URBAN DECAY - Gizmos and Kidsmos
There is this kid in Std 3 that never fails to make my blood go upstairs.
Each time there’s work on the whiteboard that needs to be copied down, he’s always the last to finish – 1/2hr after the rest. After a month, I tested his alphabetical fluency; as suspected, he failed! In much agony, I tested it on other weak students, ditto! Okay, I reckon some families can’t be blamed if they can only afford day care cum nursery as means of pre school.
He can’t understand 90% of English words in the workbook, let alone even pronouncing them correctly. The word ‘day, year, choose, like, make, opposite, above’, no he doesn’t understand them. I panicked trying to think where should I begin to get this boy to buck up, there’s absolutely no time with 13 impatient students in one session.
I don’t know if matters are worst when classmates bluntly call him slow and stupid. Coz when I asked him if he knows what others are saying, he’d just lift his shoulders.
But something about the boy that is just very disturbing. When he stands up to answer, it is impossible to gain eye contact, he’d fidget till it seems like his bones are all dislocated, his mouth can’t seem to close yet not the slightest octave came out of it, and his eyebrows would rise in the act of complete innocence. I was very suspicious of how he was brought up. Judgmental shtmental, kids who has problems with eye contact and low self confidence reflect lack of attention.
One day I caught him squinting his eyes so badly to focus on the whiteboard.
Shit! Rabun rupanya. In my mind, how is it that he is 9 years old and the parents haven’t realise this. My blood started to simmer, thinking how ignorant the parents are. Tau buat anak aje ke.
Yeap, yeap, yeap...Judgmental shhhmental.
Kalau tak nampak, macamana nak paham. Kalau tak paham macamana nak tahu.
“Mak awak tahu tak awak tak nampak?”
Nodded his head and that almost got vibrated his body down the floor.
“Abang kakak awak ada yang pakai spek?”
Nodded his head.
“Kenapa awak tak pakai?”
….. eyes staring up the ceiling.
“Awak tak ada mulut ke?”
“Mak cakap tak payah”
“Adik, bapak adik kerja apa?”
“….. kotak.”
“Apa?”
“Jual air kotak.”
At that time I felt like a total idiot. For allowing my blood to boil my anger up my ears in the past on this kid.
I discovered that he has 4 siblings and a homemaker mum. Soon after, I snapped out of thinking I was the idiot. Why would someone who works as that makes so many kids in this busy demanding city? Kejam, do they know that they are being cruel? Hmmpphh…
Last Sunday was an eye opener. It was open day for parents to review their kids' test results.
The learning centre’s principle snapped at me, ‘His father sells what? We send him home everyday, his father is an engineer la. Got one Estima and a Honda some more?’
.....I rasa macam nak pass out. Hari tu sikit lagi nak bawak dia pegi kedai optical belikan glasses. And my expenses plan next month to buy a few of them better dictionary.
‘I think you should know by now Mainey, parents who are busy working have no difference than our parents in those days. Except, they don’t know how to show that they care and love their children. Bukan susah sangat nak pandang muka anak-anak diaorang and say ‘how are you sayang’ or ‘how’s school today’. Semua orang punya rumah yang I hantar mereka balik tuition, semua orang in the family tu bercakap dengan TV, Playstation and handphone. That is why B.Malaysia, their own language that they should speak everyday pun boleh fail. 20%, 30%’
True enough, I sat there for just one hour observing conversations between parents and the principle, most parents vow to lock the playstations away, try to come home earlier and try to communicate with their children more.
Perhaps this only happens in this alien area.
Each time there’s work on the whiteboard that needs to be copied down, he’s always the last to finish – 1/2hr after the rest. After a month, I tested his alphabetical fluency; as suspected, he failed! In much agony, I tested it on other weak students, ditto! Okay, I reckon some families can’t be blamed if they can only afford day care cum nursery as means of pre school.
He can’t understand 90% of English words in the workbook, let alone even pronouncing them correctly. The word ‘day, year, choose, like, make, opposite, above’, no he doesn’t understand them. I panicked trying to think where should I begin to get this boy to buck up, there’s absolutely no time with 13 impatient students in one session.
I don’t know if matters are worst when classmates bluntly call him slow and stupid. Coz when I asked him if he knows what others are saying, he’d just lift his shoulders.
But something about the boy that is just very disturbing. When he stands up to answer, it is impossible to gain eye contact, he’d fidget till it seems like his bones are all dislocated, his mouth can’t seem to close yet not the slightest octave came out of it, and his eyebrows would rise in the act of complete innocence. I was very suspicious of how he was brought up. Judgmental shtmental, kids who has problems with eye contact and low self confidence reflect lack of attention.
One day I caught him squinting his eyes so badly to focus on the whiteboard.
Shit! Rabun rupanya. In my mind, how is it that he is 9 years old and the parents haven’t realise this. My blood started to simmer, thinking how ignorant the parents are. Tau buat anak aje ke.
Yeap, yeap, yeap...Judgmental shhhmental.
Kalau tak nampak, macamana nak paham. Kalau tak paham macamana nak tahu.
“Mak awak tahu tak awak tak nampak?”
Nodded his head and that almost got vibrated his body down the floor.
“Abang kakak awak ada yang pakai spek?”
Nodded his head.
“Kenapa awak tak pakai?”
….. eyes staring up the ceiling.
“Awak tak ada mulut ke?”
“Mak cakap tak payah”
“Adik, bapak adik kerja apa?”
“….. kotak.”
“Apa?”
“Jual air kotak.”
At that time I felt like a total idiot. For allowing my blood to boil my anger up my ears in the past on this kid.
I discovered that he has 4 siblings and a homemaker mum. Soon after, I snapped out of thinking I was the idiot. Why would someone who works as that makes so many kids in this busy demanding city? Kejam, do they know that they are being cruel? Hmmpphh…
Last Sunday was an eye opener. It was open day for parents to review their kids' test results.
The learning centre’s principle snapped at me, ‘His father sells what? We send him home everyday, his father is an engineer la. Got one Estima and a Honda some more?’
.....I rasa macam nak pass out. Hari tu sikit lagi nak bawak dia pegi kedai optical belikan glasses. And my expenses plan next month to buy a few of them better dictionary.
‘I think you should know by now Mainey, parents who are busy working have no difference than our parents in those days. Except, they don’t know how to show that they care and love their children. Bukan susah sangat nak pandang muka anak-anak diaorang and say ‘how are you sayang’ or ‘how’s school today’. Semua orang punya rumah yang I hantar mereka balik tuition, semua orang in the family tu bercakap dengan TV, Playstation and handphone. That is why B.Malaysia, their own language that they should speak everyday pun boleh fail. 20%, 30%’
True enough, I sat there for just one hour observing conversations between parents and the principle, most parents vow to lock the playstations away, try to come home earlier and try to communicate with their children more.
Perhaps this only happens in this alien area.
posted by Maine at 3:56 PM
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