Those who are concerned about the state of education could do worse than to read what Spice Valley Middle School deputy principal Earl (Gabby) Hart had to say about education in yesterday's Royal Gazette.

Mr. Hart, a teacher for 40 years, has seen the quality of Bermuda education ebb and flow in that time, but it is interesting that his core values have changed very little in that time.

Perhaps the most important lesson he would still like to teach is that teachers cannot do it on their own and that the student who receives parental support and attention will almost always do better than the child who does not.

And Mr. Hart is correct when he says every parent wants their child to be successful — the problem is some parents don't know how to achieve that.

"Parents still want the best for their children. Even though in some ways, they don't really show it but deep down every parent wants their child to be successful," he said.

Yet achieving that success is quite simple.

"General involvement in the PTA is a must, but I think sitting around a table at home, discussing with their child what went on at school today, what homework they have and see that the homework is being done.

"Seeing their child comes to school alert and prepared to learn. They should always be letting their child know that we send you to school to learn."

Doing that should not be that hard, even for single parents, or parents working more than one job to make ends meet. What, after all, is more important than the success and happiness of a child?

what will not achieve success is spoiling the child to make up for the times when they have been ignored.

No parent has the right to complain about the quality of teaching or the standard of Bermuda's schools if they do not perform these basic tasks. Equally, no parent has the right to criticise a teacher or a school if they do not attend parent teacher conferences or make the time to see that their children do their homework and get adequate rest.

Mr. Hart added: "The future of education rests with people working together. It depends solely on people working together. In addition, I think the breakdown of respect for authority has led to, basically, a decline in our standards."

Once, Mr. Hart, said, teachers were put on a pedestal. Today, they are "like dart boards".

This is not to say that bad teachers should be given undue respect. But parents must perform their part of the bargain first before they take on teachers whom they feel are letting their children down.

If a teacher is not setting enough homework, if a teacher is passing a child who is not meeting the basic standards the child should be and if a teacher is not marking work in a timely fashion, then the parent has every right to complain. But parents can only judge the teacher's performance if they are fully involved in their children's education.

Parents who, to use an example of Mr. Hart's, insist on taking their child on vacation in the middle of the term are not fulfilling their part of the bargain. What lessons are they teaching their children?

They would do better to listen to a veteran teacher like Mr. Hart and ensure that they are paying more than lip service to the success of their children.