Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Signs of Pressure #2 - Meddlesome Others

Star Q
ii.  Ihya Ramadhan



Some parents have been quick to respond that when their children do well at school, it is always because their children are clever, hardworking and that they owe it to their tuition after school.  But, when their children do not do well or fail miserably in exams, they are even quicker to put the blame on teachers as being incompetent and lackadaisical.  It is not enough for parents to dump the blame on teachers, but they also point their fingers where they shouldn't!

It is not difficult to make an assumption that parents who meddle in the affairs of schools have some kind of ulterior motives; either they want to champion a cause or they want to be champions themselves.  Even if they are all for the wrong reasons!

There are of course proper procedures and ethics if parents feel that the school is at fault.  First and foremost, parents should make it a point to see the principal/headmaster of the respective and try to get some kind of clarification (in as civil a way as possible!) for something that they are not satisfied with; failing which, they can bring it up to the District Education Office or State Education Office or even the Ministry.  If these steps are followed, we will surely know that the parents are genuine in their concerns and want what is best for their children and the school.

Parents who have dissatisfactions with the school can also bring up their grudges and what-nots to the Parents Teachers Association (PTA)  of the school, to which they themselves are automatically a member of since their children are pupils/students there.  Of course, they don't have any of those rights if they have not been attending any annual PTA meetings; any you do get those kinds of parents!  PTAs, who are always on the look out for students' well being, usually have strong influence on the school administration because they are always on the side of the students and their parents.  Thus, it is certainly another logical step to take to lodge any kind of complaints towards the school.

Parents may have a certain preconceived idea on what their children should have in school, where their children should be and how their children should be handled.  But, it must be stressed, the guidelines that parents use at home in handling a brood of say, four children, may differ from those at the school with a population of more than a thousand!  Parents may consider their intentions to raise their children as a noble one, but when someone else helps in that process albeit in a process that is different from theirs, they immediately see red; and purple and orange and black!

Parents should also be fair in making their complaints especially when the problem involves everybody in the school. It helps when parents avoid from being selective with their circumstances and refuse to highlight the bigger picture.  It also doesn't help when parents take matters into their own vindictive hands!

Putting pressure like this on the school, inadvertently puts pressure on every single person in the school; be they the teachers, the staff, the canteen operators and even the other students whose parents have no qualms whatsoever with the school administration.

Parents who vindictively blame others for every single thing should also own up when they realise that they are at fault; unless they are too conceited to do so!






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