Okay, so I'm blogging about my spoilt student for the second time and this probably won't be the last. But I think I really need to share this as this associates so closely to my teaching philosophy (yes, I have some) and the entire education system. Since he's studying in an international school (won't mention which), I can't put the blame on the Malaysian edu system which I always do so yeah, it's generally the whole system.
Speaking of my title, you might think I'm generalizing what occurred to my student to every rich kid out there but trust me, the story is almost always similar, in one way or another.
So what happened was my student was throwing tantrums when I arrived with him constantly whining about his mother. These are among the things he lamented:
"I'm not going to listen to her anymore, forever!"
"She always say NO, NO, NO, NO to me whenever I ask for something so now I'm saying the same to her!"
"I'm not going for any tuition, school or whatever!"
I was literally blurred but wasn't at all surprised as this wasn't his first time complaining about his mother. I don't know much about parenting but you judge yourself after you finish the entire story.
I later found out that him throwing his tantrums because his school allows Year 5 students to bring mobile phones to school and according to him, ALL of his classmates are bringing phones to school EXCEPT him. His mother said no to him so yeah, typical child is probably jealous of his classmates.
As a teacher and a part of society, I have always stood firm that students shouldn't be allowed to bring phones to school. To me it brings more adversities than doing good to them. You're in school to study and have fun, I don't see the significance of having a phone.
I agree with his mother to not allow him to bring a mobile phone to school but as my class went on, my student revealed more things to me which made me pondered if his parents' parenting style could have been wrong in certain ways. Among the things he told me were:
1. His parents promised him that they would buy him a phone when he turns 10. He's turning 10 next month so it's almost time they fulfil their promise. He said his parents have never really done what they said. BUT why make promises to a kid?
2. Several times when his mother was angered, she said "You're not my son!" to him. I can't comment much but I think disregard of how outraged a mother is, such words shouldn't be coming out from a mom to a son.
3. He said there was once when they went shopping and his mother bought two pairs of shoes for his sister yet never bothered to ask about him. Another jealousy case but it's something very common. I had such jealousy towards my siblings too so I totally understand.
4. He kept saying that his parents never cared or loved him. This is what children normally say when they don't get what they want from parents or when parents do not pay sufficient attention to them.
Kids nowadays are so smart and crafty I think parents really need to be on par with them to be able to handle their emotions and needs. This boils down to the saying that it isn't easy being a parent. I have never had the skills to deal with young children but I'm definitely learning to ensure I would be able to at least develop good bonding and communicate well with my kids in the future.
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