According to Bridges4kids, a non-profit organisation based in the US, nearly 6 million children in the country are at risk of failing at school, which might cause them to drop out and lead unproductive lives.
There are many reasons that might be attributed to the poor performance at school. Among them are unstable family environments and failure by parents to provide a positive influence for their children.
What other factors do you think could contribute to a child's failure or success in school? Should parents be penalised for their children's failure? Why?
Most teachers are frustrated by lack of parental involvement in their children's studies.
It depends on whether parents have the time to be involved with their child's studies. Here it seems that people are overworked, so a child who has two working parents would not be able to approach them. Because they don't have the time to help with their child's assignments or answer their questions, it may affect their performance at school.
Karen Mateo
Abu Dhabi
Education starts at home so parents should be involved in the teaching process with their children. It's a good way to give them some knowledge before they start attending school. Unfortunately, many parents nowadays are either over worked or don't care about their children's studies. That might make teachers frustrated because they aren't contributing to their children's education.
Guevarra Belisario
Abu Dhabi
Parents should do their part at home so they can compliment the efforts of teachers in school and so help their children reach their full potential. They can do that by helping with assignments, making learning easier and making sure that their children understand the material thoroughly. Also, parents can monitor what is being taught and offer tips to improve them if need be.
Subhasis Mukherjee
Dubai
The academic structure requires equal contributions from both parents and teachers for a child to overcome the syllabus. However, the involvement of working parents is very limited. At the same time, a teacher might face difficulty in handling children of more than 40 children in a classroom. Therefore parental involvement is a must for their children to succeed in examinations.
Ramachandran Nair
Oman
Schools cannot function as surrogate parents to pupils.
I am a teacher and have come across so many conflicts raised in school by parents who completely believe that enrolling their children is the end of their duty and expect everything from the school. A child needs support from both parents and teachers. Even though teachers are important, they cannot become surrogate parents to their pupils.
Rupinder Arora
Dubai
It is a proven fact that children perform well if they get proper assistance at home because whatever is taught at school can be built upon at home. However, education trends have changed. To approach a school with a good reputation or to get some private lessons are not enough, the fact that parents are neglecting their children is making them suffer.
Sarwat Rizwan
Dubai
It depends on the circumstances. If a pupil looks like he or she might need more guidance because they aren't getting it at home, then a teacher has to decide to approach the situation. It might cause the teacher to become like a second parent but if it helps the pupil, then there shouldn't be a problem.
Arnold Braulio
Abu Dhabi
It's important for pupils to be able to trust their teachers so they can approach them about any problem. Because there are some things that pupils might prefer speaking only to teachers about, so if they can find a solution to the problem it would help children a lot. It might make them do better in school as well as feel better about themselves.
Joey Enriquez
Abu Dhabi
Children of separated families should be placed under special tutorship.
Children who have a positive outlook in life even though their families are separated get good or excellent grades in school while children who perceive their lives as negative because of the separation of their families are often left behind in class. If that is the case, then they should be given special tutorship and advice to help them.
Ana Leah Mejia-Rivera
Dubai
If teachers think that the problems that pupils are facing at home are having a negative impact on them, then they should give the pupil attention. The school could also try speaking to the parents so they can coordinate with the teachers to make sure that the child doesn't feel neglected, which can cause them to do poorly at school.
Haitham Al Qaisi
Abu Dhabi
If parents are divorced, then their children wouldn't be given as much attention as before, so schools have to step in and give them attention or tutorship if they need it. Teachers can provide them with guidance as well as give them extra lessons if they are falling behind. It might help them do better both at school and personally.
Mohammad Abbas
Abu Dhabi
Because pupils who come from homes where their parents have separated might not receive any guidance or attention, the school should step in and help them. If talking to the parents hasn't solved the problem then teachers can provide extra tutoring lessons as well as counselling so the children would not only do better in school but also become good members of society in the future.
Safi Younus
Dubai
Parents of children who do badly in exams due to negligence should be penalised by law.
It depends on whether the child is a minor or not. If a child is in school and it seems that he or she is not doing very well, then parents should be alerted about it so they can fix the situation. But if they are at university and are considered as adults, then parents shouldn't be penalised for their failure in examinations.
Karen Saarinen
Abu Dhabi
First the school should find out what is the reason behind their failure. If it's something simple, then they should just bring it to the attention of parents that their children aren't doing very well. If it's something minor, like parents working too much, then they might make an effort to be more attentive and that would help their children excel at school.
Marjorie Kho
Abu Dhabi
The school should speak to the parents and find out why they aren't doing well. If it's because they are being overworked and don't have time to help their children with their schoolwork, then they should work out a solution to that. But the law shouldn't penalise parents; they should find a way to fix the problem in private.
Abdul Rahim
Dubai
Parents shouldn't be penalised by law if their children aren't doing well in school. The school should bring that to the attention of the parents first and try to find a solution. If there is a private problem then they should work it out as a family instead of having something external interfering in their lives.
Abdul Razzak
Sharjah
