Hie Ye From Me, Boredom!
October has come, and with it, classes have begun again. Not that it's been easy, scheduling everyone who wanted at least an hour. Every year it seems that a child's after school schedule resembles that of a CEO of an international corporation.
Was I remiss with my daughter? She only went to one after school activity at a time. She went to an art class once a week in the first years. In later primary school years, she went to roller skating classes. Then, in high school, she went to math support classes. That was it. She had time and time to play, get bored, get on my nerves, do her homework, and clean her room. I asked her, and she replied that she was fine with what she'd had, and didn't want to be whisked around like kids are now, as if we had wanted her out of the house.
Because that's what it seems like. Parents seem to not mind being their kids' cab driver as long as the kids are out of the house. Or go to activities just like all their classmates. Or go to so many different classes to learn different skills and become super children. Okay, so I'm throwing stones against my own roof, but I'm here primarily to help kids understand a foreign language, not to create English speakers out of magic dust.
Just about all these parents have their childrens' good at heart, but there's a limit. Any child psychologist will explain that the most creative adults grow out of bored children. A child that is bored will search out relief from that boredom. If an adult puts interesting things in their reach, they will find them, and use their imagination to leave boredom behind. Just think of MacGyver and his trusty Swiss Army knife. Boredom is the mother of creativity and invention.
Besides, most kids, when on vacation, never crack open a book, much less review last year's lessons. They are sent off to camp, to their grandparents' houses, or summer activities of all kinds. Which is why on the first days of class, I get situations like these:
- 4 o'clock: swimming classes
- 5 o'clock: art classes
- 6 o'clock: tae kwondo
- 7 o'clock: football practice
- 8 o'clock: theater classes
- 9 o'clock: roller skating
Was I remiss with my daughter? She only went to one after school activity at a time. She went to an art class once a week in the first years. In later primary school years, she went to roller skating classes. Then, in high school, she went to math support classes. That was it. She had time and time to play, get bored, get on my nerves, do her homework, and clean her room. I asked her, and she replied that she was fine with what she'd had, and didn't want to be whisked around like kids are now, as if we had wanted her out of the house.
Because that's what it seems like. Parents seem to not mind being their kids' cab driver as long as the kids are out of the house. Or go to activities just like all their classmates. Or go to so many different classes to learn different skills and become super children. Okay, so I'm throwing stones against my own roof, but I'm here primarily to help kids understand a foreign language, not to create English speakers out of magic dust.
Just about all these parents have their childrens' good at heart, but there's a limit. Any child psychologist will explain that the most creative adults grow out of bored children. A child that is bored will search out relief from that boredom. If an adult puts interesting things in their reach, they will find them, and use their imagination to leave boredom behind. Just think of MacGyver and his trusty Swiss Army knife. Boredom is the mother of creativity and invention.
Besides, most kids, when on vacation, never crack open a book, much less review last year's lessons. They are sent off to camp, to their grandparents' houses, or summer activities of all kinds. Which is why on the first days of class, I get situations like these:
- First hour: "'Has got?' What does that mean?"
- Second hour: "But shouldn't it be written 'I am'? Oh, it's a question! I didn't read the instructions!"
- Third hour: "You mean you really don't remember how to write 'five'?"
- Fourth hour: "'At school', 'at school,' I don't remember what that means. I think I understand it, but I can't put it in words."
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