Are our children learning anything useful in school these days? I don’t mean times tables or which gory battles were won by which monarch, I’m talking about stuff that the major and even the most minor religions and philosophies tend to include in their How-To manuals. You know, basic info which makes it that bit easier to hang out with any one of 7 billion strangers in the vast playground of life.
If you’re a Reception or Kindergarten teacher is it necessary to keep reminding kids not to kill each other, commit adultery or follow the Divine Path at dinner time? Probably not, but there are a few of the lesser rules that need repeating. Often.
I’ve seen a few dodgy things going on recently and wondered if you’d noticed too. So here are three of our Year 5 children who’ve kindly volunteered to do a Show and Tell about good behaviour.
Take it away Jeremy, Theresa and Nigel !
Thank you children, you can go back to your seats now.
So do we blame the parents when it goes wrong? Definitely! what a good idea!
What if we ARE the parents though? In that case we can blame society and the declining moral values of everybody else.
Easy peasy. That’s me covered. Though how does a primary school teacher address this? Far from using the birch, or handing out ‘lines’, they now tend to sit their charges down and say,
“Martha was sad when you flushed her Barbie down the toilet. How can you make a better choice next time?”
I desperately want this system to work. How much kinder to be talked to gently rather than the ritual humiliation of my youth which involved sarcasm, shouting and having to stand in the corner with a dunce’s hat on. The trouble is there are just some children who are talked to gently and yet it all washes over them. Sometimes they grow up to be captains of industry, politicians or office managers and repeat their ‘bad choices’. Should we just pop them on the naughty step for a while so they can reflect on their conduct? Hopefully its never too late for them to get the picture – after all as Dr Seuss said, ‘Adults are just outdated children.’
British primary school teachers, although they have the same amount of face-to-face teaching time, spend one and a half hours a day MORE than their European colleagues on admin and marking etc. That’s well over 7 hours a week over and above an already hectic and exhausting timetable. When on earth do they have the time to do all this counselling? Apparently the school’s influence on any child is less than 15% anyway, so once more the spotlight turns back to the home.
Maybe there was at least one person in these kids’ childhoods who thought it was ok to bully, cheat and lie. So I reckon it’s our responsibility to spot all those Rob Titcheners in Borsetshire and the rest of the real world, then sort the bastards out.
“Children are great imitators. So give them something great to imitate,” an old saying goes. In which case it looks like we’re the ones the next generation will be holding to account.
Great to have you back! Brilliant cartoons of Jeremy, Theresa and Nigel. I fear it is far too late for Nigel and probably Jeremy. Can Theresa start behaving like a person we’d like our children to emanate? You’re right, children are influenced mostly by their home environment. A very eloquent and illustrated ranty post. Well put. xx
Thanks for welcome back and glad you enjoyed post. I don’t think Theresa is going to pass muster though after her very rude joke yesterday at Mr Bone’s expense in the Commons. X
What about playground politics for parents! Great post #BloggerClubUK
Good idea but what a minefield! Thaks for commenting. Jo 🙂 #BloggerClubUK
As a teacher I mostly blame the parents, now I am a parent and the pressure is on! #KCACOLS
Isn’t it just! Blame the kids and social media. All the fault of Facebook I say! #KCACOLS
Great post, I love the cartoons! #KCACOLS
Thanks very much for paying a visit and leaving me a comment #KCACOLS
Thanks for sharing this! I’ve been thinking about this stuff a lot lately as my toddler is getting close to preschool age. I often worry about how to really teach these lessons so they sink in. #KCACAOLS
I don’t know if they do sink in straight away – takes years of boring repetition in my experience and even then … #KCACOLS
7 hours more a week of admin?! Sometimes I think there’s something wrong with our education system! Really enjoyed your rant! #KCACOLS
Glad you liked it and relieved I’m not a teacher – hard enough being a Mum. It does help to vent sometimes but wonder if any of it makes a difference? #KCACOLS
I think it is so important that the parents and teachers are on the same path #kcacols
Yup we are all loved up at son’s school and constantly emailing each other. Don’t know how they do it myself especially with the parents who ‘know better’ #KCACOLS
I love the cartoons. When mine start school I will definately look at our home life if there is adverse behaviour. I already knew that British school teachers were worked hard but I didn’t realise there was that much of a discrepancy between her and the rest of the EU.
#KCACOLS
You only need to look at the bags under their eyes! I live in the same village as several teachers and to me they are local heroes. It’s so sad that about 40% of new teachers drop out of the profession within their first year. What a terrible waste of training and talent #KCACOLS
What fab cartoons! And a good post to boot! #kcacols
Happy you like the cartoons! Thanks for leaving a comment 🙂 #KCACOLS
That is a lot of time spent doing paperwork isn’t it! No wonder our teachers are always so busy. I absolutely think kids learn most of their behaviour at home and I always question myself if my daughter will turn out ok now shes nearly finished primary school.
Thanks so much for linking up at #KCACOLS. Hope you come back again next Sunday
Thanks for your comment Tracey, your daughter will be just fine – she lives in the Wirral and her Mum’s a blogger 🙂 #KCACOLS
Oh so much love for this post and everything you say! Love the Dr Seuss quote too. I went into teaching because I wanted to inspire. I left because I was never seeing my own family and because I was creating robots that knew how to tick the boxes, but not how to think for themselves :- ( I am very worried for the future of our world #FridayFrolics
Oh what can be done? The best are leaving and what or who remains? I get how worried you are, Emma, but possibly we can make the changes by being the best we can be in our own homes with our own kids. Who knows where they will fly and who they will touch with great parenting as an example. #fridayfrolics
Ps fab to have you back! Missed your posts x
Thanks so much sweetie 🙂 x