Justin, my eldest son, has done very well for his UPSR exams. In fact, he achieved 6As and 1B. He requested a notebook as a reward from his dad and I did not agree.
Why??? I want him to know the value of money and that we must earn and work hard for something we desire. It's true that we can easily afford his request and that in many parents' view, he rightly deserves this reward.
However, to me, getting good results is his responsibility as a student... I will not mind if his results are not as good although it will be a bonus. Don't get me wrong, I am actually very proud of him! After all, good results will be a good stepping stone for a brighter future - entry into a good school, building up his confidence as well as to spur him to work even harder and smarter. This eventually leads to a better career path, perhaps? That's the future and this can be pretty unpredictable!
Right now, I want to instill a sense of responsibility in him. Academic achievement is very important and he has done well as a responsible student. I never had to worry about his schoolwork and homework. Very dependable boy.
Besides academic excellence, one must also be responsible for self, his family as well as the society. I would just like him and his brothers to learn about self-responsiblity for now. One area, as I mentioned above, is to understand the value of money and hard work.
I remember when I was a child, many things are luxury items - a trip to KFC, a story book or even a new pencil case. My family was not well-off, but Dad and Mum made sure we have the basic necessities. My husband too came from a poor background and his mother brought him and his brother up single-handedly. I imagine life was much more harder for him.
My three boys are very fortunate. They are given many items which I would term as luxury or even unnecessary things. There are many toys and books in the house. They have a desktop computer, Playstation, MP3 players to indulge in. On top of that, they do not have to do any housework, although I made it a point that they to put their clothes into the laundry basket, clear up their utensils and cutlery after meal and other basic chores.
Back to Justin's request for a notebook. As I said, I vehemently refused to buy him one. Of course, he reasoned that many of his friends already have one, he needs one to do his research from the net, etc. I think he also needs one for his social networking via Facebook as well as playing games!
I explained that getting good marks is a great achievement, but that would be his personal triumph. While we celebrate this achievement, we must not forget the other areas of development - especially interpersonal and intrapersonal skills.
One month has passed without the new notebook. He did not really bug me now, but is looking forward to receiving my old one instead! That's because I have upgraded to a better notebook and will hand over my old one to him, on one condition - he has to share with his two brothers.
Justin, Mummy may be harsh with you at times, but I know that you will appreciate all these when you face the working world later on and realise that things will not come easily for all.
No comments:
Post a Comment