The silence at the end of the school year

I am a member of the parent association of my child’s class, so I often contact parents. I believe that if we want to be closer, we need to communicate more. But many times when I call, before I can say anything, a parent asks: What are you paying again?

At the end of the school year, discussing the reward for learning, we divided it into 3 levels: good students, excellent students and students with awards in competitions to estimate the reward level. But when receiving the statistics of the children's achievements in the school year, the mood was hard to describe. Just the list of good students alone filled two A4 sheets, because the whole class had titles. Among them, the number of excellent students was also very long. Not to mention the awards, roughly close to 20 children. A parent in the association burst out laughing happily, then wondered: I don't know how much of my child's achievements are real.

After the graduation ceremony, social media is filled with certificates, awards, and achievement statements. After the happy feeling, comes sadness. Sadness because at this time, many parents have time to sit down and evaluate their children's real level and ability. The reality is far different from the final score or academic performance recorded on the certificate. So many children have to continue a third semester, no more summer.

The smiles on the last day of the school year in recent years are not limited to academic achievements. They are also the smiles of children who have had a group party, in which many children are solemnly invited by the parents' association to attend a party at a restaurant. Many children are organized by the parents' association to go on a long-term tour far from their dormitory with a cost of about 3 million VND/student, or some classes choose to go on tours with much higher costs.

Having a party, going on a trip, there is no child who does not smile. Only parents find it difficult to smile. That level of expense is not common for many families.

And of course there is one more thing. While the children are laughing happily, many parents are laughing worriedly. There are many adults on the student tour buses. That is because parents cannot rest assured when their children are traveling far away. There are so many safety risks. For the sake of their children's smiles, some parents have to arrange to go along, losing a day of work and doubling the cost.

End of year smiles are being created with the hope of rewarding children after a hard year of studying. But the excessiveness in organizing here and there has made many adults not laugh properly. That silence has said a lot, but this year it still exists.

Thai Minh

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/khoang-lang-cuoi-nam-hoc-249868.htm