Now that the long holidays are here, many parents will admit—though we may not say it out loud—we already miss the teachers! We miss their patience, their structure, their magical ability to keep a class load of 30 children engaged, learning, and somehow happy for six hours. In a few weeks, most of us will be whispering a silent prayer asking for patience and grace as we try to remember what peace used to sound like.
Our children can be quite a handful. Already, in my estate, a stern message was posted about children scratching cars.
“Please talk to your children about respecting people’s property. If they touch my car again, be ready to pay for a full paint job!” Before we could react, another exasperated parent announced, “If you don’t tell your children to stop playing that annoying ding-dong ditch game, I will take matters into my own hands.”
I looked at my teenagers and quietly felt relieved that they now prefer to stay indoors with their gadgets. Stop judging, I know what you did over the last long holiday as well.
Look, we love our children, of course. It is only when they are home all day, for two months, bouncing between snacks, sibling squabbles, and screen time negotiations, that we suddenly realise that teachers are not just educators. They are magicians, diplomats, entertainers, and negotiators all rolled into one. One of the hardest parts of parenting during the holidays is figuring out how to keep children occupied without them spending the entire day — and, if we are honest, part of the night — on gadgets. Teachers create timetables and routines, and little pockets of edutainment, turning a box into a robot, and a walk into a science lesson.
What makes the good teachers so influential with our children, and what can we, as parents, learn from them?
Creative Yeses are powerful
Instead of saying No to a child’s wild idea, find a creative twist that says yes, but differently. If your child wants to bake a cake every day, maybe they can design a recipe book instead. It is a form of redirecting energy, not squashing it. A decade ago, my daughter’s class was putting on a stage play. Brimming with confidence, she wanted a big role. Her teacher, too kind to crush her dreams, invented a ‘very important’ part for my girl, one that kept her on stage the entire time. She came home beaming. “I will be a tree!” We made her a leafy crown and brown pants for a costume, and she proudly practised her swaying and stillness. On performance day, she stood tall, graceful, and completely rooted in joy. Teachers have superpowers to turn any child, even a tree, into the star of the show.
One of the most important topics in teacher training is Class Management. If you recall your student days, you will remember that a class would not just be left idle. Even when a teacher failed to show up, another teacher would promptly come to class and make an announcement. “Please read the whole of Chapter Seven and write a summary of the same. I will collect the essays after an hour.” Children thrive in structure, both in school and at home. A simple daily routine over this holiday will help your sanity. Balance between reading time, outdoor play, chores, and screen time. Remember to celebrate small wins with them. They learned how to brew a pot of chai ? A sticker or a high five goes a long way.
Children playing outdoors.
Photo credit: Pool
Embrace patience and humour
Teachers survive on a steady diet of patience, humour, and deep breaths. They know that laughter diffuses tension faster than lectures. Allow the children to laugh at their mistakes, rather than giving them those long lectures. Then use these as learning points. Learning does not stop when school closes; it just changes scenery.
As the holiday stretches ahead, join the fun and games with your children. If they are too old for swings, watch a movie together, teach them a recipe or do karaoke. You may find your children are the greatest company there is when you bring out your inner child with them.
To our teachers, rest well over this holiday. We will try to keep our children grounded, engaged and disciplined before bringing them back to you in January.
