A plea to parents
THOUGH their militancy will be attacked at the annual conferences of the teaching unions, now one of the hardy Easter rituals, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers has a point when it asserts that a lack of boundaries at home is fuelling misbehaviour in the classroom.
Teachers cannot be expected to maintain – and enforce – discipline if children then run amok at home because of ineffective parental control, or their behaviour is being influenced by the poor example set by some of this country’s lesser role models.
As such, the ATL’s report is yet another reminder that education is a partnership between teachers, parents and pupils, and that it is a depressing indictment of today’s society that so many families fail to fulfil their side of the bargain.