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| ta ta kindergarten |
Like every other mom, I am paranoia when it comes to making life-changing
decisions that concerns my little girl. She is a big girl now she says; I guess
she is. She will be graduating kindergarten in a couple of months and my palms
are already sweating. I think I am going to cry. I have embraced a wining baton
when it comes to uncontrollable emotions.
Okay, I lied. It isn’t so much that her graduation is making
me paranoid as much as it is the admissions for grade 1. My husband and I have
actually worked it out. We want to admit her in a school that does not force us
to go through the general application process. I have seen one of my friends
almost go crazy last year – thankfully all turned out well. Am I in for a
similar ride? I am already in that vicious cycle; I have not just realized it yet.
I snapped out of it today when my colleague asked me why an international
school? The first thing I thought was have you seen the lines in front of the
schools during the testing time? It sure is sometimes longer than a line of
people waiting to buy an IPO share. Then I thought, I am refusing to follow the
dreadful traditional admission procedure that most parents go through once in
their lifetime – admitting children in grade 1 is one hell of a tiring and
depressing process in Kathmandu.
Why are schools bent on testing the little children who can
hardly sit still in a chair for five minutes? I worry because my daughter will
not sit through hours of testing. She may know her ABCs but she does not
understand there are repercussions for not answering all questions – she will
be refused admission left and right. I worry because the pressure our schools
demand from a five to six year old is ridiculous. They are expected to read and
understand the questions and answer them neatly. Hell they cannot wipe their bums
or wipe their noses, forget answering all questions and passing the test.
It is unhealthy for a child when parents are adamant on
admitting their children to the schools of their choice. Little children as
young as five attend coaching classes because certain schools have the so
called ‘standards’ and hence have difficult test questions. Parents admit their
children to certain kindergartens for the sole purpose of admitting them to a
particular school. Does it make sense? No, it does not. I know parents follow
these ridiculous practices because they have no choice and because they want to
ensure their children receive the best education they can afford.
A kindergarten principal mentioned that one of the student’s
mother’s only objective for her child was to admit her child into a particular
school. Imagine the pressure on the child. I do not even want to go into the
details of the faulty admission regulations our schools flaunt. Or the equally
ridiculous education system in our country that remains a mere spectator to
this fiasco refraining from taking actions even when schools are charging exorbitant
admission fees. Some schools interview and even hold Focus Group Discussions
amongst the aspiring parents of the aspiring children for admissions. I am yet
to comprehend how my intelligence or answers should affect my child’s prospect
of getting into the school. And of course if you cannot speak English, you
might as well not have your child apply! These are external and beyond our
control. What we can control is ensuring they learn to write three line answers
without properly understanding what they have written.
The pressure and the trauma our children face when they sit
through two or even three tests are unimaginable. Children are smart they
resonate what we think and they in turn make sure we, as parents aren’t let
down. We may follow a disappointing suit of this dreadful admissions process
come April but we must understand there are many things that we can take charge
of. We can make sure our children are not subjected to a second round of
disappointment – from us. We forget what we were as a child. We forget as a
child how we cherished our parent’s approval and how we drained ourselves
emotionally when we did not meet our parent’s expectations.
I and my husband may or may not follow the admission process
blindly that is a different story. But what we are sure is that we don’t want
to push our daughter to sit for tests in different schools. We want to make
sure that our daughter isn’t subjected to the first official rejection at this
tender age of five. We want to get her educated in a school that will admit her
despite the fact that she may not spell and write her name correctly.
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