Dear Parents

Written by Gabbie Stroud, author of the national bestseller Teacher, Dear Parents is a passionate call to arms for all parents to understand their role as their children's lifelong teachers, showing how they can help their kids' educators and schools achieve the best outcomes for the next generation.

So many Australian parents are buying the government line about standardised testing of students through programs like NAPLAN and My School, which make them think they are getting results because of rankings and comparisons. But they don't seem to realise that these new forms of assessment are actually negatively affecting our kids' ability to gain the crucial life skills and appreciation for learning that have been, and should be, the main aim of teaching.

In Dear Parents, a funny, heartfelt and impassioned series of letters to the mothers, fathers and caregivers of Australia, Gabbie Stroud makes a plea to all parents to understand the fundamental changes to the way their children are being taught, and the results of this process on the development of future generations. She wants parents to recognise their responsibility as their children's primary educators and to appreciate the lifelong benefits that committed and dedicated school teachers can bring to their kids.

'A moving and inspiring journey through teaching and learning and all they can be. If you have a young person in your life, or know somebody who does, please read this book.' - Morris Gleitzman, Australian Children's Laureate

'Gabbie Stroud's Dear Parents is a crucial bridge between two important pillars in education - parents and teachers - but most importantly, it holds at its passionate heart the best interests of children. If you want to understand the way your children are being educated in these challenging times, and whether the system is fit for purpose, you must read this funny, informative, and eye-opening book.' - Lucy Clark, author of the critically acclaimed Beautiful Failures
About the Author: GABBIE STROUD is a freelance writer, novelist and recovering teacher. After years of juggling the demands of the primary classroom, she became disenchanted and disillusioned, eventually making the painful decision to leave the profession she had loved. In 2016, her critical commentary of Australia's education system was published in Griffith Review's Edition 51 Fixing the System, which went on to be shortlisted for a Walkley Award. Gabbie's smash-hit memoir Teacher was shortlisted for Biography Book of the Year at the 2018 ABIA Awards and contributed to the national dialogue on education. Gabbie lives on the far south coast of New South Wales, where she co-parents her totally awesome girls - Olivia and Sophie, aka Yaya and The Boph.