e hols hv exposed ky to a diff style of learning again...

e migraines hv left completely for now... ie no more yelling to bear with at school = no more dizziness, pain, puking = no more trouble trying to sleep at night = no more need for pain-meds.  so on the one hand i'm a happy mummy!

his friends in school are a bonus... e interraction w girls... e feeling of independence_all perks. his teachers seem sweet. they're young and mostly dont have kids yet from what i've heard. that in itself has it's pluses and minuses... ;)  e school has a sound moral platform for e kids. e assemblies and Bible talks, are all part of what i want my kids to grow up with...

he said b4 that he really liked school.  he's made some really really close friends.  (and this was inspite of e err 'disciplinarian' style)  he was so sick at times, yet he refused to stay home and miss out on p/e or art, his fav subjects. 

but e downside_ e sports are soooo lacking. he wishes they'd do more 'challenging' stuff, be more creative with games, and learn some 'proper' sport.  "when will we get a chance to go out on a field mama?...to run, to play football."  he's become soooo unfit since p1 started. thank goodness for e hols!... else he'd still be a lazy lump on e sofa!  now at least he's got some muscles back ;) 

a biggy for me: after reading some of his classwork during e hols, i realise that e level of english is qt disheartening. it's been a big step backwards for ky. it seems to me that perhaps expectations r qt low, so he doesnt bother to deliver. and unless the teachers know the child's background, they wd be none-the-wiser. ...and art...? (my other pet-peev!)_hey, i'm a designer after-all!...and i see in ky a prolific draw-er...just as i was. so if we counted the actual art hours in school, i'd probably cry! 

i feel like he's there for so many hrs each day all week, but missing out~ so do i go with the flow?   am i short-changing him? 

yes and no?

-english, arts & sports: no challenge rt now./ -class discipline: e opp extreme./ -math: ok / -malay: more assistance needed but_? 

art and sports can be made-up in our own time. e hols hv shown me this.  so i'm not too worried...

but english? what will be the longterm effect?...ie seemingly  'dumbing-down' a kid's writing to meet the 'class-standard'... might it not make a kid believe that he need only give something so simplistic in order to just get by? ie not his best effort.

as a teacher, i've seen this to be particularly so with boys. (for those who are capable, unless the ballmark is set high,  they wd be qt contented to just sail through / under-achieve) 

so now i'm aware of this, my worry is not just for ky, but for kay too.

she wants to go to this same school, to be with her big brother...

her standard of english has been much higher rt from e start... she's shy, but she's so very capable.  so after seeing where ky's at rt now, i'm really starting to doubt whether this school wd be a v good fit for her.  i think she needs a higher level, most certainly for english.

and kynan?...can his teacher/ school offer higher-level learning/ tasks for those who r more able in english (such as what they do for mother-tongue?) 

someone shared with me from moe, that it was for english that this style of teaching 1st came about, but that it's mother tongue that has seemingly put it into action...

it's something i probably hv to find out directly from his school... but i so hate to rock the boat.

what a conundrum!

oh yes, and if it's not enuff to hv e enticing home-learning option b4 his eyes, he's now grumbling abt having to wear the mask to school :(

....so what is e lesser of e two evils my dear child? _wearing a mask?/ or landing in hospital?

baby steps, baby steps...