I arrived and the first thing I noticed was not the prefects meeting and greeting us with a friendly polite "Good afternoon Sir / Ma'am". Neither was it the clean school property or the organised manner in which it was all planned and executed for the ease of collection.
Nope, it was the parents collecting the reports.
There was the extremely smooth charming and supposedly hilarious parent who strutted even more when the prefects smiled politely, the parent who the moment they entered the school property with their child began criticising and sternly running them down. You could see the student switch to stupid mode and show as much interest as the person working at lost luggage in an airport.
Then you have snob, who feels it is beneath them to greet anyone, smile, wait in queues and is so inconvenienced because she could be at a waxing or pedicure or planning her new nose.
Or what about the couple who hardly completed their argument and now have to "act" married. They are locked in an endless struggle for power and would rather beat each other with baseball bats than share a compliment.
My thought through all of this was, what the heck have these kids done to deserve this. My ex and I may not agree on much anymore, but when it comes to our girls, I would like to think we are adult enough to consider them as human beings whose welfare we are responsible for.
When did parents become such bottoms?
Has it always been this way?
I have friends who are unable to have kids and would be brilliant parents, then you have other folk who treat their offspring as if they are nothing more than an intrusion in a successful social life.
Nite all.
Well said Ted. Schools have become competition grounds for parents who have nothing better to do then live vicariously through their children or, horror or all horrors, use their children as pawns in their never ending power struggles. Gone are the days when children are acknowledged for important things like a sense of humour, punctuality and persistence. Reports should be about highlighting a childs good points so that you fully understand which path to steer them on! Hope Simon's report reflected what an excellent and supportive father she has!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment Deirdre. I am by no means the excellent Dad you have commented on, but am trying very hard to improve.
ReplyDeleteI love my girls and want the best for them and sometimes that makes me more passionate than I mean to be.
But they are my angels and I do love them unconditionally and try to listen more often and speak less.