Thursday, October 2, 2014

Am I My Neighbour’s Children’s Keeper?

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4 comments:

Anonymous said...

it look like students have no homework to do.
(china public school = 10 hour school + 4 hour homework)

October 3, 2014 at 6:37 AM
Anonymous said...

....Use stimulating TV programs to get them home during those off hours.....good article Stan.

October 3, 2014 at 2:48 PM
Anonymous said...

A good one, Stan.

I have travelled reasonably and have observed different countries, and none are perfect. What I have noticed though is that in the Far East there is a greater importance attached to learning generally. Parents will go to the wall to get their children to do well at school. This is not the case in SLU. The family unit is also more solid elsewhere. Children naturally try and rub against what is acceptable and the parents are the first line of defence in stopping them going too far. If the mother/father are slack then the children will obviously fail.

In the absence of government intervention, I would suggest a mix of solutions, starting with the Schools and parents engaging to implement Bus timetables so that the kids either get on an approved bus or the parent has to pick them up direct. I'm not convinced 'after school' activities are going to work for large numbers - the ones who do it would not be trouble makers anyway so its aimed at the wrong sort. Obviously the more schools/societies can offer the better though.

There should be more parent/teacher sessions where attendance by both parents is compulsory. Parents need to feel like educating their child is their responsibility. Teaching does stop at 3 PM.

Until Lucian parents start taking more responsibility it will be tough. The government needs to do more to stamp out crime generally as we all know. This, coupled with better economic and social policies could help break the chain. More economically developed societies have children later and therefore with fewer partners.

October 4, 2014 at 3:01 AM
Anonymous said...

Stan, your last sentence is my first concern; "...the chidren are our future, right?" Wrong! They are the present. Your engagment with the present therefore - what you do or do not do with the students today - is the future.

Second concern: I hope you are not thinking that 15, 16, 17, 18 year olds are "children." Even if they dress in school attire, these are young adults who are students. You cannot plan to confront an 18-year old man and march him to get inside a bus nor can you compel him to sit in a math class after school or at any other time for that matter. These interventions may work for children; it will not be effective with young adults. So frankly, in the situation you comment on, the word "children" is problematic, and should be retired because there is power in words. You did hear about their high-tech, high-powered planning, so I expect the students themselves will be included in planning the strategies to stop loitering.

October 5, 2014 at 3:56 AM

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