How ridiculous....Gommy saw that heading on a very prestigious magazine recently and thought how absurd that thought was. That is the problem with the schools today....everyone blames the teachers and they don't put the responsibility where it belongs...AT HOME WITH THE PARENTS! Bad parenting is the real culprit.
'Back in the day'....parents were involved with their children's every movement and every moment. Now, this obviously doesn't apply to all those hard working parents who are active in their child's academics. Those are the parents who work all day, come home and fix dinner, help with homework, go to the Parent/Teacher meetings, volunteer at the school functions, etc....WHEW!.... and never really get the accolades they so well deserve. But they do get the reward of good children who are self assured and can take care of themselves when they grow up!
In the olden days, well-to-do people had Nannies to watch their children. But the other task of the Nanny was to see to the education of the child as well. Today, the Nanny is the care-giver who watches your child while you are at work and if you aren't wealthy enough to afford a Nanny or you just aren't that involved in your child's' life......guess who the Nanny of the 21st Century is????? TV and all the trash your kids are subjected to when they are left to themselves, i.e. Jerry Springer, MTV, This or That Rap Singers' Crib...or the new role models...Keeping up with the Kardashians. Wow...how special! These are the shows your kids are watching when you aren't watching. S-C-A-R-Y!!!!!
Goms heard someone say that they were told, "How do you know? You don't even have kids?" And their reply was, "I don't have a fish either, but I know not to fill the tank with Mountain Dew!!!".
When was the last time your young child observed you reading anything besides the text on your cell phone? It is well documented that children who are brought up in a home where books are important do much better academically. It doesn't even matter if your child goes to a public or a private school. They do better when the parent is involved and have been read to when they were infants and young children. Even if you don't think they can understand what you are reading, they are absorbing the cadence of language and it will help them with their reading when they do recognize the words on the page.
Oh for the days when something besides a bill came in the mail. Goms fondly remembers getting letters and notes or cards in the mail. Now, we get our communication over the Internet or on our cell phones. Speech will be the next thing that is extinct. People don't even want to talk to each other any more. They would rather email or text their thoughts to other people. Language is already disappearing. Laugh out loud is being replaced with LOL, etc. Does it take too much time to SAY or write "Laugh My A_ _ Off"? REALLY????
Your children are like sponges. They pick up everything you do and say (or don't say). It is the same with their education...if you don't seem to give a hoot....then why should they? It is always easier to put the blame on others...but the reality is that your child's education begins at home. Try on a little 'Mea Culpa' and see how honest you are with yourself. Try helping these underpaid teachers out by expecting your child to respect (remember that concept?) their teachers. Every parent should be expected to teach a class in todays' environment. I think things would change quickly if they saw what the teacher of today has to contend with.
So, have a nice Sunday folks. And Gommy hopes it includes some quality time with your family. It's the only one you have and will ever get. Family is like a bank......what you put into it is what you have to enjoy some day when it is time to withdraw what you have saved....if you put enough into it.....you'll even have some dividends one day. Hugs and Mush...Gommy
