Building The Future Through Education

When the African National Congress identified education as one of the five priorities, I felt that this was a call to parents to fully take charge of their child’s development and upbringing. It is that time of the year when parents are eager to know the performance of their children. Matric results are taken as the most important results in a life of a student. Some pupils even commit suicide if they fail.  Parents will be concerned on their child’s final matric results but first let’s take a look at whether those parents actively participated in their child’s learning processes throughout the year. Sadly, most parents think their money can do everything for a child. Some they believe that giving all material support to a child is all that is needed from a parent. I beg to differ, children need our spiritual love and guidance as they grow up. Two hours of your time spent with your child per week might probable make a great difference in your siblings’ life.

Unfortunately; there is a growing tendency in our society where nurturing children are left to women and teachers. In most cases, the fathers do not even know what Grades their children are in. This is an embarrassment, given the fact that it takes two people to create a child so it must be their obligation to jointly bring up that child.
For starters,  teachers and parents were once children. So, divorcing the three will downplay the beauty of teaching; which makes learning easy and has a major role in ensuring education.

This aforementioned point does necessitate the further unpacking of the word education. Education is what remains long after one has forgotten what one had learnt at school. This on its own illuminates the duty and influence both the teacher and the parent have in the child’s upbringing. Beyond a reasonable doubt, we are all the product of the people with whom we socialised with, from the early stages of our lives. Among those are our teachers and parents to a larger extent.

Will it then be asking too much if one were to summon both parents and teachers to get involved in their children’s education? Is it not possible for these two parties (teachers and parents) to merge and fertilise each other and eventually come up with a total new whole interesting being? Come now, adversaries aside; Let us reason together. Worrying over this won’t get us anywhere, on grounds that in every war both parties are losers; for each party will have its own casualties and the consequences thereof are desired.

Children have a right to a bright positive future which can only be affected by the unreserved involvement of a parent; which is tantamount to obligation. If a person (mother or father) who directly or indirectly bore the prongs of birth should regard his/her involvement in the child’s education as a privilege. This will also help the parent(s) to tell the world with a straight face that “I am a parent”.

Passing the buck and blaming it on the child is the total waste of time. Blaming it on the teacher (poor parent too) who is always the legitimate target in the given situation is another waste of precious time in its different manifestation. If we blame it on the teachers; we might as well blame ourselves as parents. Are we not teachers and first teachers at that, in the home situation? Teachers are parents too. Is it not true that some teachers and parents are the product of political instability and violence? Didn’t this therefore deprive them the opportunity to see their children grow and partake of their upbringing. Can’t this on its own have the negative impact on the child? Believe you me; I love the Ostrich but I cannot afford to see you emulating one. Get your hands dirty; be hands on, do something for your child.

Financial implications are inevitable when it comes to parenting, but they are not enough. This thing of parenting should commence from home by both parents. Their contribution ought to be of immeasurable proportion, given the fact that at that stage the child is like a clean slate (Tabularasa) as educationists say, where every single thing that’s imprinted there will linger long in the child’s mind up to his/her dying day. This boils down to the fact that a parent is the teacher in the informal setting. Why all of a sudden does he/she disappear into the thin air? Mom, dad where are you; your child is calling for your help. Where are you hiding, join the spree, time is against you.
As the child grows older, parental involvement wears thinner and thinner to the point of total extinction. Of all the mistakes the parents make, this is the most unpardonable. Not only are all the stages of growth related, important and interdependent, but they also call for parent’s involvement without any reservations.
After all it’s said and done; good parenting capsules every ingredient that is necessary for bringing up desirable children.

On winding up allow me to highlight the duties of a  teacher - parent  association:-

• enhance of parent governor roles
• involve in inspection processes (schedule inspection during  school days and open days over the weekend)
• participate in provision of annual reports and prospectuses
• assess the requirement for home-school agreements (enhancing society-school relationship)
• Play role in deciding curriculum and evaluate school performance for example
• parental support (e.g. the provision of parenting skills training, advice
• and guidance for parents) on pupil achievement/engagement
• encourage and help children with homework

Real parents must stand up and be counted. I have long observed that most of us as parents we spend more time either with friends or at work than we have time for our families. This tendency leads to not knowing how your child tackles challenges that come with growing up.

Come parents let’s talk to our children, let us give them the natural inexpensive spiritual love they deserve to get. By so doing there will less children taking drugs, indulging in early sex-life or even committing suicide.