little one, how do i teach thee?

kids!

the problem with them is that they don't behave as they should.

my little one, being of the inferior sex, of which i mean the male species, tends to be a little dreamy, unfocused and well, in his own world. that's fine, i suppose. little boys are meant to be like that. everybody moves in their own pace, so i've long ago accepted the fact that he wil not be super-performing, like his sister. and i don't expect him to be. i don't ask for 100s from him, but all the same, i won't accept laziness and failing exams. there's a fine line between leaving him to move at his own pace, and letting him develop bad habits. for one, getting him to complete his homework, which is the bare minimum for me, inevitably ends up in bargaining and tears. he'll write one word, fiddle with his ruler, his eraser, dream a little, space out a little, look here, look there and then, perhaps, write another word. then it's off to the toilet he goes for the better half of an hour, another word and somewhere in time he disappears. i think his soul is time-teletransporting when his eyes glazes over like so. if no one is around to push him a little, he prefers to let the book rot on the table, his eyes firmly glued on the television for 18hours a day, the remaining 6 hours finally dozing in exhaustion from over-stimulation. usually if there is no homework to deliver or spelling tests to learn, i let him be. that's my son.

this being his first year in primary school, i was a little apprehensive when the first series of examinations was round the corner. he didn't know what to study, he didn't know HOW to study, he didn't know when to study. such is the blurness of this little boy.

still, i wanted him to learn, how much effort you put into your exam is equal to how much results you get. he has to learn the hard way to prepare much more and much earlier for these situations. it was a lesson that cannot be nagged, only experienced. fall a little, learn a little.

imagine the big empty black hole in my mouth when he came back with two test papers with 100s on them, and a beautiful pencil case as prize from his teacher for being the highest in class. for chinese, nonetheless. the son of a banana. getting 100 for chinese. that shut me up pretty good.

so, how can i nag when he does so well for his exams, with seemingly minimum effort. hello? you are suppose to do badly so that i can nag morning and day and tell you, 'see, i told you so. study harder next time'. how do i teach him to do his homework and study conscientiously when he does not seem to need either?

being a mother is not easy. especially when things go beyond the realm of logic rationalisation.