The school cycle has started again. It’s Term 3, and incidentally, this marks the end of Noey’s first full year of school, and the start of his second.
I guess it was appropriate that at the end of Term 2, DD and I attended our first Parent-Teacher Meeting as parents. I used to feel the utmost dread for such meetings as a student, and I foresee that my son will be following in my footsteps in this regard. Hah.
Excitedly showing Papa his work, before we got down to talking to his teachers.
I read many reports written by other Mummies about teachers’ feedback on their kids – all happy and glowing and full of positive remarks. Unfortunately, that’s not the report we got.
First, the positives:
When it comes to learning, Noey is having no problems at all. His teachers also recognize that he is very bright and picks up things really quickly. He already reads well for his age and has no trouble with Math concepts. He is very lively and his favourite subject is Show and Tell. His teacher told me he has lots of ideas, has a very good vocabulary, and will raise his hand to ask his classmates questions when they are presenting. His Chinese does need a bit of work. He’s ok with reading and word recognition, and will obligingly repeat after his teacher during Chinese Show and Tell, but his spoken Chinese is still limited to simple phrases. It’s not surprising to me, given the limited exposure he gets to the language. We are making more of an effort to speak some Chinese on a more regular basis.
His self-decorated art book.
One of the drawings inside, with it’s accompanying caption. As you can tell, this boy doesn’t like to colour.
The more tricky thing to deal with is his behaviour.
He can be inattentive in class and likes to walk around and do his own thing. And will not be persuaded otherwise if he has made up his mind. Noey can be very stubborn, and he carries this same attitude to school. He is also smart enough to see a few steps ahead when you’re to convince him to come to the conclusion that you want, and will just flatly refuse to allow himself to go down that road. Bribes? They don’t really work.
The other problem, which is related to the inattention, is that he is very easily distracted and led astray. While he’s not the kind to initiate trouble, when someone else does something naughty or creates a distraction, you can be sure he’s there joining in the action. So he’s not the naughtiest boy in class, but the second naughtiest. Hah. Doesn’t help that he tends to gravitate towards the wrong company.
I feel a bit guilty about all this, because I think he’s fared worse and isn’t as happy in school since I switched him to the morning session. He was in the afternoon session last year, and was making steady progress. But I decided this year that it was just better for his schedule overall, and for that of his caregivers, for him to be in the morning session. Somehow, the mix of kids in the morning hasn’t been as good for him. He doesn’t speak as fondly of his classmates and doesn’t seem to know them as well. It’s too late to switch him back, and well, I still think my considerations for switching him hold true. His teacher this year is also new, young and more inexperienced, and Noey is not an easy child to handle. All I can do is pray for him. And instruct him to be good every day!
This giraffe had me laughing.
After meeting with his teachers, I made it a point to watch Noey in group settings and ask the teacher at classes he attended how he behaved. They all told me that he gave no problems at all. I thought it was significant that during our church conference, he sat through the children’s programme without any trouble. Our children’s programme is mix-aged for 4-8 year olds, fairly serious and took place twice a day. There was psalm singing (which he’s not familiar with), and teaching of catechism. All that takes a good half an hour before they launch into craft and games. It is pitched at the older children, and being among the youngest, Noey didn’t understand a lot what was going on. Neither did he pay too much attention, I suspect. But what was significant to me was that he didn’t move around, nor create any trouble. He just saw there and stoned, or drew on his book. This to me is a sign that when everyone is well-behaved – which they are, in this group – he is not inclined to step out of line.
Well, he has started the term well. Let’s see how he fares as he grows in maturity.
If it makes you feel better… the description fits my boy almost to a T too, maybe minus the "bright and picks things really quickly" part. The inattentiveness sounds really familiar and more so as my boy gets older. On a positive note, it's an expression of their curiosity and willingness to explore and discover new things. And maybe the teacher wasn't too exciting. 😛 After
Hey Elaine, thanks so much for sharing. Oh dear, does the inattentiveness get worse with age? I was hoping it'll get better. Hah. I do feel that being unable to sit still is to be expected at this age, but the other children have no problem, so he gets singled out, unfortunately. Let's see how he fares this term!
I am inclined to think that the increasing inattentiveness' partly due to my boy's fascination (and ability to read) with printed words. He reads everywhere and everything. Does yours?