Tuesday, January 20, 2004
I am supposed to call the parents of my students who have at least one failing grade in their report cards. It’s part of the policy of the school. Just like the notice given for the number of times a student is tardy in any one subject. This notice of tardiness should be given every multiples of three i.e. 3X, 6X, 9X etc. with one notice each. When I was sitting in for the Level Coordinator during the first term, one of the flaks why we couldn’t issue a failing mark in conduct is because the adviser had not given the necessary notices. I find these policies rather odd. Why the school should impose on itself certain measures that would put it on a balance is beyond me. It’s like putting a noose around its neck to hang itself with.
Administration claims that the main reason for this policy is so that parents cannot claim that they have not been informed of their child’s misdemeanor or laziness, whatever the case may be. It’s so full of crap, if you ask me. Why should we? Any parent who is interested in his child’s performance in school will always look after his/her child’s study habits, follow up on assignments, check on given projects, take time-out to go to the teacher to check on the child’s progress! If a parent blames the school for a child’s failing grade for not having been informed of his/her child’s low performance, I say, (s)he is just looking for an escape goat. As is the case, parents blame the teachers for their child's failing grade on the basis that they have not been informed.
My view is that a teacher’s obligation is to the student under his/her care and nobody else. It is the teacher’s sworn duty to teach the child not only what (s)he knows but more importantly, prepare the learner to live in the outside world.
The school, as it is, cannot be a microcosm of the real world simply because it tries to create an ideal world which is far from reality. It tries to shield its learners from the maladies plaguing the world and hence come out of the school unprepared.
We want to believe that we are giving our students quality education. But is it really? Our students will never learn how to think for themselves because they are not taught to be responsible for their actions. They are not made to suffer the consequences of their wrong acts. When can we be an organization that is truly autonomous, our policies never having to bend with the influence of certain individuals who cries unfair because the so called balance of justice doesn’t sway to their favor? When will we ever hear utterances from parents that the school is very strict on this and that? That they can't do anything but obey its rules? Sadly, what we are doing right now is spoon-feeding the children. As such, I can only wonder, “when will our chldren learn to be mature adults?" For them to learn this in college is too late!
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Administration claims that the main reason for this policy is so that parents cannot claim that they have not been informed of their child’s misdemeanor or laziness, whatever the case may be. It’s so full of crap, if you ask me. Why should we? Any parent who is interested in his child’s performance in school will always look after his/her child’s study habits, follow up on assignments, check on given projects, take time-out to go to the teacher to check on the child’s progress! If a parent blames the school for a child’s failing grade for not having been informed of his/her child’s low performance, I say, (s)he is just looking for an escape goat. As is the case, parents blame the teachers for their child's failing grade on the basis that they have not been informed.
My view is that a teacher’s obligation is to the student under his/her care and nobody else. It is the teacher’s sworn duty to teach the child not only what (s)he knows but more importantly, prepare the learner to live in the outside world.
The school, as it is, cannot be a microcosm of the real world simply because it tries to create an ideal world which is far from reality. It tries to shield its learners from the maladies plaguing the world and hence come out of the school unprepared.
We want to believe that we are giving our students quality education. But is it really? Our students will never learn how to think for themselves because they are not taught to be responsible for their actions. They are not made to suffer the consequences of their wrong acts. When can we be an organization that is truly autonomous, our policies never having to bend with the influence of certain individuals who cries unfair because the so called balance of justice doesn’t sway to their favor? When will we ever hear utterances from parents that the school is very strict on this and that? That they can't do anything but obey its rules? Sadly, what we are doing right now is spoon-feeding the children. As such, I can only wonder, “when will our chldren learn to be mature adults?" For them to learn this in college is too late!
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