Schools Are Not Enough | For Parents

If you haven't seen the 'For Students' part, I suggest you check it out first, here.

Of course, every parent would wish for the best education course for their children (if you don't, why the heck are you one), and the long, unending debate I talked about in the earlier article is mostly between parents. Unsurprisingly, sometimes they are much more sensitive to their children's school place than the children themselves. One thing is certain, parents have a great influence on their children's education. I say, they are a more deciding factor than the school or any formal course of education.

Schools might give children the necessary technical skills. However, parents are the one who are supposed to give their child learning skills. Emotional intelligence and spiritual capability of a child mostly consist of how their parents taught them. How their parents showed them.

The truth is that, school, or any kind of education institution, is not capable of doing a miracle to a child. I noticed that a lot of parents send their children to a religious school expecting their problematic children would come home nice, kind, and religious. Some send their children to religious-modern school (SMAIT, SMPIT, SDIT) expecting their children to be transformed into a nice, kind, religious, academically smart child. Hey, come on. That's not the way it works. Schools can't change anyone. They can give technical skills, but that's it. If your child is the type who likes to study, dilligent, polite, you send them to a religious school, they will come home better. If your child is the most rebellious, doesn't like to learn new thing, doesn't like to think, no matter which magic school you send him into, he will come back with some soon-forgotten technical religious knowledge and that's it. I think every parent should understand this. Not only religious school, this also apply to any kind of education course. Let me stress it again, unless you send your kid to Hogwarts, schools don't do magic. Because no matter which way of education you choose for your children, there is no shortcut in parenting. The roles of parents cannot be neglected, no matter what.

As for technical skills, it's never too late to make your child participate in an activity outside their school or even college. As I suggested in the linked writing above, skill-related course or a job will really help them, whether it's now or in the future. Find their interests, and let them pursue it. It doesn't matter if their interest changes over time, they're still a child. Also, discuss it with them, trust your child. Make them participate in making family decisions, especially for things related to them. Personally, I don't believe in the concept of  'Teen Phase' in life. I believe when your child has reached puberty, they should be able of making their own life decisions, and have some responsibility about it. So, encourage it.

If you decide to send your child to a public or private school, regularly doing a family meeting never hurts. Monitor their progress, both in academic and extracurricular activities. When a children step into puberty, they need a friend. And I think the best friend you can give, dear parents, is yourself.