How to address issues with your child’s school

There have been several cases of parents going to their children’s schools to fight the management and teachers. Some even go overboard by getting their child’s teacher arrested over some minor cases that could have been settled amicably without the intervention of a third party.   

It is important for parents to know that teachers play an important role in the overall nurturing of their child’s life and deserve respect regardless of their age and financial status.   

You need to know that sometimes certain issues cannot be avoided with regard to your child and the school but can be handled with great care, thus leading to an amicable settlement.   

Are you a parent or guardian? Have you been having a hard time sorting out your child’s school issues? Check out ways that will help you know how to effectively address such issues when they occur.  

1. Be patient   

Patience is a virtue. The need for patience when it comes to handling your child’s school issues cannot be overemphasized. Some parents are like machines without control, they just need to hear a complaint from their child and they are already at the school ready to fight.  

You need to be patient and think things through before arriving at whatever decision you want to make. You should not take your child away from a school because he or she was beaten without doing your due diligence.   

The patient dog is said to eat the fattest bone and according to a Yoruba saying, “patience can cook a stone until it is tender.”  Do not because of your impatience take your child away from a school where they are trying to do their best in making your child grow into a responsible adult.   

2. Try to hear from both parties   

Anyone who judges a matter without listening to both sides, according to a Yoruba saying, is a wicked person.   

When your child reports the school or their teacher to you, ensure you hear from the other party before making a decision.  

 No child will ever report a case in such a way that will be unfavourable to their side. Every child will report the school or teacher in such a light that the other party will be seen to be at fault. And this might not be the case most times.   

Cultivate the habit of going to your child’s school to get the other side of the story before making a decision about your child’s school issues.   

3. Do not discard your child’s report no matter how irrelevant it seems   

The fact that your child didn’t say the truth about what happened in school today or tilted the story in a way doesn’t mean they can’t say the absolute truth in another situation.   

Learn to listen to whatever your child has to say about the school, show them that you believe them but ensure you make your due diligence and prove to them that you will always be there to protect them and speak on their behalf when need be.  

Constantly shunning or discarding your child’s reports about things that happened in school will discourage them from opening up to you when matters of greater consequence such as rape or child abuse happen.   

Have a listening ear!  

4. Respect the school authority/teachers (Don’t talk to them anyhow)  

Some parents can be so disrespectful to their children’s teachers! Some will even insult the teachers by telling them it is through the fees they pay to the school that the teachers get their pay.  

This act is really demeaning and should be discouraged. As a parent, you need to accord your child’s teachers the respect they deserve. You should not just talk them down regardless of their age, class or financial status.   

Remember that it is from their wealth of knowledge and experience that your child is being groomed.   

They are also some people’s parents, and spouses and they deserve to be respected.   

It is important for you to know that when you make the decision to respect your child’s teachers and the school authority in spite of any disagreement, you’re showing and teaching your child that respect for others even when you are angry or displeased is a good virtue.  

You are also inculcating the culture of respect in them not only towards their teachers and school authority but to everyone they come across in life.  

Respect is reciprocal and what is good for the geese is good for the gander!  

5. Take appropriate steps   

Whenever your child reports a school issue or you discover one yourself, it’s important you take appropriate steps.   

It is best you don’t sit at home or leave matters unattended. As parents, you need to be proactive about every aspect of your child’s life, their schooling inclusive.   

If a matter requires you to speak to the school authority or teacher, please do. If it requires you to sit your child down to talk, please do.   

Don’t leave your child’s upbringing and development to only the school. You also have a role to play.  

The school and parents should be in unity and cultivate cordial relationships if a child’s life is to be perfectly moulded.   

Parents and the school should always remember that “the children under their care are like clay and they are the potters. What you make of them lies in your hands.”  

ALSO READ FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

• Tinubu Is A Billionaire Without A Business; Obi Is Atiku’s Creation —Melaye, Atiku’s Campaign Spokesman
• Tinubu Sympathises With Ganduje Over Kano Building Collapse