them lived separately from their parents, they were not a part of them. Their whole life was just full of their self.
4.2.3 Educational Neglect
Education means the process learning
about knowledge
, skills
, values
, beliefs
, and habits
of a group of people are transferred to other people, through storytelling, discussion, teaching,
training, or research. Education in this term can be formal, informal and non-formal. Formal education comes from school. Informal education occurs outside of the school such as
homeschooling, youth work and auto didacticism. But, both of them have the teachers who take important role in that process.
Meanwhile, educational neglect refers to a parent‘s failure to provide for a child‘s basic needs with regards to school and education. If the parents failing to ensure that the child
receives proper educational care and attention, they are considered do educational neglect.
In The Secret Garden , Mary‘s educational background was an informal
education. She had a teacher who came at her bungalow to teach her reading and writing. But, the learning process never went down smoothly. She made them lost
their mind because of her attitude. This Quotation 15 explained that event. 15 The young English governess who came to teach her to read and
write disliked her so much that she gave up her place in three months, and when other governesses came to try to fill it they
always went away in a shorter time than the first one. So if Mary had not chosen to really want to know how to read books she
would never have learned her letters at all. Burnett, 2013:1
Fortunately, there were no parents role that was contributed in that process. Education is not at all about learning knowledge and improves the skills but also
knowing more about moral, attitudes and manners. Mary was lack of them, this
Quotation 16 of the dialogue between Mrs. Crawford and Mrs. Medlock describe them.
16 She is such a plain child, Mrs. Crawford said pityingly, afterward.
And her mother was such a pretty creature. She had a very pretty manner, too, and Mary has the most unattractive ways I ever saw
in a child. The children call her Mistress Mary Quite Contrary, and though its naughty of them, one cant help understanding it.
Perhaps if her mother had carried her pretty face and her pretty manners oftener into the nursery Mary might have learned some
pretty ways too. It is very sad, now the poor beautiful thing is gone, to remember that many people never even knew that she had
a child at all.
I believe she scarcely ever looked at her, sighed Mrs. Crawford.Burnett, 2013:9
From that quotation and explanation, the writer has opinion that learning
process will not work smoothly without any interference from parents. Mary had always been selfish centre, she studied if she want, she did not study if she was lazy.
Her parents never taught her about how to socialize properly with others. That made her did that. She was not wrong at all because she just a ten years old girl who still
did not understand about what was wrong and what was true.
4.3 The Effect of Parental Neglect towards the Characters
