Parents have got to become more involved with their child's school rather than just showing their faces once or twice a year for sports day.This was one of a series of education topics up for discussion at a new interactive style of public meeting being put to the test by the One Bermuda Alliance.The focus areas at an education forum this week were parental involvement, the technical/vocational curriculum, life skills, a longer school day and preschools.But instead of sitting in rows and listening like a usual town hall meeting, it was down to the public to do all the talking.About 30 people a mixture of teachers and parents sat around one of five tables to address the topic of most interest to them.They were given a number of key questions to answer before reporting back to the rest of the group at the Willowbank Conference Centre.The event was hosted by Constituency 33 candidate Toni Spring, with Shadow Education Minister Grant Gibbons, Shadow Minister for Seniors Louise Jackson, Shadow Health Minister Kathy Michelmore and OBA chairman Thad Hollis also in attendance.Ms Spring, who is a teacher at The Adult Education School, said there were those parents who were involved in their child's schooling and those who were never seen.She said: “Some parents take part in the odd PTA meeting or attend sports day, but that's it, they are at nothing else.“Then there are the parents you always see at school, they help in the classroom and they volunteer at fundraisers.”She added: “I taught someone for three years and never once saw a parent.”The parental involvement group agreed it would be beneficial for all parents to “somehow be involved” as it would likely improve children's academic work and attitude.This prompted an open and honest discussion with one father saying he wished he'd played more of a hands-on role at his children's school.He said: “I don't think there can ever be enough parental involvement. I regret not being more involved … I don't remember any letters requesting me to do anything. I don't even know if there was a PTA.”Ideas put forward included schools having open-door policies, parents being on lunchtime playground duty and incentives for schoolchildren, such as non-uniform days, if they encouraged their parents to attend PTA meetings.The technical/vocational group discussed how specific training would help to encourage more Bermudians into jobs such as masons, nurses and chefs.They agreed all middle and senior schools should teach a variety of basic job training to give students “those introductory skills they'd never forget”.Members said they were “shocked” that many schools no longer included this type of training and discussed the merits of training in needlework, carpentry and woodwork.The group said there “can be no us and them” and “no-one should judge someone as being of a lesser value” before agreeing that those who had specific trades often displayed a high competence in maths and science.Those people in the life skills group addressed the issue of counselling and how there is one counsellor per 200 students in public schools compared to one for 35 students in private schools. They also agreed on the importance of teaching children about Bermuda's history and culture as it was said that some children failed to identify “typically Bermudian” past-times such as making kites, Gombey dancing and eating codfish and potatoes.It was suggested that the curriculum should be “given more of a Bermuda flavour” and students should visit the House of Assembly to learn about Bermuda's politics. One woman, who attended the Berkeley Institute, said: “If we wanted to understand politics, we had to do it in our own time.”Whether the school day should be extended was another hot topic with both parents and teachers in the group agreeing that pupils aged five to 18 should continue until 5pm.It was discussed that the additional time should be used for extra-curricular activities such as music, sports, the arts and sailing, as well as one-on-one tuition if needed.Members agreed that children would be able to cope with the longer day and an increased bond could be formed between parents and students if they both finished their day at the same time.They suggested that teachers could work a shift system and school partnerships could be formed with charities and community organisations.The importance of preschools was another popular talking point with people agreeing an early education went a long way to making children school-ready. It was said that it would be cost-beneficial for Government to invest in preschools as it helps children to have “a positive attitude to learning in later life”.The issue of Government ensuring that all children have access to preschool places was also deemed important.This idea was put forward after it was discussed that there are 371 students in Government preschools, but 421 on the waiting list.A summary of last night's education meeting will be used to broaden public input into the OBA's future policies.