Message from a primary teacher to parents

(Wrote for Bhutanobserver, April 27, 2012)

Picture: Paro College of Educatio, 2011

We understand that your child is the most beautiful and beloved budding flower in the garden of your family – the precious bud that you aspire to help blossom into a magnificent flower. We also see you as a dedicated gardener who constantly endeavours for the growth and development of your budding child – from growth to education. Deep in your mind, you always dream a better world for your child.

Just like sunlight for a flourishing blossom, education is indispensable for your child’s success. It is only on the wings of education that they can fly around to reach their destination. We understand that there is no shortcut to success. That’s why, your child is already in school – the temple of knowledge. And we (primary teachers) are supposed to introduce them the world of their own.

When we receive your child to the school, they become our beloved budding blossom too. From the core of our heart, we too dream of guiding them towards the greener meadow in their journey of life. We do our utmost to teach them with love and affection. Indeed, they are the most inspirational people in our hectic world of teaching. It is only their cute innocent faces watching at us that enthuse and inspire us to work hard.

We understand that teaching is one of the toughest professions, and it gets worse while dealing with lower classes. When the workload is heavy and working environment uneasy, sometimes we lose our temper while irritated by our children, and sometimes we scold and punish them. We understand that it is illegal, but we realize it only when our temper disappears. We understand that it is regretful, but our intention is not to destroy our children. We still love and care them. Deep in our heart, we always apologize even for accidentally giving them a dirty look. We dream to see our flowers shine in the bright sunshine, not die without success.  Hope you will understand this.

With our little knowledge and skills, we are truly dedicated to our students. However, just like water and sunlight alone cannot help flowers achieve their beauty, teachers alone cannot succeed in shaping the future of your child. Parental guidance is like nourishment for flowers. It is only with your help and guidance that your child can enjoy in school more, and improve their learning skills. Remember that your little enthusiasm to facilitate your child can work wonders in their learning.

All learning begins at home. So, positive learning environment at home is as important as a fertile garden for a flower plant. You have to embellish your child’s room or space with diversity of learning materials. If feasible, the materials should be able to help them in both psychological and physical development. The scenery should encourage them to learn and explore new things every day. It is your responsibility to nurture the garden that holds your lovely bud which will soon turn into a beautiful and lively flower.

As a teacher, we really appreciate your involvement in the day-to-day teaching. It is only with your feedback and suggestions that we understand your child better. We need to know what your children like to learn, and how they like to learn. It is just like a gardener knowing the nature of a flower. Some flowers flourish better in shade and some in the sunlight. So is your child. Each child learns different things in different ways. You know better about your child than anybody else. So you need to introduce them to us if we fail to know them.

You as the closest tutor to your child need to teach them fishing rather than fishing for them. Preoccupied by everyday works, some parents seem to get little time for their child and overlook child’s learning. For instance, sometimes, we give homework for your children. The benefit of doing homework is immense. We all know that. It is like photosynthesis process, which plants themselves need to practise. Homework not only gives your child adequate practice on a particular topic, but also keeps engaged during odd hours. But often you seem to do everything for them. When we do everything for them, the child learns nothing. Hence, guide them to carry out their task, but never do it for them.

Let’s work together with understanding for each other to make our children better and productive citizens. Let’s understand that we are the most important people for our children’s education. Let’s help each other to entrust our children their own share of world. And later on, let’s celebrate the beauty of blossom together.