Teaching is an effort of many persons whose roles are vital in the development of school children. In fact, education starts at home, be it a home of the well-to-do or that of the lowest strata of human society. In this regard, the partners in the development of the personality of school children are the parents.
In school, a teacher plays the role of loco-parentis where he assumes the responsibility of a parent and is duty bound in making teaching and learning productive of good results.
However, it has been observed that many parents nowadays shove their children to be properly fed with knowledge by the teachers which should not be the case. The basic responsibility of educating the child should not be entrusted wholly to the teachers. The parents should team up with the teachers in order to achieve the best education for their children. The teachers are there only to give additional knowledge and skills and to develop what the child already gained from his first teacher which is his parents. The teachers are there to make up for what the parents cannot accomplish for lack of time, talent and information. Moreover, the teachers control only a portion of the child’s learning time, so parents cannot assert that education is the school’s job alone. The teachers’ efforts and concerns would all be in vain without the full support of parents. The multifarious concern of a school teacher demands working with others to accomplish the desired tasks and objectives. So the parents and teachers should have cordial and harmonious relations in order that what each expect of and for the children will be successfully realized.
Parents indeed, are great contributive factors to the success or failure of the teacher’s task; however indispensable as they are, it is of equal importance that they should be reminded or else educated, as to how they should play their part in the education of their children once these are admitted to classes. To many, the job of teachers seems as easy as to teach babies to close and open their hands, or to wave goodbye and so forth. They don’t know how difficult it is to shape the character of at least forty children who have varied traits. Many mothers don’t remember how they scold or slap their children who misbehave at home, refuse to follow them and quarrel siblings and are angry when the teacher in a classroom scold pupils who quarrel with classmates, disobey request, cheat, etc. If a parent scolds or gets angry with her mere four children who have done wrong at home, why can’t she understand how a teacher of forty pupils feels when they misbehave in class?
It is true that parents play a vital role in the existence of our school today; they form the foundation of the school system. They supply the raw materials that teachers need in carrying out the aims of education.
In educating the child, it is a must for parents and teachers to pull their share of the load. If parents would only come to the aid of the teachers then the task of education would be lightened and produce quality children in the near future.
Dedicated teachers and concerned parents equals well-developed children.
By: Essel E. Reyes Alasasin E/S, Alasasin, Mariveles, Bataan
