Learning

I got my kids’ report cards today. They got remarkably good grades– to think I see them more at play than studying. I was in a way, nervous, to see their marks this quarter for their lessons are a lot more difficult now. My eldest, Ima, had difficulty catching up with her math lessons. Its understandable. Theyre already into line segments, rearranging and solving addition and subtraction equations and operations of fractions and she’s only in grade one! Man, thats too much! I don’t remember having that when I was in first grade. Siguro mga grade 5 or 6 na. Nakakalula. She got good marks in math though. Buti di nagmana sa akin (O kayong mga mababait kong kaibigan, manahimik kayo diyan!).

Actually, when I first reviewed my kids’ books, I was really surprised with the coverage. Its far too advanced and far too heavy– the kids will be pressured to study and understand everything which during my time, older kids are studying. Not to undermine their capability to absorb for indeed, kids have impressionable minds. What I am concerned about is that their learning are forced to advance. And they are in a school that put kids in a box, tagged with standards of failing and passing. As if kids who cant read and write in the nursery level are not smart at all (of course, if you cant pass all subjects in nursery, you can’t move on to the next level).

Hayyy… Maybe I have been influenced by PST so much– about valuing the varying development stages of each child. Kung bakit naman kasi napakamahal ng mga school na nagaadvocate ng developmental approach ano, tulad ng Waldorf school? Ah, eh, paging , ma’am Beth: pwede kayang maging socialized ang tuition sa waldorf at magtayo ng satellite school sa valenzuela hehehehehe! Hayyyy. In a way, I agree with what a friend said, that maybe mas better ang system noong panahon namin kesa ngayon. Lalo na dito sa Manila. Well, sa National diagnostic tests nga eh,natatalbugan na ng mga schools sa province ang schools sa Manila. Dahil siguro masyadong mabilis ang pagaaral sa Maynila. Too fast for lessons to at least leave a lasting imprint on the minds of the students. Hindi naman mabagal ang pagturo o pagintroduce ng lessons noon. Mas tutok at masinsin ang pagturo.

Anyway, I am just bothered, that’s all. With all the kids are studying in school, I am not sure if they will remember everything in the next quarter. I always tell my kids, its better to understand what they are studying than just memorizing. The should ask questions, read more, and if they didn’t understand, go back to study the topic again. Kahit hindi mabilis, basta naiintindihan nila. Hindi nakakahiyang magtanong, to make mistakes. Its all but part of their learning. Whats important is to know what they did wrong, understand, and know what to do next. Learning is to explore, to know and understand and part of it is to acknowledge that theres a lot more that you don’t know. Grades are just that, grades. Honors? Thats just a plus. Pero I tell them, they should do all the work– the studying, the assignments, the projects. That makes their grades totally theirs to claim.

And yan naman ang pinagmamalaki ko. Ang grades nila ay kanila. Ako lang ang cheering squad nila.

Dahil pinasok ko sila sa school na nakastructure ng ganoon ang pakatuto, I just tell my kids to enjoy school. To learn as much as they can. They don’t have to force themselves to take in everything taught if hindi nila talaga kayang intindihin. No pressure. Whats important is that they learn, they understand.
Haaayy… Worried lang siguro sa schoolwork ng mga bata. Binubuhat ko pa lang bag nila eh, gusto ko nang magreklamo sa DepEd for child abuse. hehehehe.
Pero happy pa rin ako. Grades ng mga anak ko ay lahat line of 9. Hindi naman ako masyadong proud di ba?