Sudden Impact’s “Courage for Change” series helps parents support their children’s education
By Keemia Zhang
Sudden Impact, a nonprofit founded by John Adams Middle School Assistant Principal Joesph Eure, SMMUSD worker Melvin Miller, and Leo Pasada, has launched a book series aimed at informing parents about the educational system.
The series, “Courage for Change”, was written by Eure, who worked as a teacher for 11 years in LAUSD and has been a middle school administrator for 9 years in SMMUSD.
“Parents just want the best for their kids,” Eure says. “But many times, parents don’t know how.”
Eure and his colleagues state that child development in school is a collaborative process between the child, parent, and teacher, but parents of all backgrounds struggle with knowing the tools and strategies needed to support their children.
“Parents want help, they want support, they’re looking for tools – but the only ones who are holding that information are the educators,” Eure explains. “It should be schools working with families for the benefit of the student.”
Eure believes that there are three central “myths” hindering parents from helping their children – “‘I don’t have time’, ‘the schools will take care of it all’ and ‘I don’t have the education necessary to help my child.’” Courage for Change aims to dispel these myths, and urges parents to reflect on their own time management and capabilities.
“My own daughter once told her teacher that ‘all my dad does is watch TV and use his iPhone’ [while helping her with homework],” Eure said. admits. “That wasn’t the case, but that was her reality,” Eure says.
He now prioritizes making his daughter his sole focus during studying. “Nothing is more important than her education and her knowing I’m serious and here to support her,” Eure said.
Sudden Impact’s official goal is to “inform and empower 100,000+ parents and guardians”. The group’s focus is to provide in-school workshops to assist parents in using the material.
“We can walk them through how to navigate the system, how to navigate the parent-teacher meetings. Through the playbooks and workshops we provide, we feel they will go into these meetings informed and empowered,” Eure said.
Courage for Change, which was released in January, will eventually release targeted books for student-athletes and students in need of accommodations. Eure aims to expand the group’s reach over time, having given workshops and attended conferences in Pico-Union, Long Beach, and the Central Valley
“ I never even thought about migrant workers in the Central Valley who put food on our plates, in our markets. They want the same thing for our kids and everybody else does. A better life. They don’t know how to navigate the educational system. It would be a dream come true to go up and provide support and education for the families,” Eure said.
