Parents United

“Finding good players is easy. Getting them to play as a team is another story.” Casey Stengel

I love social media.  I love Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, StumbleUpon, etc.

It can be a negative experience (people getting personal, trolling, etc) but generally I have found it to be a really helpful tool.  From Facebook, I learned that a pilot into lead schools in Ashford was not continuing (after not applying for a unit after being told it would no longer exist); from Twitter, I learned all about the SEN Green Paper, etc.

The most useful thing has been other parents sharing their experiences.  Putting a status or tweet asking for advice always comes back with so much information.  I produced a Stress leaflet for parents of children with SEN in three hours just using Facebook and Twitter for feedback.  The leaflet has been so well received because it was written by parents in the same position as us.

https://www.kentpeps.co.uk/document-resources.aspx

I saw a few status updates and tweets today which got me thinking.  What would happen if we all united?  We spend so much time fighting our own battles, or fighting on behalf of a friend that we feel for.  What would happen if we put that passion together, delegated roles for everyone, co-ordinated our battles and really did unite?

We would be an amazing force to be reckoned with if we all actually put aside any personal issues with other people and got together.  We all have talents, we all have followers, we could all make a difference.

Sadly, some people will never be team players as they want to help but they also want (or sometimes need) the credit too.  Sadly, we see petitions on FB and Twitter about something we all supposedly feel passionate about but then you look and see only a handful have signed it.

I live in the hope that one day, people will realise that shouting on their own may help them but it won’t necessarily help others.

I’m up for uniting to make a difference.  Are you?