Parents, teach your children well

Going into 2019, one has to wonder with the imminent release of matric results what the quality of the results would be.

Are we stooping further to a 1% pass mark or has the class of 2018 done better than their predecessors? As a mother of a son, I can only hope the quality of education will have drastically improved.

We may lay the responsibility of education on the powers that be, but we, as parents, have the responsibility of honing and shaping these young minds.

As parents, we cannot solely rely on teachers and the education system to raise our children. It remains our responsibility, not that of teacher and principal.

As another school year draws to an end, may we never forget that we cannot take a break from educating our children: parenting extends beyond the classroom. Teachers are an extension of parents, not vice versa.

Learning extends far beyond the four walls of a classroom. As the silly season is upon us, may we be exemplary to our children. May we take this time to mentally and emotionally prepare our children for a new academic year as education should never go on leave.

May we never go on break from shaping their minds and rebuilding a society that had broken down because of an absence of active parenting and discipline. The broken walls of our society will never be rebuilt if we believe our parental responsibility to our children can take a break.

The quality of education may be questionable, but are we questioning the work ethic of our children? Are we, as parents, motivating and encouraging our children enough to produce results and the quality of work that make them a force to be reckoned with?

Parents who have not secured their children’s schooling, parents who still need to buy school supplies and uniforms, those who can afford fees but have not paid them yet, may your children’s academic and holistic future be more important to you.

May your New Year’s resolution and your gift to your children be that you prove your love by being active and responsible parents who may be deemed role models to your offspring – because learning does go far beyond the four walls of a classroom.

Kekeletso Nakeli-Dhliwayo.

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