Home-School Collaboration

It's exams period once again for my students who are in schools that have a quarterly graded curriculum. This is the time of the season that our family tutorial business booms. Suddenly, we're all in a panic to do review tests, Lloyd starts to appear on weekdays, and we have students coming in from 1 in the afternoon until 9 in the evening. We are on the brighter side of financial stability this month. Should I be happy about it? As a business person, yes, I do think so.

As a teacher and parent, I'm not that glad about it. You see, we have students mostly from well-off families in our village. They all study in exclusive schools in the Pasig, Quezon City and Mandaluyong area. They come in with the rich boy/girl aura and often brag about their latest phones, Ipod, or any techie gadget that I can just drool on at the moment. Nakakahiya talaga pag itinabi sa phone nila ang phone ko! Some of them have parents that are both working, but most of them have parents who are free during the day but do not have the patience to teach them their lessons at home.

I, for one, have 2 students in pre-school. Pre-school kids, in my opinion, do not need personal tutors. It's pre-school, they should be enjoying learning with play. Their assignments are super simple and can be done at with assistance with the parent or guardian who is available. They only need me when there is a learning disability that only a professional can handle. Still, parents do not need to be professionals if they really want to help their children with their learning disabilities, right? There's a connection with parent and child that even I as a teacher cannot have with my student. It's not the same.

I am just wondering about the new culture of parenting that I am observing now. Does parenting only mean providing food, clothing, education, and gadgets to our children? What about the emotional aspect of parenting? Does it fall below the line of priority for most busy parents? Work na lang ba palagi? Doing homeworks and lesson reviews can also be a bonding moment between parent and child, don't you think?

Hay, I think I am too emotionally involved with my students already. I feel their need for parental attention. Their behavior shows it. Daydreaming, being talkative, being inferior, and being pasaway are just some of the manifestations. How did I prove they need attention? Well, before starting our sessions I always ask them how their day in school was and they often share updates and funny anecdotes. After our chit chat, they seem more eager to study and do their homework. Probably, they feel that I understand why they needed extra review on a lesson after hearing what they underwent in school that day.

What I'm saying here is that it's ok for parents to hire tutors to help their kids with their lessons if there is really a need for it. For example, if Algebra and Trigo is all Greek to a parent, then go and find a math tutor. But they should make it a point to review them on other subjects that they can handle. At least, the children will have a feeling that their parents are trying their best to teach them and to be involved in their learning process. That is what my son's school call Home-School Collaboration.