| Yesterday was the parent teacher conference for JSK. I let DH attend it while I took dotter to office! It was cute to see my two worlds merge yet again, see her in the elevators, my cube, the conference rooms, cafe etc. Folks who passed by would always smile slightly looking at her. She did disturb my meetings quite bit ;--P oh well, it was Friday so big deal.
So looks like dotter is very age appropriate in math, addition and subtraction, participates in class, except when put on the spot when she becomes shy ( in my words extremely conscious that all focus is on her). Her writing has improved a lot, she still doesn't care much for writing, which I am okay with. I don't see a spark of talent in math like I see in reading.
Now dotter can read very well and I was surprised the teachers picked on how she doesn't get some two vowel words or doesn't know l sounds like 'il' and not 'la'. Seriously who cares about how l sounds as long as she is able to read the words? And I was surprised they didn't pick up on her reading skills. Then I realized teachers only know what they see.
It is cute when dotter points out sight words when reading at night. 'There is a sight word -the, up, at' when she has been reading them for over a year now. Similarly she imitated her teacher teaching how to read CAT when she reads pretty well on her own.
She doesn't realize it and probably doesn't even show it in her class. When she reads on her own she reads in her mind and fast. If I ask her to read aloud so I could know she is reading right, she will refuse. She will read only when I read too. Pah.
When reading some books I thought she doesn't understand some sentences. I worried that she is reading without comprehending and got a book for that which she flies through and actually enjoys doing the exercises. Then I realized that what she doesn't understand is beyond her age and she cannot be expected to understand that stuff just because she can read.
One thing I like about dotter is she doesn't say she is bored. She still seems to enjoy her lessons, as apparent from her imitation of her teacher on reading. She loves her art and craft projects and often says she doesn't want to be late to school and miss the art sessions. She has good friends. Not much bad habits from friends like she had from her previous school. She adores her teachers. She doesn't fear her principal like she did in her previous school. Overall she seems to be doing pretty well.
She will not shine on the stage in her spring program, but then that's her genes, she or her school cannot be blamed. The teachers only concern was that she is not singing during practice, and asked if she doesn't like singing. Erm she likes singing only Tamil songs like yennamma ipdi panreengale ma. What to do ;--)
She didn't talk to my friends at work when they met her. I am used to saying she needs an hour to warm up.
Now I am not sure what to do next year. Private or public? Her teacher says she will be a phd student in a public school. I will take it with a grain of salt. And I don't want my daughter to be a phd student. I was a geeky nerdy child and I know it is not enough to survive in this world. I want her to learn survival skills, handling all kinds of kids her age, learn to self regulate without strict supervision. But there is enough risk involved. Total dilemma! I wish I were anywhere other than Bay Area so public school would be the only option and not a bad option ( per some parents). Kids or rather anyone should always be challenged and pushed to the limits, helps in growth and development. But I want her to be challenged without feeling inadequate and not thinking of it as a burden. Indian school systems make children loathe studying and shudder at the amount of homework. Learning need not be a chore. It is in fact fun. DH and I often talk about how we hated history geography lessons and now we enjoy learning about them. I know schools have come a long way from then but still. That way personalized learning seems to address the issues. If she is ready to go fast let her go fast if she is slow let her take her time without being judged. Kids are naturally skilled at various things there is no one size that fits all. Even if kids are great in some areas their emotional maturity level cannot be grown with challenging stuff, they just grow day after day at their own pace.
I guess I have a good problem. I have good education options available for my child and I am looking to see which will suit best for her.
Thus starts Saturday. Happy weekend!
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lol...ennama ippadi panreengaley ma happens to be Kitty's favorite too... :)
i have this big debate in my mind about schools too...but for now,i am not going to bother myself with this decision.
he is happy and thriving,so will just go with that...and i am not going to take that for granted because there are schools which can make kids lives miserable and like u say, can make education seem painful and boring.What a waste would that be!!
One of my prayers to God is for a good teacher for my children.A good teacher can turn around anyone's life.
a friend's daughter goes to a popular school and her 3.5 yr old daughter's teacher reached out to her and said her daughter is not doing well in class because she doesn't get spelling rt and picture recognition is not good too because she called an "ox" a cow - hell i'd be tempted to call a horned,4 legged animal that look like a cow - a cow!!!!!So,I guess we need to watch our kids and the teachers closely.once settled,i think all will be well .
good luck.