Parent-teacher bonding helps bring the best in child

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world’’
— Nelson Mandela

True, indeed, but who is in charge of this ‘weapon’ training? Is it only the teacher at school? Or is it the family from which the child derives its sustenance — both moral and physical?

As parents, each of us endeavour to equip our child with the basic social graces, a sense of niceties and ethics — leading by example and not merely posturing. When we are courteous, they imitate us; when we show sincerity of purpose, they too realise that their tasks are to be sincerely handled; when we set a goal and work ceaselessly towards its achievement, so do our progeny.

As teachers, we hope to shape future leaders, visionaries, achievers and most importantly, happy individuals. We often find areas of skills that even families overlook or may be unaware of. The school milieu acts as a social, academic platform for this bundle of possibilities to blossom. In the real world, the direction of this blossom’s growth is largely influenced by the parents and teachers in particular and the society at large. The paramount need for parents and teachers is to come together in a triangular handshake for the benefit of our apex concern - the child. The objective of making an effort towards excellence and the attainment of happiness would only be possible if the school is treated with respect, as an institution one must trust and not as a departmental store - if we disagree with its services, we can move to another store in the neighbourhood!

When education is treated as a commodity and education loses its personal touch, becoming more about branding in the market place and less about humans with interpersonal relations, the child is nurtured to weigh everything else in life, merely materialistically.

Unfortunately, for all of us —
“ In school you are taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you are given a test  that teaches you a lesson.’’ — Tom Bodett. It is up to us, as parents and teachers, to ensure that the child learns the appropriate lesson and does not treat life like a series of tests - but experiences, each of which will shape them into the adults they will grow up to be one day.