Back in time when schools were way stricter and discipline was on a much higher level, parents were fully confident that their child will not only receive a proper education, but also some valuable manners which will serve children well in life and further on in their development as individuals.
However, a school poster that went viral got us thinking. How much are teachers responsible for the manners and personality of the child and when should the parents step out and take things into their own hands?
It’s true that in the past teachers were using physical contact to establish their authority in the classroom and nobody found that weird or illegal, however times have changed and so did people.
Different generations require a different approach and physical contact or disciplining a child with a stick or pulling the hair is out of the question and even banned by the law.
Nowadays schools and teacher in particular have to find a creative way to stimulate children to love school and they also have to find alternative ways to create a positive atmosphere in the classroom and a healthy working environment.
It seems that teachers can’t do wonders in the classroom, especially not if the child has different manners or is thought differently at home. In those cases, teacher rely on the parents’ consciousness and assistance.
School poster is all over the Internet
So, the question still remains, when do teachers’ responsibilities end and when do parents take over? In order to clarify things up and draw a specific line between school and home, a Portuguese school decided to set some ground rules by printing the parents’ responsibilities and sticking them all over the school so everyone can see and read them.
The action taken by this school draw a lot of attention and now it’s all over the Internet. As soon as the school decided to share and post this poster on their Facebook page, they immediately triggered viral attention and reactions from people and other schools from all over the world.
According to the poster, the school clearly states when parents should take full responsibility for their children’s manners and discipline and through all the five points, the school separates itself from these responsibilities.
Here is a full look of the school’s poster and their five points for parents’ responsibilities:
Points in depth
Reading this school poster, there are different views and reactions from parents and schools from all over the world.
However, if we take into consideration that schools, teachers and parents in general want only the best for the children, then we may as well agree that sharing or separating responsibilities is only a fair share.
Point 1
It’s true that the child’s first words should be words or kindness and curtsy, which later at school are only emphasizes.
Rude children often get in quarrels with their mates and their teachers and they end up missing out on the important part of school education.
Without the help of parents, the words please, I’m sorry or thank you will be just another learnt lesson, without truly sending the right message or acquiring the true notion behind these words.
Point 2
If children don’t respect their parents’ authority or word, how do we expect from them to show sympathy towards other children or show respect towards teachers and elderly people?
This behavior should be expected both at school and home, without schools having to change the child from scratch and teach him/her of simple, basic manners.
Point 3
It’s also clear that children don’t have their first meal at school or they also don’t learn how to clean after themselves.
Here it’s not mentioned that children are expected to clean the canteen or cook their own meals, on the contrary they are expected to have respect for the food and the environment that they are living in.
Point 4
If children don’t take care of their toys or they break everything it comes to their hand, then why not doing the same thing at school.
Only children may have some problems sharing toys or belongings, however it should never be at the point where they grab other children’s belongings or destroy the schools inventory.
Point 5
The last point strongly emphasizes the real purpose of school, or education. In order to draw a clear line between home and school, parents are notified that school is just a reinforcement and broadening of the knowledge that children acquire first at home and later on at school.
However, schools can only wish good for their children and parents should only support their ideas and participate fully in the development and the building of personality of their children.
Even though some parents and schools agree or disagree with such posters hanging out in the hallways, it’s up to us to decide whether we’ll participate in such action or we’ll be aware enough to figure this out on our own.
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A professional writer with over a decade of incessant writing skills. Her topics of interest and expertise range from health, nutrition and psychology.