>>Nonsense = things like Father/Daughter dances, Halloween parties and the like being supported by schools.
>>There are other institutions in the society for that kind of activity and there are private schools parents can use which allow people to do pretty much whatever they like.
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>Leaving out Father/Daughter dances, these events are not supported by schools; they support schools. PTAs, PTOs, etc. raise tons of money for schools, and often contribute really meaningful things. For example, in my kids' elementary school, the PTO paid for assembly programs (with professional involvement in selecting them), as well as over a 5-year period, putting fans into every classroom in this un-air conditioned school. Can't remember what school it was (one I went to, one my kids went to, one my mom taught in), but the PTO paid for buses for one trip per class per year, essentially ensuring that every class got at least one trip per year.
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>In my experience, PTOs ran a range of activities, some purely to raise funds for other stuff, some as a mix of fundraising and fun, some serious and some just for fun. Even the last help to build the school community, making it better for the kids.
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>Tamar

Building the school community?
If you mean involving meddlesome parents, I don't think that's such a good thing.
I do know that kids whose parents pay attention to their school work do better than those without that support, but we don't need school communities for that.
We need families with parents, first of all, and then we need attentive parents.
We'll have to disagree on this.
I see the PTO's as annoying meddlers without enough serious things to do.