Teachers, don't ask

One of the most painful events in a child's school life is when he or she is asked to stand up in class to tell everyone what his or her father (or mother) does for a living.

In today's unfortunate era, where many parents are separated or some have even abandoned their children when they were babies, some children can never answer that teacher's question, especially in front of another 20-odd classmates whose parents are together.

The least we could all do is obtain information on the children's parents on the very first day of school, and treat these as special cases. This will surely avoid causing the children pain and suffering.

Knowing all the information about these special cases will avoid these questions being asked or having the children design a 'Father's Day card' in class for a father who is not there when they get home.