Letter: Parents must put children’s needs first

Saturday, July 19, 1997 | 11:23 a.m.

When I was a student, I can't remember anyone ever blaming a bad grade or a discipline problem on the clothes a teacher was wearing. I really don't remember what the teachers wore then.

What I do remember is what good teachers I had, how hard they worked, how devoted they were to their profession and their students and how they inspired me to be the best that I could be. The students and the community in general had a great deal of respect for teachers then.

Besides our teachers, we students had another asset going for us: our parents. Parents took responsibility for their children in those days. They disciplined them, taught them manners, self-control and respect for themselves and others. You would never hear of a parent putting down a teacher. They supported the schools 100 percent.

I just read about a young girl who was beaten up at a bus stop by an older and bigger boy. When the girl's father called the boy's mother, her reply was, "There are two sides to every story." The father said, "If I would have done what he did as a child, I would not have been able to sit down for a week." To which the mother replied, "Times have changed."

Yes, times have changed. We still have excellent teachers who are working harder than ever, but far too many parents (and others in the community) nowadays make excuses, pass the buck and blame everything and everyone else for their children's shortcomings.

Our children did not ask to be born, we chose to bring them into this world. And it cannot be stressed enough that it is PARENTS who are the primary teachers and nurturers of their children. And whoever invented the phrase "quality time" should be run out of town. Children need quantity time. They need us around all the time. And that means we need to put our children's needs ahead of our own.

Some musts for parents are: spending time each day (no matter how tired they are) reading to their children, talking to them and taking an interest in their school work.

Children need a consistent schedule, which includes less TV, an early bedtime and a good breakfast.

Children also need to know that their parents support their teacher's efforts and that their parents will not put up with any nonsense or misbehavior in school.

When parents put their children at the top of their priority list, take back their authority and accept responsibility for the well-being of their children, it will carry over into the school environment and it won't matter what style of clothing the teacher is wearing.

Maria A. Brown