Parents are the best teachers.
Parents are the best teachers.
Do you agree with this statement?
They are the water sources to give life to small minds and who help kids to learn various skills and teach them to talk, walk, and further share their own experiences to decide the good and the bad in today’s fast paced and extremely competitive world. A distinction needs to be made and understood between Parental Education and Education at Schools. We get our values, our cultural inputs from our parents whereas schools impart academic education to shape our careers for a bright future.
Early in life, parents are the only people known for their kids, taking care of them and showering love and affection and devoting time in order to teach them the early skills of body actions, gestures, eating, walking and so on. As they enter school and take up higher education parents offer their help by suggesting courses and locating resources in the form of books, friendly contacts that can be extremely useful in shaping up a child’s future.
Parents teach less by telling children what they should or should not to do and more by daily life examples. A father, who does have his meals on time, will never be able to teach his children to have their meals on time. A mother, who is untidy at work, cannot expect her children to be clean and neat in their work habits. Research on marriage and divorce has shown that children of divorced parents are very likely to have broken marriages themselves.
Small kids acquire much more skills by studying their parents and imitating their actions and behavioral actions. For instance a kid trying to clean the floor as his mother or trying to hold a pen to write like his father are ways where kids are learning constantly from their home teachers i.e. their parents.
As kids grow up, parents have to enter the role of supervising and guiding children especially during exams or when facing challenging situations or making right choices. Values like punctuality, honesty, loyalty, discipline, cleanliness, and respect for laws/ elders are passed on by parents to their children.
When the child first comes in the world it is the parents who are associated with them for that first phase who make the child acquainted with the world outside. The child learns to speak by picking up the words his parents use while talking to him or her. The initial understanding of what is good for the child and what can be dangerous makes the child aware of what is right or wrong
It would be apt to conclude with Fred Rogers’ quote. He said, “parents are like shuttles on a loom. They join the threads of the past with threads of the future and leave their own bright patterns as they go.”
Discussion
- RE: Parents are the best teachers. -Deepa Kaushik (04/16/14)
- Parents undoubtedly are best teachers. Children gain a lot of knowledge from the things they visualize and experience in life. A child gets his basic intellect from his parents and the family is so called the first stepping stone of a child’s life.
The family circumstances and the behaviour and mannerism of the parents is the first thing that a child tries to mimic. They consciously and unconsciously incorporate many good and bad qualities into their children. Right from the parents’ gesture towards family members, friends to the outsiders and strangers, the child grasps every little detail to his best.
Being so influential for their kids’, parents can impart and carve their children to a beautiful piece of art. It is the duty for the parents to make their kids understand the value of emotions in life and differentiate good values from bad ones. To be precise, kids are like kites whose string is on their parents’ hold. Let them swing beautifully their course and guide them their way towards the path of positivity.
- Parents are the best teachers. -Janhvi Johorey (04/04/14)
Parents are the best teachers. Do you agree with the statement? Give reasons.
Introduction
While parents are important in one’s life, they are not the best teachers. The most important lessons a person can learn come from within. Self introspection and critical examination of one’s progress are far more valuable as one becomes aware of the flaws that one has. Parents tend to be very affectionate and they often lack the objectivity to deliver life’s painful lessons to their children. Instead, parents try to shield their children from the harsh realities of life and give them every comfort in the world. Like the ancient king Dhritarashtra in Mahabharata who could not see obvious flaws in his precious son Duryodhana, parents are often blind to the faults of their children. Parents also come from a different generation and their experiences are very different from those of their children. In such a situation, it is very difficult to impart meaningful lessons to their children.
Viewpoint
Parents play an important role in a child’s life. Sigmund Freud, one of the world’s most famous psychologists is also the father of Anna Freud who specialized in this field as well. Many youngsters have tried to follow in the footsteps of their illustrious parents. But this does not necessarily mean that parents are the best teachers for their children. Parents may end up trying to use the child to fulfil their own dreams of becoming a doctor or a lawyer. Children may be forced into professions they find drab and unappealing. Such is the complexity of each parent-child relationship that not all fathers and mothers are the best teachers when it comes to their own children. Very capable professionals often find themselves unable to relate to their children. Differences in age gap and cultural values come about between the generations. This generation gap is often hard to bridge. Parents often lack the ability to understand the complexities and pressures of modern life. They come from a different era and they do not understand modern changes.
Moreover, parents often lack the education or skills in certain areas. As education has advanced and universities have become more accessible, more people are able to finish their education. Their parents come from an earlier era where education of women was often neglected. So, mothers may lack the sensitivity to understand the ambitions of their daughters. Parents may not have the capabilities to give children any valuable information or lessons about life or knowledge. In places where poverty is rampant, parents often come from low socioeconomic backgrounds and they may have worked hard in blue collar jobs to given their children education. In such a scenario, parents often lack the time to be there for their children. They may be too burdened with work to given adequate care or attention to their children.
Another important point is the bond of affection that ties a parent to his or her child. Parents love their children so much that they are often unaware of any flaws their little boy or girl may have. They tend to have idealized notions of their children. Everyone has flaws. Parents tend to sideline any faults in the character of their children and they may not be able to have the neutrality to given important lessons to their children. Technological advancements have also come about rather rapidly. Nowadays, thanks to the boom in Internet technology and media, youngsters often know more than their parents. In such a case, parents cannot be the best teachers as they lack information and know-how. They may not be able to give valuable advice because they themselves have limited knowledge.
Conclusion
Parents try to help their children to grow well. But sometimes, life’s challenges can be harder than expected. In such a case, it becomes very difficult to rely on lessons given by parents. As one grows and develops, there are all kinds of hurdles that need to be crossed. Self knowledge is a crucial aspect of any growth process. Socrates remarked that one should “know thyself” and life’s most valuable learning experiences often sprout from inner wisdom as time passes. Parents can teach us important lessons, but they are not the best teachers. The best teacher one can ever have is life. Life moulds and shapes us. We are a product of our life circumstances. Every incident in our life is a learning experience. We should see it as such if we want to become the best versions of ourselves, and not the worst.
