9 December

I think many school teachers today would say that their biggest challenge isn’t the kids. It’s the parents. Because the parents never left school, they’re kidults, and they then pass on those mindsets and behaviours to their kids, and actively intervene in school life to try to give them advantages. I’ve seen grown adult parents cry when their child isn’t selected as a school leader. My old high school still has parents boosting their kids’ post-school lives, 40 years later. The school status games never end. As a test I asked my old high school if I was the first person to attend the school to ever get a PhD. The response? “Oh achievement comes in many forms” i.e. who cares? The achievement of many others openly celebrated at the school. But not if you’re not part of the network of chummy parent-teacher status games. In primary school the dux award was given to somebody with only mid-level grades, because their mother was good friends with the teacher. Status games begin at birth, and never end.