Essay on the Complementary nature of school and home

As far as the education of the children is concerned, the functions of school and home are complementary.

The school alone cannot discharge all the above mentioned functions without the active co-operation of the home. Therefore, the family influence plays a very important part in the development of the habits, attitudes and behaviour of the child. There is, therefore, a great need for building up mutual understanding and co-operation between home and school. Both home and school should co-operate actively in imparting education to the children.

Securing Co-operation between School and Home

School and home must co-operate to achieve the aims and objectives of education. This much needed co-operation can be secured by the school and by taking a number of important steps and by organising a number of activities. The following steps are important to achieve this objective.

1. Parent-Teacher Association.

The chief instrument of bringing the school and the home closer to each other is the formation of parent-teacher association. This association should meet at least twice or thrice during a year to discuss the progress and problems of children at home and at school. Ways and means should be found to solve the problems of the children and to speed up their progress in studies.

2. Parents’ Day.

Once a year a day of the school programmes should be set apart for inviting the parents of the students to the school on this occasion, they should be taken round the school and shown what is actually going on in the school. Problems of individual children may also be discussed with parents, and their co-operation sought in the solution of those problems. The problems of the school should discuss with the parents for finding solutions for the same.

3. Visits by the Teachers.

The teachers may sometimes visit the homes of the pupils in order to know the background of the pupils and finding causes of their peculiar problems. Through such visits, the parents may be informed about the educational progress of their children and their general behaviour in the school.

Such visits will help the school to know a lot about the physical and social conditions of the children and thereby handle them in a more psychological way. Thus, the two great factors, the school and the home, influencing the life of the child, can be made to work for bringing about the maximum possible development of the children.

4. Inviting Parents to School Functions.

Parents should be invited to the school at various functions organised by the school. These functions are the Parents Day, the Price Distribution, and Celebration of the Independence Day, the Sports Day, the U.N.O. and the Human Rights Day. Such occasions will encourage parents to associate themselves with the work and ideals of the school.

5. Sending Progress Reports of Students.

Another important means of securing co-operation between school and home is that of sending regularly the progress reports of the students to their parents. The cumulative record of each pupil maintained in the school should also be sent to the parents for information as the child is promoted from one class to the next higher class.

This will enable the parents to know in detail about the physical, academic, social and moral development of their children in school. This co-operation between the school and the home, brought about by these and other measures can contribute much towards the progress and education of the children.