Cheating for a school place

This issue has reared its head in the press again this week and has sparked much conversation and debate. The argument put forward this week is that more should be done to deter parents from lying to get their child in to the school of their choice and there should be a bigger crackdown on those parents that have done this.

Now if you ask many parents they will say that they want thee best for their children and I think you have to commend parents that put their children first and do anything they can to give their children the best upbringing possible but the question is where do you draw the line?

If you as a parent are willing to cheat and lie to get your child in to the school of your choosing what message does that send to your children. As parents we have to be examples to our children. There are other problems associated with cheating to get in to schools like if other children find out that you cheated to get your child in they may pick on your child or you yourself may have problems with other parents at the school.

Schools can be a bit of a postcode lottery at times which I don’t think is fair but cheating is not the answer. If you happen to have a house in the radius of a good school your lucky but then what can happen is that wealthier families can afford to buy and move in to houses near these schools to get their children in which isn’t cheating but unfair on low income families who can’t do that.

I think more needs to be done to improve failing or underperforming schools as this is the only way we will avoid this situation. At the moment it seems more is being done on the prevention side but not the cure. It is only when we work on the cure that we will improve education for young people which is the real issue here.

What are your thoughts on cheating to get a school place? We would love to know and you can share your thoughts by going to:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=789

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"
”Shaking up the Youth of Today”

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

Pushy Parents

In this week’s blog I wanted to address a topic that I haven’t addressed yet but a topic I find myself discussing on a regular basis which is ‘Pushy Parents.’ With the financial rewards for success getting even bigger and bigger and with more young people in the media spotlight is it creating more pushy parents?

For many years pushy parents have been associated with child models and child actors but now it seems there are Pushy Parents who are pushing their children to success in all manner of activities. Not only now is there great financial reward for success but social kudos for parents for having successful children and in some cases stigma around parents whose children don’t succeed as we as a society become more interested in what everyone else is doing and keeping up with the Jones.

With the media interrogation in to the lives of young celebrities their parents are becoming publicly known for their position as the parent of and have their lives interrogated. This has been highlighted by TV series like True Hollywood Stories and the tabloid press who need a story like a pushy parent to get viewers and even young celebrities are now getting in on the act by selling stories on their own parents to get media attention.

I think Pushy Parents still exist today but I also feel that now because young people are getting exposed to media earlier and because their interaction with media is more intense that they are pushing for stardom and success themselves and not because of their parents. Young people see programmes like Hannah Montana and High School Musical and see the popularity that the actors and actresses have and want that for themselves. Young people are now also more aware than ever before of the levels of income these young people make.

I feel that parents should encourage, motivate and push their children to succeed but in areas that their children want to succeed in not the areas they want their children to go in to. Children need the freedom to find their own dream and then the support of their family to make it a reality. Regardless of how high or low the financial reward for their dream job would be parents need to worry about how happy their child is going to be in later life not how much money they are going to earn. Too many parents try and live their dreams through their children using them as if they were puppets instead of loving them for the individual that they are. Helping your child to live their dreams and not to live yours is an achievement to be proud of which means a million times more than them living out your dreams.

So be a Pushy Parent but not in the way we think of when we think of Pushy Parents. Push your children to be as happy and fulfilled as they can be. Give them belief, give them strength and give them support to achieve their dreams as you the parent have such an important part to play in your child’s development and hard work now can help secure happiness and fulfilment for your child for life. Don’t let your chance to create a great life for your child go to waste. Being a Pushy Parent in the old sense of the term can do so much damage to your child that may never be repaired. Just because they may be seen as successful or a celebrity by the general public or just because they have lots of money it doesn’t mean they are happy or fulfilled. Some of the most so called successful people in the world are some of the most unhappiest. So help your child to be the most happiest and fulfilled they can be as to me that is the mark of success.

Have you got an opinion on ‘Pushy Parents’? Then you can share your views by joining in our topic of the week by going to:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=443

Just as a heads up there will be no blog this week so our next blog will be published on the 21st of May.

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com