Tuition, tuition, tuition

Our Malaysian children are going to have their year-end school holidays starting from 8th Nov. I am sure many of us adults know the meaning of school holidays. It is purely holidays, no early morning, no study, no schedule. But what are we having now? I am already receiving many pamphlets dropped in my apartment's post box about tuitions starting November??!! And leaflets announcing 'lessons for Form One' when the UPSR (Primary Six exam) has just completed!!?? Or camps to build self-esteem, self-confidence bla blah. In the first place, who is UN-building the self-esteem of our children that warrants them to be sent to camp to re-learn them?

This is sad, so sad. We are robbing our children off their rights of a happy, carefree childhood. We are pushing them to excel in things we perceive as important. We forced them to lessons they do not need and certainly do not love. When they failed to live up to our perceived standards, think how they feel? Do the parents know that their poor kids cried in class whenever they received their examination results? These children feel that they had failed their parents.

It is the year end and once again, it is the dreaded 'meet the parents' day'. Oh how I hate them. Don't get me wrong, I love meeting with their teachers, to say thank you for guiding and teaching my sons and sayonara. That's all I want to do. I do not want to hear the same old thing like 'your son daydreams during lessons, your son talks too much, your son could improve just a little bit more, your son writing is horrible.....' Year in, year out, I met the same teachers because they go to the same school. Year in, year out, I hear the same complaints because after all, my kids are brought up by the same parents. The teachers will be facing the 'blank look' mommy because I am too polite to tell them 'oh what the heck, my sons are happy and that's all that matters. So what if they occassionally turn up last in the class? I do not care. They are still cream of the crop as long as they hang around the top class of the form.'

History will repeats itself. My sons who always fall behind in class will still emerge with all As in their Govt. exam (psst... they are real easy, btw), the smart kids of the class will fail to cinch 'just one more A' and ended up crying in class while awaiting the 'thunder' from their parents whom had taken them from tuition centre to tuition centre from day one they entered kindergarten until Std 6.

No tuition for my kids, now or ever.