Which do we value more, our car or our children? Sadly, I think that many children may be coming in second in this race.

When our car isn’t working right we take it to our dealer; describe the symptoms that we are experiencing and leave the car with the dealer with the expectation that they will fix it, without any further input from us, and call us when it is “ready.”

If upon picking up the car we find that it is still exhibiting the undesired symptoms, we will return it to the dealer, sometimes while exhibiting a tone of dissatisfaction, and demand that the dealer “Fix it!”

What if that doesn’t work? Then we will likely get in touch with the manufacturer and demand that either the dealer remedy the situation, or the manufacturer issue a recall to fix the situation.

So far correct? I think so.

Now let’s take a look at how some deal with their children. Often they are sent to school to be “educated.” Parents just drop them off at the school (garage), and expect that the school will educate (fix) them without any further input from them. So far just like a defective car isn’t it? In fact, just like we can bring our car to the garage caked with mud, we can bring our child to school without proper preparation for school loaded with distractions. So far am I right? I think so.

If the car, caked with mud, which hides the defect that we complained about, we still expect the mechanic to fix it. Would we get upset if the garage charged us for cleaning the car first? You bet!

What about the school? Do we expect them to deal with the unprepared, and distracted, child and educate (fix) them? We sure do!

What if they don’t? Who do we blame? In the case of our car the manufacturer had in his warranty phrases that refer to “normal wear and tear.” Unfortunately our schools don’t seem to want to invoke this clause when it comes to children, nor do they want to charge for “extra preparation.”

When we find that a dealer cannot fix our car, we revert to the manufacturer and demand a cure. Who is the “manufacturer” in the case of education? Isn’t it the parent?

If this is the case why doesn’t the child, or the school, demand redress from the parent? If it were the car we would do it in a heartbeat wouldn’t we?

There are volumes of “Research” that suggest that much of the success, or failure, of children in school has to do with the parent (manufacturer). We are quite ready to demand that manufacturers produce a usable product. Why aren’t we willing, as taxpayers who have to pay for this, demand the same from parents? Is it OK for parents to neglect their child’s education, ply them with distractions and condone unacceptable behavior, then place the responsibility for correcting this upon the taxpayer?

What do you think? I think we have a lot of children that need a better “fix” than we are offering if they are to survive in the knowledge generation.