Misconception #56: The best parents push their kids to do well in school

Schools frequently talk about good and bad parents. If a kid doesn't do their homework, it's because the parents are doing a lousy job. If a student is forced daily to work hard on his homework and prepare for upcoming tests, that parent should be praised. Ultimately, the schools insist that quality of parenting is all about pushing their kids to succeed in school.


There are more important things in life than schooling success. Children should have strong morals and ethics. They should be mentally independent with their own beliefs and opinions. Most importantly, they should be driven by the desire to do good for society. Teachers don't care about any of that, and they never look at those qualities when discussing the quality of parenting.

This isn't just about teachers. I have seen numerous people on television discuss the importance of "education." They insist that parents aren't doing enough to push their kids to study hard and pursue schooling success. They frequently praise their parents for making sure schoolwork gets done. They consistently neglect to mention anything regarding raising good children.

Good parents value numerous things such as character and human decency. They can be highly successful in this regard yet fail to convince their kids to dedicate their childhoods to their schoolwork. There are a lot of horrible parents who raise their kids to be selfish and dedicate their lives to amassing as much wealth as possible. Those kids can be among the most successful in school. Good parents can raise bad students. Bad parents can raise good students. We need to stop being so one-dimensional in evaluating the job that parents are doing.

As I have said before, some parents refuse to educate their children out of fear that a more advanced child is more likely to struggle with boredom in school. This is the type of parent that is generally perceived as doing a terrific job. Personally, I will never praise a parent who harms a child's education for fear that education will harm that child's grades in school.