*Sigh*
As excited as Mikayla was, first day of school did not go well.
Her teacher had a word with me when I arrived late with picking Miki up from school. 12 minutes to be exact, due to some miscommunication b/w myself and mum. Mum complained that my response, "Mmm-hmmm" was encrypted and didn't realize it meant "yeah".
Well, as it turns out, Miki wasn't paying any attention in class and was literally "out to lunch" all morning. Her teacher felt she wasn't quite ready with first grade because she couldn't follow basic commands. Too busy playing with her hands, distracted with the new environment, and was in a little world of her own.
Instead of getting ticked off, I was actually sad. All year long, I constantly complained about the morale, the lack of discipline and the chaotic environment she was smothered in last year. Because of it, she's morphed into a little airy space cadet thanks to the boredom which set into her capillaries. As Helen warned me, whenever children are in such a state, they adopt poor listening skills and bad habits. With nothing interesting to look forward to, they find ways to fill this gap with ideas or behaviors detrimental to their learning process. This happens to smart kids who aren't challenged in school...never thought it would happen to my kid. To me, Miki is not exactly Einstein, but she's pretty bright.
I thought she finally got over this la-la land issue, but regressed back into it again. Although she had focus issues during Pre-K, the behavior was age-appropriate. When she attended kindergarten, the damage set in further. I knew all along undoing the damage would be a difficult task, but I didn't have the energy to undo it. By attending school and having a REAL teacher cracking the whip would certainly facilitate the process by reinforcing some of what I've been preaching about.
After speaking with the teacher, I was quick enough to thank her for the feedback, asked for "expert" advice on lengthening my kid's attention span, and deftly brought up how I battled kindergarten demons of last year. I didn't go into any specific details, but I established my point regarding the teachers' negligence and classroom disorganization affecting my child's current state.
I know everything isn't hopeless. She's not really THAT clueless, just overly spoon-fed and lazy because she knows people will do everything for her - except ME. So for once, being a tyrant isn't the worst thing in the world. She's fine at home, it's school.
Woe to me as a parent.
Her teacher had a word with me when I arrived late with picking Miki up from school. 12 minutes to be exact, due to some miscommunication b/w myself and mum. Mum complained that my response, "Mmm-hmmm" was encrypted and didn't realize it meant "yeah".
Well, as it turns out, Miki wasn't paying any attention in class and was literally "out to lunch" all morning. Her teacher felt she wasn't quite ready with first grade because she couldn't follow basic commands. Too busy playing with her hands, distracted with the new environment, and was in a little world of her own.
Instead of getting ticked off, I was actually sad. All year long, I constantly complained about the morale, the lack of discipline and the chaotic environment she was smothered in last year. Because of it, she's morphed into a little airy space cadet thanks to the boredom which set into her capillaries. As Helen warned me, whenever children are in such a state, they adopt poor listening skills and bad habits. With nothing interesting to look forward to, they find ways to fill this gap with ideas or behaviors detrimental to their learning process. This happens to smart kids who aren't challenged in school...never thought it would happen to my kid. To me, Miki is not exactly Einstein, but she's pretty bright.
I thought she finally got over this la-la land issue, but regressed back into it again. Although she had focus issues during Pre-K, the behavior was age-appropriate. When she attended kindergarten, the damage set in further. I knew all along undoing the damage would be a difficult task, but I didn't have the energy to undo it. By attending school and having a REAL teacher cracking the whip would certainly facilitate the process by reinforcing some of what I've been preaching about.
After speaking with the teacher, I was quick enough to thank her for the feedback, asked for "expert" advice on lengthening my kid's attention span, and deftly brought up how I battled kindergarten demons of last year. I didn't go into any specific details, but I established my point regarding the teachers' negligence and classroom disorganization affecting my child's current state.
I know everything isn't hopeless. She's not really THAT clueless, just overly spoon-fed and lazy because she knows people will do everything for her - except ME. So for once, being a tyrant isn't the worst thing in the world. She's fine at home, it's school.
Woe to me as a parent.
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I kinda sorta found out why she spaced out:
JOYCE
Her best friend was seated next to her on the first day of school!
I later wrote a note asking the teacher to shuffle the kids around and keep them out of their field of vision. So now, Mikayla's in the back of the line and Joyce is all the way in the front.
Life sucks.
JOYCE
Her best friend was seated next to her on the first day of school!
I later wrote a note asking the teacher to shuffle the kids around and keep them out of their field of vision. So now, Mikayla's in the back of the line and Joyce is all the way in the front.
Life sucks.