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Show Schoolers, and Home c j by Daryl J. McCarty Executive Secretary Utah Education Association Bang me over the head with a tire tool. Cancel my membership mem-bership in the Nice Guys Association. Criticize me all you want, but I just have to say something you might not like. It's this: Too many parents have been neglecting what I consider a sacred obligation. They don't take the time to meet the teachers of their children. That's bad? That's awful! Let's face it: Next to a child's parents, there's possibly nobody else in the world who knows the youngster better than his or her teacher. Students and teachers are together about 1,200 hours a year. Chances are, if you scheduled a good chat with the teacher, you'd learn a lot about your child-good things. I know a man who seldom saw the inside of a school. His wife telephoned him at the office and asked him to pick up their daughter at school. She wasn't outside when he arrived. So he walked into the school auditorium where he sighted a group of kids. A band was playing onstage, and he spotted his daughter there, playing the flute. The sight and sound of his youngster making such beautiful music touched the man so deeply that he cried. Sometimes, though, we parents don't find such glorious scenes when we visit our children's schools. We may find that the son who is a quiet, kind and cheerful junior Dr. Jekyll at home can be a howling Mr. Hyde at school. If you're a parent and your child goes to school, you cannot do the best possible job or rearing that child unless you talk with that person who may know your child nearly as well as you do. I mean the teacher. It's traditional to make New Year's resolutions. Well, this is a new school year. Enough said? |