Letter to the Editor - School Reviews

I am writing this letter in response to the articles in the newspaper lately about the quality of our local schools.  Our schools are being reviewed about how well they are teaching our kids.  What the reviews leave out is how much we as parents and guardians have contributed to the low review scores.  What people seem to forget is that the schools are there to teach our kids and should be heavily reviewed for how well they do this task.  But we as parents play a much greater role than the school at how well our kids learn what was taught.  If we do not ensure that our children do their homework, then is that the school's fault?  If our kids tell us they have done their homework but we do not check it for errors, then is that the school's fault?  If we do not ensure that our kids get a good night sleep, then is that the school's fault?  If we do not show up for the parent teacher conferences, then is that the school's fault?  If we let the TV or the Internet be a babysitter to our children, then is that the school's fault?  If we let our kids friends be more of an influence then we are, then is that the school's fault?  You see when you and I took on the task of being a parent or guardian.  We took on the responsibility of ensuring that our kids do their part in learning what was taught in school.  We are to be completely aware of all things that our kids are doing at school.  We should not just shrug off bad performance reviews as just the school’s problem, but we should first look in the mirror and ask how much of the problem falls on our shoulders as parents or guardians.  So when you see all these bad performance reviews for our area school we need to ask “What would have been my review as a parent during this time?”  Schools should be reviewed and held to task for not teaching our kids well.  But they cannot be held responsible for teaching a child who does not want to learn and has parents or guardians that do not care either.   If we want to see our school reviews get better, then lets all do our part at getting more involved in our children's world.