How About Better Parents?

        Instead of blaming things on the bad teachers in our school systems we should also blame the parents. Parents are teachers too, they taught their kids how to read and tie their shoes, they are the children's first teacher outside of a classroom setting. The article informs us that, "Every three years, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or O.E.C.D., conducts exams as part of the Program for International Student Assessment, or PISA, which tests 15-year-olds in the world’s leading industrialized nations on their reading comprehension and ability to use what they’ve learned in math and science to solve real problems" and America is lagging behind other nations. Now, the O.E.C.D. is also asking the participants how they were raised and what their childhood was like. There were three main findings published including, children who were read to as children had higher scores. Parents who encouraged their children to go to college also scored higher. 
     Thomas L. Friedman's thesis stated, "To be sure, there is no substitute for a good teacher. There is nothing more valuable than great classroom instruction. But let’s stop putting the whole burden on teachers. We also need better parents. Better parents can make every teacher more effective", and I agree. Parents choose the easy way out and blame the teachers when parents should step up and also act like a teacher. Friedman's audience is parents that want to help their children become the best that they can be and he uses simple diction to reach a broader audience. Teachers are a vital part of our country and are hardly even recognized for their work. We should all support teachers and congratulate them on their excellent contributions to children's lives. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/20/opinion/sunday/friedman-how-about-better-parents.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=general