Understanding from parents

Among the stakeholders of a secondary school, students and their parents spend at most seven years there whereas, teachers spend more and the sponsoring body all. It is understandable that parents are most concerned when their children are studying in the school. After that, if these students have built up a strong enough sense of belonging, they become the alumni and continue to help out the school for the rest of their life. Otherwise, parents and their children are like customers visiting a shop. Theoretically, if this "shop" doesn't render satisfactory enough service, they can go elsewhere. In reality, the situation is more complicated because some schools are in greater demand than the rest. It is very difficult to enrol in these elite schools. Now, parents are even more concerned and sometimes take some irrational actions in order to get their wish done. Indeed, most parents need schooling as well.
Nearly all schools in Hong Kong have a Parent Teacher Association to provide a platform for parent teacher cooperation. When the school needs extra funding to cover what the Education Bureau fails to supply, PTA would come to aid. When the school needs more volunteers to run activities, such as School Speech/Music Festival, School Picnic, Reading to Learn Project, Exchange Students Program, measuring body temperatures etc., many parents are very generous in lending a helping hand. The government even passes a law to put a parent representative in the School Management Committee to run the school. Alas! These channels fail to satisfy the wishes of some unreasonable parents.
Among the school chores, discipline is the most unpleasing task. Very few teachers want to play the bad guys in front of students. Yet, somebody has to take up this unpopular job. Understanding and cooperation from parents are indispensable for the school discipline to be carried out successfully. Unfortunately, many parents fail to cooperate with the school administration and create even more troubles than their children for the school. Sometimes, they side and lie with their children so that the children may escape punishment.
Theft is a crime that all schools have to combat. It can be prevented but rather impossible to stamp out. Books, calculators, mobile phones and purses are left unattended. When such incidents are reported to the school office, very little can be done. Recently, our school took a procedure which, in hindsight, was rather stupid. Discipline teachers patrol around the school and round up all unattended purses! Suddenly, they become officially sanctioned thieves! What if money is missing from some of these purses? I believe they have stopped this procedure but complaints have already been raised. Too bad! What is worse, one particular parent doggedly complains to the school administration, the School Management Committee and the Education Bureau. Today during lunch time, together with two assistants, he even put up a banner and a bench near the bus stop to hand out pamphlets to our students. What resources he possesses and what uses he puts them in! He threatens to go public through the media! But he has already gone public! I wonder if this parent has ever thought of the reactions of those students who took the pamphlets and passers-by who obtained the pamphlets by chance. Too bad! Damages have been done.
I am not here to pass judgment on anybody. It is no use investigating how the discipline teachers came to devise such a procedure. It is no use uncovering the motive behind this persistent parent. Several things are certain. The school has the responsibility to teach students to take good care of their own things. The school also needs the understanding and cooperation of parents in order to carry out procedures successfully. Meanwhile, parents need to give the school enough time and support to change for the better. School discipline is mainly an "internal" matter. It should be settled within the school. I am sure many students as well as teachers do not like to see such an incident  go public and out of hand. I am also certain that it is not the end of the story. But I am afraid the child will be ostracized by its fellow classmates. How much forgiveness will our students know? I don't know.

My God, if You are for us, who is against us? (Romans 8:31) We are weak. We are sinners. Help us forgive seventy times seven (Matthew 18:22) so that we may have a chance to begin anew. Amen.