Why do rural parents increasingly not value their children's education?
By A Rural Teacher
The day after the summer vacation began, I was walking on the street in the village when a student's parent said this to me: Teacher Lin, what score did our Kong Xiaoye get? I said: Not very good, barely passing. When you go to the school to pick up the report card the day after tomorrow, you will know her specific situation.
Kong Xiaoye's parent said with a smile: As long as she can pass, that's fine. I don't expect her to get into university. It's enough if she can muddle through and graduate from high school. Going to university isn't of much use these days anyway. After graduating from high school, she can just go out to work.
After hearing his words, I said nothing. I could not help but think of how my father dealt with us siblings on the matter of education when I was a child. As long as we had not finished the homework the teacher assigned each day, he would spank our bottoms with a broom, really hard. The sentence my father said most often to teachers was: Teacher, as long as he doesn't study hard, hit him as hard as you can. We won't blame you.
What about rural parents now? It is not only Kong Xiaoye's parent who no longer values their child's education; many rural parents no longer value their children's education. Through the observations of many teachers at our school, the following reasons have been found.
One.They think educating students is the school teachers' business and has nothing to do with parents.
Many rural parents believe: Since we have sent the students to school, whether the students learn well or not is your teachers' business. Many parents even say bluntly to the teachers at our school: My child's grades are poor because you teachers don't know how to teach.
Little do they realize that educating a child is the shared responsibility of school teachers and parents, and family education plays an even more important role. Because children spend more time together with their parents, only when school education and family education cooperate organically can children make greater progress in knowledge and skills.
Two, the theory that studying is useless is prevalent in rural areas.
Many reports now say: The salary of a certain university graduate after graduation is not even as high as that of a migrant worker. Yes, many people in our village who went out to work right after graduating from junior high school now have cars and houses, while university graduates of the same age as them earn only a few thousand yuan a month.
In addition, the cost of schooling is growing larger and larger now. High school and university tuition together add up to nearly 100,000 yuan. Many parents feel that with so much money, it would be better to let their children do a little business or learn a trade. Only that kind of investment brings returns; going to university brings no good returns.
It is precisely because many parents have seen this kind of comparison that they feel studying is useless. If going to school cannot help you earn more money later, then why go to school at all? Wouldn't it be better not to go to school and go out to work early?
Of course, there are many other reasons why rural parents do not value their children's education. Some rural parents do value their children's education very much, but they have no time. In order to earn money, they have no choice but to go out to work, leaving their children and the elderly at home.
Finally, let me end with a passage Long Yingtai wrote to Andreas, dedicated to all parents who see this article.
"Child, I ask you to study hard not because I want you to compare your grades with others, but because I hope that in the future you will have the right to choose, to choose meaningful work that leaves you time, rather than being forced to make a living. When your work is meaningful in your heart, you will have a sense of achievement. When your work gives you time and does not deprive you of your life, you will have dignity. A sense of achievement and dignity give you happiness."