Noisy class party: Inflexible adults, disadvantaged children

On the occasion of the 2023-2024 school year summary, social networks were abuzz with the story of a mother who did not pay into the parent-student fund, so her child could not have a party with his friends. Late on the afternoon of May 27, the Hai Duong Department of Education and Training sent a report to the Ministry of Education and Training about this incident.

According to the verification of the department, the first grader still got to eat candy and cookies with his friends, but did not have his own fried chicken meal but still ate with his friends. The reason is that the child's parents did not contribute their opinions to the class's Zalo group and did not contribute money to the parent-student fund. The Department of Education and Training requested the Gia Loc District Education and Training Department to direct Gia Luong Primary School to work with the parents to share and sympathize; organize a common experience exchange in management work.

This unnecessary uproar may have come to an end in terms of management, but the consequences it left behind cannot disappear naturally, and similar cases like this are not rare in schools. This is a common lesson that schools, parent-teacher associations and each parent themselves should refer to and learn from.

In similar situations, the solution that many Parent-Teacher Associations apply is to still buy enough bonus meals for all students with the collected money or some other parents pay extra to make up for the shortfall. The principal of the elementary school where the incident happened also said that the organizing department should have been flexible in buying an extra meal for the child. However, this solution is not entirely reasonable because parents who do not pay may not agree to let their children eat at the party. If other parents arbitrarily feed that student, they may be opposed.

To avoid similar noises, the most important thing is to have an exchange and agreement between the Parents' Association and all parents in the class in the spirit of aiming for the best interests of the students. For parents who do not agree to contribute to the fund, it is necessary to find a way to get their opinions on whether they want their children to attend the party with their friends. If they still want to, the Parents' Association can flexibly share a few more parts for the children. If parents do not want their children to participate, the Parents' Association and teachers should still convince the parents to let the students participate in common activities like their classmates. Each parent also needs to pay attention to the rights, needs, and psychology of their children who want to be part of the group like other students. The Parents' Association should not be rigid in "no payment, no place". Parents themselves should not insist on separating their children from common activities such as partying because it can make them feel sorry for themselves because they are not like their friends. If parents find the organization or contribution level unreasonable, they should give their opinions so that the Parents' Representative Committee can discuss and make adjustments.

After all the noise, the most disadvantaged person is still the child. The rigidity of adults has caused the first grader to have an unhappy first memory of his school life. Hopefully, after the reports and conclusions, after the explanations from many sides, schools and parents will truly learn from their experiences so that no more students will be hurt in an environment where they should feel the safest and happiest.