Are parents the best teachers ?

@tudors (1556)
China
February 5, 2009 9:21am CST
Do you agree or disagree that parents are the best teachers ? I personally think that parents are not the best teachers one can have. I would say, ego first, parents second and school teachers the last.
8 responses
@apoots77 (104)
• United States
5 Feb 09
I would say that parents are the greatest influence on their children both in a positive way and a negative way. For example, all of my children (4 of them) learned their ABC's before they were 2-years-old. That is because while I was home with them, I sang their ABC's to/with them every single day. They learned how to count before they started pre-school. A couple of them were reading at about 4-years-old. Unfortunately, these days, children have a very hard time with reading. When I was small, my father read to my sister and I every single night...sometimes 8 books...before going to sleep. That was partly because we didn't have a television. But I'll tell you what...both my sister and I could read when we were each 3-years-old. That benefited us as we grew. Now, there's the flip side. We have a child in our neighborhood (about 12 years old) who is constantly starting fires in the empty lots across from the houses on our street. We live in a fairly new development, so on our road, specifically, the houses line one side of the street. The lots have been marked across the street for new houses, but building hasn't begun yet. So this boy goes over there and plays with fire. Now, I'm not saying that he was TAUGHT to do this. But where are his parents? This boys younger sister (9-years-old) has the worst attitude of any child I've ever seen. She's disrespectful to the adults in the neighborhood as well as a complete brat to the other kids. In my opinion, after having 4 of my own and I have a soon-to-be step-son, these 2 kids have no supervision, which has lead them to act however they choose to. That is because the parents have, in a sense, taught them that it's ok to do what they want by not disciplining them. So, yes, parents are the best teachers....in both a good way and a bad way.
1 person likes this
@garychie (157)
• Philippines
7 Feb 09
Yes, i agree with you about parents not being the best teacher. I mean, not all the parents are the best teachers. There are some who simply don't care about the kid's studies because they, themselves, need education. For me, I, myself is the best teacher. I am the one who is motivating myself to do that and do this. I am the one who decided to learn things with the help of experiences in life. I can teach myself to be a good person and to be bad.
@jambi462 (4576)
• United States
5 Feb 09
I would have to say that parents are some of the best teachers easily because they teach you things all your life. Parents also take care of you and keep you living when you're not old enough to know how to do that. Parents are some of the best teachers but we are all teachers really. We just need to keep ourselves open to listen to all the little life lessons that we have to teach each other.
• India
5 Feb 09
ya definetly my parents are the best teacher only that is that they dont teach me my subject other than they teach me the moral values
@mermaidivy (15395)
• United States
5 Feb 09
I personally think parents are the best teachers, my mom used to always tell me the children will be what you are. It's important to start teaching it once you get pregnant - pre-natal education. I believe it is true and necessary. And children like to imitate adults a lot, if parents show them the right thing, they follow. So I think parents are the best teachers per say
@krajibg (11923)
• Guwahati, India
5 Feb 09
No. not at all. I would rather say parents are the worst teachers. Parents ae not detached from their love for their kids. As they judge it from that point of view you can not blame them. The best teacher is that who forgets all relationship with the family of the child and takes an impartial view over the student. I hope all the parents and all the teaching community pays an extra attention to this.
@crystal8577 (1466)
• United States
5 Feb 09
I am a bit confused by the ego comment. I do think that parents can be the best teachers. In most cases we are the ones who spend the most time with our children especially before they start school. A good parent will be very in tune with their children & know their temperments & what works best for the child. It can be hard for a teacher ton know what works for a student when they have to spread their focus over 20+ students. My youngest is 2 & personally learns a lot from her older sisters & just constant interaction. I know her & what makes her tick though better than most people.
• Malaysia
5 Feb 09
Parents can be the best teachers and they are in fact the best candidate to be the best teachers. However, more often than not, the parents who are supposed to be the best teachers neglect their duties as they continue their pursue of happiness and wealth, especially those who already have those. That's why most of the spoilt brats are actually from rich families. And don't forget that ego runs in the family. If the parents are able to teach the kids properly, I don't think ego will ever be a problem.