A Parent’s Point of View ..

A fellow colleague is not feeling too well today and I ended up taking up his CT-role for the day. It was supposed to be simple. Yet I got a direction from the management to call up a parent of a student from that class which I only met for 15 minutes. Talking to parents has always been my weakest link… erm… Talking to one whose child I have not even met before is really weird.

I tried, nevertheless and I think I failed (miserably) in achieving the management’s aim. By the way, I was tasked to counsel the mother not to let her son withdraw. Kaoz.. I am not convinced that the kid must stay in the first place. Just how convincing can I sound later, when I call?

~ The ship should not be there :
I should not be the one making the call ~
I felt quite a bit "misplaced".

However, if things are unavoidable, I just got to learn to relax and enjoy. In fact, the conversation indeed got a little "interesting" at some points.

(1) The mother was trying to impress (I think) by saying at great length of how she herself went through her JC days and understands how JC lessons are like. But she expressed how surprised she was that there are no longer any commerce courses in the present JC system any more. Mm.. Okay, she was from the commerce stream while in the JC days herself. But commerce courses had stopped since 2001 leh, I think. Not too well-informed hor. :P

(2) She added that she is not really against the idea for her son to continue to attend his lessons here with us, but if her son has no interest in the lessons, then there is no point in doing so. Besides, she claimed that she has also gone through the subjects offered by JCs and see no relevance at all to his son’s aspiration and decision. Aiyo.. How am I going to continue the conversation? Mm..

(3) She raised a point towards the end of the conversation, suggesting that we are too serious on our students even during the first-three-month. And that might drive students away. To her, first-three-month should be relax and easy-going and most students will be behaving so anyway. Wa.. *Ahem.. I have to correct her on that, of course.

(4) Interestingly, she said she welcomes that we talk to her son also. However, she had already directed her son to come to college tomorrow and to talk to our Principal directly. Mm… Then what is there to talk to the kid?

Don't get me wrong, I am not suggesting any wrongness with any party. I do see why the mother talked in this way, I do see why the management wants to make such a stand, I do see why the student doesn't find any relevance here, I do see how their views somehow contradict each other. Haha.. But "seeing why" is one thing ; "accepting it" is another.

Being a CT can be quite tough lor and I don’t think I can ever do it well.
Hehe.. But it is only a one-day-stint for me (luckily). :P

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有一位圣者这么说：

心体的整顿，
宁可委屈自己、圆融人事；
宁可牺牲自己、利益众生；
宁可顾损自己、拥护大体；
宁可放下自己、当下正觉。