Did you think you were going to hear from me so soon after my first ever post ? That Denise Duffield Thomas has really lit a fire under me and now I can’t stop thinking and writing.
I’ve been whatsapping with a few mum friends of mine about homeschooling and having our kids home with us all day everyday. It’s brutal. I mean we all love our kids. Of that there can be no doubt. And we want what’s best for them. But are we what’s best for them? I don’t know about that. Kids are meant to be at school with their friends and peers and learning from trained professionals. There is this viral video I saw a few weeks ago when lockdown just started. I don’t think I ever laughed so hard in my life. In the video, this mother talks about how her kids’ school are hounding her all day everyday and are expecting her to teach her kids about improper fractions. She then goes on to say that kids will finally understand how stupid their parents are. It had me in stitches. Because it’s true. I’m trying to teach my daughter how to read. And I know how to read. It’s not like I’m illiterate but trying to explain it to her makes me realise just how limited my understanding of the English language is. Why does the sound “ow” sometimes sound like cow and sometimes like snow. No joke. I didn’t know the reason. I had to ask my 7 year old son to explain it to her. I would like to point out that I am highly educated. I have two degrees and a professional qualification and I didn’t know basic phonics.
I dread when my 7 year old starts his curriculum and then all hell will break loose. Who am I going to ask then ? This makes me think – we are going to raise a generation of idiots. Not because they are Idiots but because we are. What a scary thought. I don’t want schools to reopen until it is absolutely safe to do so but good grief don’t make my kids reliant on me to teach them. I can’t think about the tears and the shouting and the mockery. By the way- the tears will be from me. The shouting and mockery will be from my kids when they realise Mama is an idiot. Maybe my husband will join in too. I feel sorry for everyone in my household. But I mostly feel sorry for me because my kids don’t listen to me. They love me. Of that much I’m sure. They even love me more than anything else in the world. Again I’m sure of this. But listen to me ? Value what I say ? That’s a joke. Those kids would rather listen to Captain Barnacles than listen to me. Which makes me conclude that children are only intended to love their parents for four hours a day – 7-8am, 4-7pm. Anything outside of those hours is a free for all and a means by which to torture parents and their children. Which is reason number 8,000,907 why lockdown sucks. FACT. Bye for now.
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