This issue has reared its head in the press again this week and has sparked much conversation and debate. The argument put forward this week is that more should be done to deter parents from lying to get their child in to the school of their choice and there should be a bigger crackdown on those parents that have done this.
Now if you ask many parents they will say that they want thee best for their children and I think you have to commend parents that put their children first and do anything they can to give their children the best upbringing possible but the question is where do you draw the line?
If you as a parent are willing to cheat and lie to get your child in to the school of your choosing what message does that send to your children. As parents we have to be examples to our children. There are other problems associated with cheating to get in to schools like if other children find out that you cheated to get your child in they may pick on your child or you yourself may have problems with other parents at the school.
Schools can be a bit of a postcode lottery at times which I don’t think is fair but cheating is not the answer. If you happen to have a house in the radius of a good school your lucky but then what can happen is that wealthier families can afford to buy and move in to houses near these schools to get their children in which isn’t cheating but unfair on low income families who can’t do that.
I think more needs to be done to improve failing or underperforming schools as this is the only way we will avoid this situation. At the moment it seems more is being done on the prevention side but not the cure. It is only when we work on the cure that we will improve education for young people which is the real issue here.
What are your thoughts on cheating to get a school place? We would love to know and you can share your thoughts by going to:
Adam Sibley Founder of the Talented Young People organisation www.talentedyoungpeople.com "Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!" ”Shaking up the Youth of Today”
Posted on: 07/14/08(0 ratings) Author: TaraLConley
The more things change, the more things . . . (blah blah, you already know the cliché).
So I’m perusing my Google Alerts this morning and I came across an interesting piece by Shankar Vedantam, entitled “Sideline Rage: Sports Parents Go Berserk.” The article had me from the word “berserk” (honestly, when was the last time you’ve seen the word “berserk” in a Washington Post headline!).
Vedantam's article got me thinking about when I was growing up, and yeah, I do recall momsy and pops losing their tops on occasion. If I were ‘going by’ psychologist, Jay Goldsteins’ findings I would say that my parents’ rage was, in part, symptomatic of their determination to see me receive an athletic scholarship. I didn’t grow up with a silver spoon stuck in my mouth so the Conley family depended on that ‘free money’ to get me through college. Their rage wasn’t all in vain because I did get that scholarship and my parents had one less financial burden to confront at the beginning of the Bush administration’s government-spend-a-spree!
I remember one time during an AAU basketball game, a woman sitting about ten feet from my mom and dad shouted a vulgarity toward me on the court (I think she didn’t like how I was d-ing up her daughter – ha! I kid.). So, my mother, in all her glory, stood up and walked over to the enraged woman and, well, they both proceeded to share sweet nothings back-and-forth. On cue, my father then chimed in, adding his priceless two cents. After about five minutes of bickering, the parents were asked to leave, the game was over, and I don’t remember if we even won or lost the game.
It’s a jungle out there on the playing field, especially when parents are each other’s prey. So in the spirit of ‘sport for good,’ remember kiddies and kiddos: it’s just a game—even if it IS your only means toward receiving a college education in this day and age, the game will be there tomorrow—and so will mom and dad (that is, of course, if they aren’t spending a night in county jail).
And finally, here’s your moment of Zen (WARNING: PARENTS PLEASE DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME, OR AT YOUR KID’S PEE WEE FOOTBALL GAME, OR IN THE SCHOOL PARKING LOT AFTER THE GAME. IT’S SO NOT A GOOD LOOK.)
