“We really need the help of the parents,” said Tomoichi. Although it’s the teacher’s job to inform the parents when their kids start skipping classes, Tomoichi said, “PHS has only two telephone lines, 80 staff and teachers, and 750 students.”
The school does a little disciplining, the principal said, but with the child abuse law, the school has limitations.
“Some parents blame the school, but what we really need, and this is what I always ask during PTA meetings, parents and teachers need to work together. We can’t succeed if it’s just one sided,” said Tomoichi.
Tomoichi pointed out that there are signs that parents can watch out for in terms of their children’s behaviors. “Like if the child is coming home late or seen with different friends. There’s got to have some signs.”
On the part of the school, Tomoichi said they have prevention programs on campus. There are certain steps that teachers follow to track their students’ whereabouts.
First, according to Principal Tomoichi, teachers talk to students if the latter are failing in class due to absences or not submitting their work or misbehaving in class. If the problem persists, the teachers inform the parents so they know that there is a problem. Then they bring the students to the counselor. And depending on the teachers’ recommendation, the students could be advised to undergo anger management class or be under the Student Contract, wherein the student, for one whole week, will be monitored by his/her teachers.
PHS is the only public high school in Palau. “We have all kinds of students here. There are those who really want to be in school and those who don’t really care about school and are only here to hang out with friends, or because their parents said they need to go to school,” explained Tomoichi.
The school fence is projected to be finished in August, and Principal Tomoichi said this would help the school monitor the students better.
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