Sweater: H&M KIDS; Leggings: SM KIDS; Shoes: SM KIDS
It’s Anika’s trimester exam week and feeling ko ako yung mageexam sa stress. I cannot believe how difficult the lessons are now. Isipin niyo ha, apart from I feel that ang advanced ng tinuturo kala Anika, they’re one year younger for their grade level compared to when we were studying before. Looking back, I was 7 years old when I was in Grade 1. Ngayon, you should be 6 years old when you enter grade school because of the K-12 thing. Mas bata pero more advanced ang lessons. Nagmomorph talaga ang generations ano?
Take the Science subject for example. Anika’s in 3rd grade but they are made to memorize and know the functions of the parts of the ear, nose, eyes, skin and tongue. When I say parts, hindi ito yung earlobe, eardrums, skin hair, nostrils, eyeballs or eye sockets lang. Chicken yan. What they are studying about now is the kaloob-looban na parts! From the Pinna to the chochlea to the dermis to the optic nerve, auditory nerve and kung ano ano pang nerves ang nandiyan. Memorize ni Anika yan. I do not remember studying the parts of those organs until second year high school in our Biology class.
Lagot ako pagnagka-apo na siguro ako. Malamang nagda-dissect na siguro sila ng palaka at 3rd grade.
Anyway, the other night, I reviewed Anika for Math with the math reviewer that I did while I was in our Operations Meeting. Imagine me half listening to my boss (scared that baka pinapagalitan na pala ako tapos hindi ko alam) and half writing down equations and word problems for Anika to answer. #WorkingMomForever
Naubos pasensya ko sa anak ko, guys. I couldn’t understand why she can’t get the lesson I was teaching her. I felt that she wasn’t concentrating that hard. I know Anika like the back of my hand kaya hindi siya pwede mag-inarte sa akin. I know when she’s into it and I know when she’s faking it. She was definitely out of the zone that time. Nasabihan ko tuloy siya, “Anika, it’s not enough you take the test for the sake of taking it and expect having good grades in return. You have to want to have good grades. You have to want to do your best. Hindi yan mangyayari ng walang effort.”
Ang akin lang naman mga bakla, she will carry that attitude until she grows up eh. I want her to know that she needs to work hard for something that she wants. Good grades do not just fall on her lap. Napapansin ko kasi kay Anika, she just takes the test for the sake of taking it. Answer answer. Keber keber. No, she’s not failing any of her subjects though. Actually, her grades are quite good, but I feel that she can do better. Hindi ko nararamdaman that she’s trying her best.
I don’t know what happened to her. Parang nasanay siya in excelling dati that she thinks she can still get the answers right with just stock knowledge? Pahirap na pahirap na ngayon ang lessons. Kailangan na talaga mag-aral ng seryoso.
I am torn between molding her into somebody who strives for excellence in things she does VERSUS not pressuring her to a point na hindi na fun mag-aral for her.
I know for one that high grades will not guarantee you a good, successful and happy life in the future. Proven yan. Ang dami kong kilalang tao na hindi naman nagexcell in school but yet, very successful sila now in the things that they do. Kaso I want to teach her to have that attitude to work for something that she wants. I asked her what she wants. She wants daw high grades. So sabi ko, “Then you have to work hard for because it will not happen ng naka-petiks ka lang.”
ANIKA: What is petiks, Nanay?
Petiks! Heller! Relaxed! Walang ginagawa!
Hindi ko siya ma-nag, though. Ayoko siya ma-pressure. Katakot takot ang mga bata ngayon who commit suicide because of pressure sa studies niya. I just want to see her to do her best. Ang problema, wala pang 10 minutes, pagod na DAW mag-aral. Nagrereklamo. Super sleepy na daw. Madaming masakit. Madaming makati. Gusto magtoilet lagi. Gusto kumuha ng water lagi. Then after mag-aral, right after she puts her things away, ang sipag magsayaw and magTV!
Ano ba to.
After reviewing with her, I talked to Alvin. I told him bakit ganun. I never had a tutor in my life. Ako magisa nagaaral simula bata and yet I had consistent high grades. Itong si Anika, may tutor na, naka-supplement pa ako sa turo. Bakit hindi kami parehas ng grades nung bata ako?
Alvin told me to never to compare myself with her. Deal with her as she is right now. Make
In fairness to me, I never compared her to myself. Well, I never comment or say anything about that to her face. Sinasabi ko lang that she’s lucky because may kasama siya magaral ngayon. Dati ako lang mag-isa but I still worked hard.
Bottom line, it’s not about the grades. It’s establishing in them the attitude towards having a goal and working hard to achieve it. Ito kasi yung perfect opportunity na pwede natin maturo sa mga bagets yang attitude na yan. I keep on repeating that to Anika. I do not mind the grades. As long as I saw that she tried her best, that would be enough for me.
So today is her Filipino exams naman. Wala, I needed to let go a lot for this subject. Tataas ang cholesterol ko sa kunsomisyon when I teach Anika her Filipino lessons. Either that or matutuyuan ako ng dugo. They all have English slang! Never pa naman nakarating ng Amerika yang batang yan. It’s because of the shows that they watch on TV. Nasan na kasi ang Batibot?!
Now, I missing Batibot!