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School
(Continued from page
6)
out our lives. Bodies wear out- but
brains
needn't.
But a home that
places no value on education is like
a worn-out plot of ground. Nothing
can flourish there.
Tea ch Your Children t o Respect
Autho rity
Faced with the problem of educat–
ing young, energetic minds, a
teacher has to have authority. Sorne
educators experimented with let–
ting children do exactly what they
wanted.
lt
didn't work. To do their
job, teachers must be held in
respect.
Lack of order and discipline has
become the number one problem
in the classroom today.
A
teacher
may be ridiculed, baited and
sometimes physically assaulted by
youths who haven't the slightest
degree of respect for his or her
position. ls it any wonder that so
many give up? How long could
you
take it?
Teachers complain that many
students maintain an adversary
relationship with all rules and reg–
ulations. Where did they learn
that ít ís clever to get away with
breaking rules? Who taught them
that authority is out to get you
and must be thwarted at every
possible turn? Could it be partly
your fault?
Have you trained them to resent
and ridicule law and government?
Not intentionally perhaps- but
does your child hear you make dis–
paraging remarks about the school,
the police or others with positions
of authority? How do
you
regard
authority?
How can a child grow up with
the proper respect for law wben he
sees parents cheerfully ignore
speed limits, no parking s igns and
other regulations? Then, when you
get caught, what does your child
learn when he hears you fume
against the "injustice" of it all? lf
your chi ldren hear you criticizing
and ridiculing authority figures in
life-your boss, your minister or
your president or prime minister–
you should not be surprised if they
in turn lose respect for their teach–
ers.
Parents who are polite to those
October 1983
in authority, who grin and bear it
when they make a mistake and get
a t icket, and who show proper
respect for their nation 's flag and
leaders are teaching their children
a valuable lesson that can help
them get the most from school.
Sorne female teacbers say that
they have a particular problem
maintaining the respect of their
students. These are children who
do not think that women in author–
ity should be taken seriously. Once
again, this problem can stem from
the borne. Cbildren must be taught
to respect
both
parents. A father
must back up his wife in setting of
standards and maintaining disci–
pline.
Parents should always make a
special effort not to argue and
disagree in front of their chil–
d ren. Studies bave shown that tbe
stress that comes from domestic
strife seriously detracts from a
child ' s academic performance.
Most teachers can tell stories
about promi s ing cbildren whose
chances of success were sabo–
taged because their parents' mar–
riage fell apart. The problems
may have surfaced in the class–
room- but the roots lay back in
the unhappy home.
Above all, teachers ask that
parents support them if they have
to discipline their offspring at
school. We heard of a case in Chi–
cago, wbere a young Asían teach–
er on an exchange program from
Taipei punished a sixth grader for
talking back rudely. Next day she
was summoned to the principal's
office, to confront an irate mother
and her petulant daughter. The
teacher explai ned that she had
nothing against the girl personal–
ly, but sbe was dis rupting the
classroom and wouldn ' t do what
she was told. "Look," shouted the
mother,
"1
pay my taxes!
You
do
as you are told!" The little girl
grinned smugly. The teacher
quil.
How, oh bow, teachers wish
parents wouldn't do tbings like
that!
Teach Your Children
t o Be Ho nest
Little Johnny is caugbt cheating
during an exam. He is disqualified,
and sent borne with a note explain-
ing why. Apprehensively he gives it
to Dad, who is busy making sorne
last minute "adjustments" to his
tax return. J ust last week Johnny
overheard h is father boasting about
a shady deal he had pul over at
work.
Now almost certainly Johnny's
dad is going to give him a lecture
on why it is wrong to cheat. But
actions speak louder than words . 1f
the parents' own values sbow that it
is clever to stretch the rules and
outwit others-how can a teacher
ever teach otherwise?
Or consider this. Bill has been
caught stealing.
lt
is a serious
offense, and the principal feels
that he needs to talk with Bill's
mother about it. Begrudgingly ,
she takes a morning off from work
and meets her son outside the
office. As the principal walks out,
fully prepared to be reasonable
and to try to help, he overhears
Bill's mother say, "You dumb kid.
What do you want to go and get
caught for?" That happened- in
fact , it happens many times a day
in schools.
Sometimes a student will bring a
note to school that pretends to
explain an absence or why sorne
homework isn't done.
lt
is duly
signed by the parent. But the par–
ent, the student and t he teacher
know that tbe note is a líe. The
parent is effectively working in col-
1usion with his cbild
against
the
school. The note may indeed get
everyone off the hook, but what has
it done to the child's values?
Parents and teach–
ers sbould work to–
getber to instill
right values in chil–
dren. But if parents
undermin e the
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