Parents are the hardest people to please

The video clip "Parents are the hardest people to please", the main speaker named Suli discusses about the idea that parents should embrace their child's interest rather than discouraging them. In this case, the video talks about computer games and the internet,  "it's 2013 and no-one is really a kid anymore with access to clips at our fingertips , we're exposed to the world" and how parents thinks that such activity are going to interfere with their child's career.  This scenario is common amongst teenagers because parents view secondary schooling as the first stage of achieving a career, so seeing their child play 'video games' will make them assume that their child "will have no future" because they are "wasting time". Suli attempts to persuade parents to  "talk to their little ones" and perhaps the child can pursue their interest to a deeper level if parents encouraged them instead.

From this video, I would have to disagree & agree with certain things. Suli focuses on the child's perspective as a victim and it doesn't take account of the parent's emotions and reasons. In the second video, the speaker mentions this as he states "the poem could be very well be  children are the hardest people to please".  I also believe that 'video games' is a weak example for his poem. If everybody indulged themselves in entertainment, some people would not consider education for the sake of learning. What I partially agree with, is his final quote "we just want you to believe in us because a family is the strongest corporation that you can have." But what if the child doesn't have a good relationship with their parents? What if their parents view education as a negative subject because of their own past experiences? Oyserman and Brickman et al. (2007, pp.165) claims that for single parent families "homework is monitored less than homework of adolescent from traditional families" and therefore they have a disadvantage. I have a mother and a father so I cannot speak from experience however, I think that if a single parent is able to sacrifice time for their child then parent involvement is enough. Vice versa, if two parents do not have time to monitor their child's activities in school then there is no parent involvement at all.

Do parent expectation and communication really affect a child's education? According to Delandes and Bertrand (2005, pp.488), "when parents are involved in schools, children may come to see school as a safe and valued place where one would choose to spend time." So in relation to the video, this quote confirms that parent involvement affect a student's motivation or purpose for their education. Parent involvement can  "take forms including discussions about school, help with homework or volunteering at school" (Delandes and Bertrand, 2005 pp. 164). I think that a parent is the role model or starting point of the child's values, so parent expectations and values are definitely an impact. I suggest a reason for value of importance in education for students, is a sense of parent expectation placed upon them. Ultimately, this expectation may be just an assumption of their parent's emotions  or their own expectation on themselves. Parents have been through the stages of adolescence so they understand what it's like to be a teenager and they understand what school can offer for their child, even if it may not be their child's pathway.The importance of education is therefore pushed onto the child if the parent values education. But for someone to be successful, somebody needs to believe in the child and support him/her in their career pathway. As teachers, we can aid parents by displaying their child's progresses and potential in school.

Of course, parent guidance and level of expectation is overall dependent on the family itself and  cultural impacts. Every family is different and therefore methods of research are not accurate. For my family and similar Asian families, schools and results were used as a competition to compare and 'show off' to other families. After comparing each other after the HSC, most parents were supportive of their child's decision in their career choices regardless. My parents told me that what they can offer are their suggestions from their experiences and personal opinions as they understand me and want the best for me,  but they also hold the consciousness that I ultimately decide my future directions.

·         * Break, Suli. [Sulibreezy]. (July 15th 2013). Parents Are The Hardest People To Please||Spoken Word. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Uc_mvwOUf0

·        *  Break, Suli. [Sulibreezy] (July 26th 2013). The Story Behind The Poem: Parents Are The Hardest People To Please. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIEtbqAs1ok

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·       *   Deslandes, R. and Bertrand, R. (2005). Motivation of parent involvement in secondary-level schooling. The Journal of Educational Research, 98 (3), pp. 164-175.
*     *   Oyserman, D., Brickman, D. and Rhodes, M. (2007). School Success, Possible Selves, and Parent School Involvement*.Family Relations, 56 (5), pp. 479-489.