The following is a public service announcement for all to read, but some to truly take in. I think this needs to be said, and if anyone who reads this takes any objection, then for that I cannot say I’m sorry, I can just reply “Hitting close to home?”  I constantly hear of situations where parents, for all intents and purposes, attack the teacher of their child in response to the child’s academic failures.  I often wonder about these parents, and I wonder if they understand the actual mechanisms behind a child’s education.  So for those who are not aware, I hope this small entry can shed some light on a few things.

First of all, thinking of a teacher as just a teacher is all wrong.  Your child does not go to school solely to be taught.  Teachers are educators as well.  What’s the difference?  A teacher teaches, and an educator facilitates.  School is a job and teachers are just Assistant Directors.  Parents are the ED’s of their child’s education.  When a child comes to school on the first day, they should not be a blank slate.  It’s the parent’s duty to get that child mentally ready for the new school year.  Teachers should have to do equal shares of reinforcing and introducing of concepts with students.  Teachers need to work in accordance with parents in order for the child to be successful.

Parents, perform this simple little task.  On Saturday, add up the amount of minutes you spent over the past school week going over what concepts the teacher introduced to your child.  Got the number?  Any number under 300 means you are not even giving the child a solid hour of your time per school night.  Education is a system, and it is not one ruled by a Department or Board.  You, your child, and the teacher must work in unison, otherwise the result will be failure.  Asking the teacher to pick up your slack is selfish.  When did your child become more important than the other 25 children in the class? People tend to point to so many factors as to why certain children are “getting a better education” than others.  True, having computers and up to date books help tremendously, but in the end, it all goes back to the holy trinity of Parent, Student, Teacher.  Two plus Two equals four whether the median income of your neighborhood is $75,000 or $25,000.  Don’t let externalities determine the quality of your child’s education.  If you have HBO at home, you should have the internet.  Spend that hour with your child(ren) and take what they were taught on any given day and reinforce it.  See where they need extra help, understand how they learn and get to know where their shortcomings are.  Use that to have informed dialogue with their teacher, so that everyone in the system is working together.

This is not to say the onus falls squarely on the shoulders of parents, because it doesn’t.  But it does begin with them.  Parents need to be their child’s first teacher.  First educator.  If we want our children to be smarter, more productive members of society, then we need to make concerted efforts to change the way in which they are taught.  Education comes first.  For 7 to 8 hours, 5 days a week this is stressed.  Do not allow the learning to stop once the school day does.  And most important of all, if you have a child coming home with an average or below average report card – and if this upsets you – begin by looking at your own shortcomings in the system before screaming at the child or teacher.  Ultimately, it is the child and the teacher that have to follow the lead of the parents.  They set the tone.