Despite being a nationally known, Grammy-winning singer, Monica is extremely hands-on as it pertains to her children’s education.
Monica — a “basketball wife” in the most literal sense of the words — was a celebrity panel guest for General Mills’ Box Tops for Education Town Hall event at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta.
When the subject of increased parental involvement in children’s education was broached, Monica disclosed that her frequent participation in school activities and relationship with faulty and staff helped diffuse a situation that might otherwise have turned nasty.
The singer referred to the incident that occurred with her 8-year-old son, Rocko, and his foreign language teacher. Apparently, Rocko’s teacher snatched Rocko by his collar after she felt he wasn’t sitting in the proper learning position. Rocko told his mother what the teacher did to him during class and she described how she reacted to the situation:
“If you tell him to do something and he has not done it, then that’s a different thing. Then the children in the classroom begin to share these stories of her pinching, pushing, squeezing hands until you get answers correct. She don’t belong ‘round mine.
“If you’re properly involved you can assess these situations and properly handle them because I took a minute …
“I did not leave my home immediately because I knew that my immediate reaction was one I did not want my children to see, so I had to check me first. And that takes a lot. The new me is a better me. The old me, I don’t know if I could have checked her before she left. I was able to have a conversation with the principal, with her daughter [who is also their language teacher] and have a conversation that said we should talk with these children and her [foreign language teacher] and assess the situation.
“And that’s sometimes what you may have to do, but that’s only when you’re properly involved. Most parents jump in only when they think something is wrong. I was able to make a good decision and handle it properly because I’m always involved.”
A younger Monica may have been ready to drag someone in that school across the parking lot. So kudos to Monica to let the building anger subside and let the even-minded side of herself seep in before she addressed the situation. In too many instances, parents fly off the handle, exacerbating a bad situation.
