone at Ouders & Onderwijs.

Flying – Gershwin Bonevacia

Being a parent is not a bonus, it is like building a big temple but never finishing it, because you work on an endless exhibition.

A parent is not an idea, but a body, a shell, a journey towards more, a thread you can follow if you have stayed behind, the invisible heroes who lay the foundation for their children’s success.

In the dynamics of education, parents are often the silent forces behind the scenes. They have found a way to exchange the ticking of clocks for the beating of their hearts and live in a wish of the present without endangering the wishes of children going to school.

In the shadow of classrooms, in the quiet moments of the evening, in the invisible fields of education, there is a parent, not only for the moment but as a source. The feeling is like looking at an empty space in the air because you know light will burn there someday, the feeling is like closing your eyes but not being afraid to fall, actually feeling everything rise inside you. A landscape decorated to the rhythm of a child.

It is not a fight where only the strongest survive, but a composition in which we all contribute a piece, like instruments in an opera or words in a poem. This is a long and continuous story.

There is one task: to be part of an educational movement, to be the backbone of the education process.

This is a plea for the parents who guide their children on their journey through education, who encourage them to dream and strive beyond the current point. To the parents who, despite all obstacles they encounter, still believe in the gentle value. That it is a magical collection of being, a deep commitment, between parents, teachers and children, focused on creating an environment where children can rise, parents as ladder.

Parents as the bridge between home and school, parents as partners in the education process, parents as home base for their identity, development and self-confidence. Parents as fuel children need to chase their dreams and overcome obstacles. Parents are not pawns in a geopolitical chess game, parents do not fade under pressure from political agendas.

Parents with a voice, we give parents a voice, parents on a pedestal and that is our task. Strengthening parents with personal advice, information, perspective.

This is ‘the Staat van de Ouder’ along Tailored Education, parent contribution, participation and the education system, always in relation to the most decisive factor for education quality: the teacher.

Parents and education are an interaction, along language and math for parents towards politics, the education sector and in the media.

A journey to the future with the fellow travelers: everyone who embodies the field. A route along administrators, inequality and student transportation.

A future where we do not look away from complexities, conflict, under-advising, bullying, special education nearby, teacher shortage, health problems, language barriers or financial difficulties, which can hinder their involvement. A rollercoaster of emotions, peaks of joy and valleys of frustration, a future of courage and guts, knowledge and involvement, a future full of ideas and networks.

A future where every child can swallow the main courses, without an inequality melody.

A future where parents and education, where education and parents exist in relation, not simply as a formality we put on paper but as the beating heart of every child who goes to school.

Parents and education: not consisting of fixed waves, a system, but from the position of the moon, from the necessity that everyone who comes here gets an answer to a question, from the necessity that every parent can leave something we need to think about together.

And maybe that is our task: to support and empower these parents, to offer them the means and chances they need to actively participate in their children’s education. Providing parents with the right information and advice, so children in education can learn to fly.

Prefer to watch?

Watch a shortened version ‘Flying’ by Gershwin Bonevacia here.