Parent with the pupils
Do you feel giving children a grounding in financial matters is the parents' or a school's responsibility and why? If you do it for your children how have you done so? Use your photos.
When I teach as a mathematics teacher, I notice that the energy, intentionality, and positivity parents put into making sure that their kids learn one or two is the same energy if not average that the kids put into learning because their parents believe they can learn and if the reverse is the case, we would also notice the nonchalant attitude from the child.
I wouldn't be justifying my response because I am a teacher but because I hope and know that someday I will not only be a teacher but a parent and it would be wrong or irresponsible and inappropriate to put every responsibility on teachers or feel that teachers are supposed to be the ones to teach and ground my children on something I am supposed to do.
I have had to deal with parents who come complaining about their kids not doing this or not doing that, and I tell them the same thing, it is my job to teach your kids but the job is more on you to make sure that every single lessons, subject or topics I have taught them is at a little percentage stuck in their heads because I don't expect them to remember everything.
We spend a few hours with these kids, in short, for a school that has different teachers for different subjects we spend at most an hour with these kids, and when we realize that a good percentage of students understand a particular topic, we move on to the next, because not all students will grasp and not all student will grasp at the same time or space but when they are home, as intentional parents, it is our duty to make sure that they do understand or have a grasp of what they are being taught no matter how tiny it is.
Now, when it involves finances, firstly, we have no business giving a child money as a teacher, it is mostly on the parents to take care of their kids, so even if we teach the kids the importance of grounding and being responsible when it comes to our finances, I believe we can do little about that because the parents have the upper hand in teaching their kids better.
Secondly, children are products of their homes, their backgrounds, and families, so we are just going to be doing the talking teachers but the practical aspect and the most essential aspects lie in the hands of their parents who expect them to believe the theory of grounding or being responsible about our finances.
Teachers and pupils
Grounding in financial matters solely lies in the hands of parents, as teachers we have little or nothing to do with that, it is easier for the kids to understand and believe when they see their parents live by example than believe totally the words of their teachers.
They may want to believe it because the teacher taught them that but if their parent's words and actions say otherwise, then they would go with what the parents say and do. After all, at that moment, they believe their parents know all and never make mistakes or lies.
Parents have the bigger role to play in grooming their kids all the way and all around, more importantly in the financial aspect and if a teacher decides to do it for a student it is because they believe they can do it, and believe that the child can learn. It is not in the scope of their lesson, it is not their absolute job, they don't have that prerequisite or responsibility neither is it their obligation to carry out such duty.
We ought to know that teachers are parents too, they are humans, they deserve a break, they have many jobs from teaching other people's children to teaching their children as well, that's a lot of jobs and truthfully, society puts so much pressure on them and outcome of their parenting on their kids.
Society has set this oblivious standard that children whose parents are teachers are expected to be and act this way and also expect them to groom the students or children who are their care to get to a certain point giving them no room to look out for their children
The teachers who are parents in turn put so much pressure on their children even when they don't give them the benefit of the doubt and breathing space. We have to let the teachers be teachers and parents should as well take up the responsibility of grooming and grounding their kids the right way so that the job becomes easier for the teachers not just in their place of work but at home as well.
This is my entry to Weekend-Engagement topics: WEEK 226
Ps: All pictures are mine