My Tip of the Week: Stop Worrying about Meeting Attendance
My advice to you this new school year: Stop worrying so much about attendance at your meetings. Focusing on who attends meetings is a sure-fire way to get depressed about your group's progress and, frankly, a waste of your time and energy.
I've seen great groups that don't have meetings. I've seen great groups that struggle to get even four people to meetings. I've seen great groups with excellent meeting attendance. They were great because of the work they did at their school, the involvement they fostered, the school community they helped create, the support they gave their teachers, the communication channel they created between school and home. Not at all because of their meeting attendance or lack thereof.
The fact is that meetings are boring and parents are busier than ever. I'd much rather have lousy meeting attendance and a highly successful family night (with lots of volunteers) than great meeting attendance and just a few sparsely attended events. No question.
Putting meetings in perspective is a key skill for a new officer. We also have a great section on the site about running better meetings. Hope you'll enjoy both.
