The family is an everlasting school, parents are lifetime teachers~ Jing Si Aphorism by Master Cheng Yen

There is no handbook in becoming the perfect parent, and being parents of Generation Z children are a lot more challenging than ever. As a platform to exchange views and discuss their ideas, Tzu Chi Early Childhood School held the first Parents Panel Discussion on ‘Dealing with Generation Z in 21st Century Education’ on Friday, January 17, 2020. 

In this discussion, the school invited three parents as panels namely: Ms Dini Caroline, Ms Lina Edyjanto, and Mr Emil Atmadjaya. The three agreed that the most challenging part of becoming parents nowadays is the internet. Children learns quickly from the internet, but without parents’ guidance or supervision, internet could lead children into accessing information they shouldn’t be. 

“My son learns new skills quickly and easily through YouTube, so I am not worried at all about his knowledge skills. But don’t you notice, children these days prefer to stay at home with their gadget rather than going out with friends? Moral skills as well as socialisation skills are important too,” said Mr Atmadjaya. 

Both Ms Caroline and Ms Edyjanto also shared their experience as full-time mothers, and while supervising children's use of the internet is a must, to let mothers being able to do what they need to do at home, parents can let children use their gadget/internet ‘offline’ only. “I’ll ask my kids what they want, and I’ll download everything for them so when I can’t be with them, I don’t feel too worried,” said Ms Dini Caroline. 

Tzu Chi School is on the Right Track

Ms Iing Felicia Joe, Tzu Chi Early Childhood Principal who also acted as moderator at the discussion, also seek parents’ insights on the school’s day to day activities. Ms Edyjanto, whose three children is now in P4, P2, and K2 and has been with the school for 9 years, said “I admit, Tzu Chi School’s moral education is very good. My children always reminds me to also be discipline at home, it is important.” 

Tzu Chi School’s implementation on humanistic culture was emphasised by Ms Iing in her closing session,“The most important thing for young children is their character building. A strong, good character will make up a strong, good foundation for when they’re older. Like building a house, no matter how tall you want your house to be, as long as the foundation is strong, it will survive anything.”