Parents* are the Primary Educators of their Children.
Parents teach their children language, not to touch light sockets, and how to dress themselves. Practical skills get more advanced with time, like how to cut the lawn, cook, pay bills, and make beds (which I hear is mastered by age 26).
Parents teach life skills, even from a very young age, like: Patience
Forgiveness
Religious and moral beliefs
Work ethic
Responsible citizenship
and, of course,
Love.
Does Parental Primacy END at the Door of the k-12 Classroom?
No - Even when we get help from teachers during the school day, parents need to be actively involved because they are still ultimately responsible for their children's education.
If we recognize this, how might it affect the respect and appreciation given our teachers, who have jumped in to help with this gargantuan task?
Examples of Active Engagement:
Remember, this isn't a preachy series, so this is for the reader to decide how much to think about this. Here are a few topics for reflection:
Child-centric: Are behavior choices good? Does your child show respect?
Task-centric: Is homework being done? Is your child organized?
Parent-centric: Is you ensuring your child gets great sleep and healthful food?
School-centric: What is being taught? How is the two-way communication?
Every August comes an asteroid show. Shooting stars. I plan let the kids stay up late one night, and drive with the family, away from the city lights, and catch the celestial show. What conversations will we have? What questions will they have? Do I need all the answers, or just to encourage more questions? How can I be a better educator? - Steve
*Including legal guardians/grandparents, as the case may be. This series speaks in general for simplicity's sake.
Part II Next Week - Texas law expresses the importance of parents.