Pink Spectacles – Parents' School in Majd-El-Kurum Junior High
Naim Najami, Muhamad Hugerat, Hussen Sarisf, Laura Halaila

Abstract
One of the most important thing for every person and in particularly a teenage pupil, is to feel belong to the society he lives in, and feel that his status in the given society is strong and secure. Often times we wondered how can we assist our pupils to develop a sense of belonging; what is the best way to strengthen vital behavioral patterns, and what could be done to harness pupils and parents to significant process that will be relevant to each pupil; a process that will enable all the pupils to develop in his own pace developing behaviors and acquire skills that will help him in various relationships with the environment and with himself. The project "Pink Spectacles" started in the Majd-El Kurum junior high on November 2009, following a workshop that took place in the School of Education of Haifa University. The workshop focused upon the importance of parental involvement in the education of their children and their participation in the educational work, especially parents to pupils with acute disciplinary problems and low academic achievements. A group of teachers from those who attended that workshop decided to realize an innovative idea that had been discussed in it and to establish a "school for parents", which will offer the parents relevant guidance and teach them how to look at their children through pink shades. This report will describe a unique project of school for the parents, later called "Pink Spectacles". The organization of change and improvement, lead by enthusiastic young principal, a determined sciences teacher and the teaching staff of the Majd-El-Kurum Junior High "Pink Spectacles" brings together 9th graders and their parents, while the educational staff acts as the bonding element. The program is aimed to increase parental involvement in the academic education. It thrives to improve the school atmosphere and school culture in general, and to improve pupils' self image and the way their parents perceive them. As mentioned above, the majority of the parents who participated in the workshops of "Pink Spectacles" were parents of pupils stigmatized as problematic: due to low academic scores and relatively high level of disciplinary issues, including episodes of verbal and physical violence. The findings reveal that there was an improvement in the academic achievements of these children after the intervention, and their involvement in violent incidents was significantly reduced.

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