My child is not a prodigy. My child does not have special mathematical abilities. He’s, if I may say so, average in studies (except in some fav subjects). As much as I wish he was good (excellent even) and make me proud by getting top scores, this isn’t really happening. I’m frustrated, annoyed, angry at times, helpless at other times. What’s wrong? I wonder. Well, to see perspective, NOTHING is wrong. With him, me or in his upbringing. It’s just his personality. He takes it easy. He gets the concepts well, can articulate it well in speech. It does not show so well when he writes. He just thinks faster than he writes. I do wish he put in more effort in bridging that one gap. My advises fall on deaf ears. Being in his pre-teens, he thinks it’s OKAY not to - clean his room, practice math everyday, revise day’s lessons, score well in tests...
My reason for writing this blogpost is for this same reason. It’s the age that makes them so (over)confident. They are exploring the world and handling the physical and emotional side of the story. To top it all, they have the Indian educational system wrought with Indian parent expectations to match up to. His levels of frustration are far more than compared to mine.
I’m an exasperated mother. I say this because, I am on the verge of giving up telling him to do all that he thinks OKAY about. I also feel compelled, as a parent, to at least guide when he is “straying” (gosh! rolling my eyes, in the Indian context...of course). Although, I see the positives in him, my point is that during his basic school years, a little discipline will get him to go a long way. In all fairness, he is a smart kid. He is aware of his surroundings, good in general knowledge, excellent in sports. Is passionate about his activities and is creative too. Maybe, just maybe, he is not made for the Indian classroom set up. He might just excel in non-traditional learning environment. But, for reasons best known to me, I cannot give him that option. So, the only way I know is to mentor him to cross this hurdle called school by embracing in all subjects and the quirks that come with it. Am I wrong? Am I telling him to just look at a workaround until a problem is gone? Am I helping him understand the advantages of the system? Is it really worth pushing your children to do well in all subjects knowing their affiliation and aversion? I’m sure at some point and not, at other! However, I do know, when we believe in their goodness as a human being, I can breathe easy that they will manage life well. When you believe in their talent and learn to ignore their aversion to blatant knowledge, you have given them wings to survive in this world - on their terms. Being average is okay too :)
