When I was working, one thing that amazed me was just how true that last statement is. And, this was a private, Catholic school.
Okay, here is a short one.
I was working in the after school department at the time, and a parent had just arrived to pick up their child. I also had one child sitting on the bench by the window because her parent had called and requested them to be ready when they arrived. (Valet childcare, how wonderful.) The child sitting at the window watched as the arriving parent came in and signed her child out. The child came from the back and they hugged and walked out of the door. I could hear the parent asking the child how their day went and what fun things did they do. The child was all energy as they talked about their day and the parent was attentive and engaged with what the child was saying. It was then that I noticed the child sitting on the bench. That child was watching all of this and waited until the pair had gone from sight before they turned back around in their seat. I watched as they sat in silence for a moment, and then, quietly (but not so quiet that I could not hear what they were saying) said, "Huh. I have never seen that before."
They were referring to the fact that the parent was actually listening to the child and talking about what the child was talking about. As I had gotten to know the family of the bench sitter, I understood their confusion. That family was far more interested in appearances rather than actually raising their kids. A very well off family that had deep ties to the power elite in the city. But, only on the outside.
Sadly, there were a number of those parents at the school. If something like this had come up, I have to say that I would not have been overly surprised to learn that those parents had no idea about any of it..
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