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eight bis intelligence is 80 percent set.
Significantly, Head Start and other
pre-school programs have found that
the momentum of short "catch-up"
courses disappears quickJy. But, where
disadvantaged parents have been taught
how to work with their children, the
momentum is kept up.
Today, it is dear that a child's success
in school, his character traits, his per–
sonal values, and his personality are
basically decided by the
home
environ–
ment.
Most childreu and most adults are
what their parents make them. Tbe
schools are incapable of replacing par–
ents who have failed their inherent
responsibility to rear, educate, and
develop their children.
A Philosophy of Abandonment
Yet, paradoxically, a philosopy of
abandoning the responsibility to educate
children dominates child rearing today.
Most parents have come to feel that the
school is responsible for rearing and
developing their children.
Parents have tacitly commissioned the
school systems to provide instruction
be–
yond the traditional academic subjects.
Primary and secondary schools now
offer everything including physical edu–
cation, manual arts, home economics,
music, driver education and graphic
arts. Drug abuse education is becoming
popular among American schools. Sex
education
is
also being introduced.
Not
that the teaching of such courses
is wrong. But the increasing scope of
the public school system has inspired
one of the greatest tragedies in Western
education:
Parents have forgollen that
they shotdd be the prime teachers.
Parents don't think of themselves as
educators. Educators are thought of as
paid professionals. And education is
considered something reserved for the
classroom after age five or six.
Fathers no longer feel a responsibil–
ity for teaching their sons how to repair
a broken table Jeg or change the spark
plugs in the family car. After all, the
reasoning goes, the kid can learn these
things in the school wood or auto
shop.
Huodreds of thousands of girls must
learn even the fundamentals of cookiog
and sewing in high school or college
home economics courses - because
their mothers never taught this knowl–
edge at home.
Most parents never consider that they
have a vital part in teaching even aca–
denúc subjects such as geography, cur–
rent events or arithmetic.
The philosophy that you can "leave
your child's education to the profes–
sionals" has come to domínate not only
academic subjects, but much of the
rela–
tio1lJhip
between parent and child. Too
many parents make no special effort to
develop their children during the
im–
portant first five years of life. Even the
development of character and moral
values is too often left to the school in
hopes that "maybe the school will teach
him the discipline and respect I
couldn't." But schools and colleges are
unable to accomplish such a feat. Many
educators, in fact, reject the role of
character builders.
Parents can help reverse the trend by
reassuming their responsibility as teach–
ers. Only in this way can they insure the
proper development of their children.
Not with a program of strict, pressur–
ized, "classroom" drill. But with well–
thought-out goals in basic child rearing.
And by making learning exciting, natu–
ral and enjoyable.
Today, schools bemoan the fact that
too many parents consider the classroom
as a garbage can into which they throw
their refuse - disobedient, characterless
and unconcerned children. How, then,
can the schools even do their part? It is
high time parents took a new view of
their children, and the crucial part they
as parents play in the education of their
offspring.
A Parent's Advantages
Parents actually enjoy a host of ad–
vantages in working with pre-schoolers.
Normally, no other person can even
begin to match a parent's influence
with his child.
Young children have an almost infi–
nite faith in their parents. A parent's
teaching will be unquestioningly be–
lieved. Children also have a strong
desire to win parental approval. They
will go to great lengths to please par–
ents who are truly interested and excited