Sir, – The charter for parents and students is a worthy initiative, rich in potential for publicity, with enough of which we might be persuaded of how essential it is ("Schools to be forced to provide performance updates to parents", November 21st).
There is another charter of at least equal importance – a charter for parents that would include the following: that a child is fed properly and not to the state of being overweight or obese; that a child is read to and with for at least 15 minutes daily; that a child is facilitated to get sufficient exercise, fresh air, daylight and sleep daily; and that a child is played with attentively.
With the great pleasure and worry of parenthood comes great responsibility and the need to teach the children that fizzy drinks and junk food are occasional, seldom pleasures, and that electronic gadgets may enhance lives but are no substitute for human interaction.
Education does not start in September at the age of five or 12. Any experienced teacher will tell you how easy it is to identify the advantaged and the disadvantaged, of which money is only a minor part.
Schools and teachers are accountable, and it is possible that the proposed charter will contribute to the monitoring of this, but no charter will undo the far more damaging but almost never spoken of curse that is parental neglect.
Minister for Education Richard Bruton should extend the students’ charter to their parents to try to create parental accountability. – Yours, etc,
ROSSA BUNWORTH,
Clontarf, Dublin 3.