MrX Posted March 26, 2004 Report Share Posted March 26, 2004 start off by saying this has no point...so if pointed posts is your thing click your mouse NOW My falang, seven year old son, Kit doesn't go to school.....this is a long long story and might even be worth talking about somewhere else, but here I just say he doesnt..... It is my job to teach him at home which is quite hard since I dont believe in knowledge /culture/ received wisdom etc..but i do my best..or rather did my best until the thai school holidays started.... Reel back, first to say we live in a condo in a (relatively) poor part of town with few falang and many bargirls.. (several of my friends from midnite bar live on my soi)...so Kit's friends are the soi kids who use our condo as their social centre...as I said all this was OK until 2 weeks ago..... Because they, the condo gang, used to go school every morning and I uised to settle down with Kit to the latest offering from the Oxford Reading tree and the magic key( this is a highly esoteric reference) and we enacted a version of literacy hour so beloved of proper educational institutions..... but then the thai schools fucking broke up and.... Now Kit gets up ferociously early and announces , before the sleep whey has dried from my eyes, that he is off to find his friends...in apartment 1, or 4,or 24 or down the street or whatever. and before I can object he is gone, and I am holding The magic key unread for yet another day.... After an hour or two Kit will come back with a couple of friends and they play the playstation, raid the fridge, push me off the computer etc....our flat is so well resourced compared with what goes down as elegant living around here..... the kids notice this of course and like to enjoy the goodies... But as the day wears on , the apartment steadily fills up with more kids from farther and farther afield and the later arrivals are often dirty and uncared for waifs who I know nothing about and Kit doesnt either. making me wrestle with line drawing, while Kit doesnt help since he likes having lots of visitors.......Questions like: When may the flat be reasonably judged to be full? Does it matter if I dont know the children and Kit doesnt either? Should I make them wash before they come in? etc Usually about mid afternoon I crack...shoo everyone out illiberally and demand that Kit and I go out to arrest my severe case of cabin fever , a move to which he reluctantly agrees..yet another day has passed with no study, I note, with a growing sense of failing my son. Really, this cant go on....next week we are escaping to Koh Samui , though I have foolishly agreed to bring two of his friends along..after that we might go to Surin with my best friend from midnight so Kit can learn something about not having ........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nervous_Dog Posted March 26, 2004 Report Share Posted March 26, 2004 Hey - even home schooled kids need holidays Now what you should be doing is asking the waifs to bring their unmarried Aunties/Cousins/Older Sister along to the apartment as well That way you wont have as many friends from Midnight JB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaad Posted March 26, 2004 Report Share Posted March 26, 2004 My falang, seven year old son, Kit doesn't go to school.....this is a long long story and might even be worth talking about somewhere else, but here I just say he doesnt..... Ok, he doesn't. You can tell us why when you're up for it. All I'd like to say is that he's seven now and is starting to pick very important things already, such as manners, discipline, lifestyle, habits, etc...don't think he's still a baby. Seriously, his learning process (developing into a kid-teenager-adult) has begun already and without a PROPER daily education (at school AND at home) his future might not be as bright as you think it is. Don't wait with educating your son properly. Whatever your reason is for not sending him to school, the consequences of not doing so can be very sour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrX Posted March 26, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2004 what about my wife? and whats more, I love my friends from midnight! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrX Posted March 26, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2004 Thanks for thinking about the best interests of the child Do you know about home education? Shall we start a thread about it?..or is it beer and PM stuff? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaad Posted March 26, 2004 Report Share Posted March 26, 2004 Do you know about home education? I'm not an expert on it, but what worries me is the fact that (according to your initial post) your son is trying to follow his interests at a very early age. It is my job to teach him at home which is quite hard since I dont believe in knowledge /culture/ received wisdom etc..but i do my best..or rather did my best until the thai school holidays started.... He has (naturally) no idea what's right or wrong for himself which is why I think you as the father should guide him before it's too late. Now Kit gets up ferociously early and announces , before the sleep whey has dried from my eyes, that he is off to find his friends...in apartment 1, or 4,or 24 or down the street or whatever. and before I can object he is gone, and I am holding The magic key unread for yet another day.... What worries me here are your words: "before I can object he's gone". It may happen once but if you *allow* it to happen on a regular basis then he'll undoubtedly have no discipline a kid his age should have. And more negativities will follow. Shall we start a thread about it?..or is it beer and PM stuff? Really up to you if you want to discuss it openly with more opinions rather than mine only. Sorry if I forced you to talk about stuff you prefer to keep inside. I just felt the need to give you my advice on your kid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCgringo Posted March 26, 2004 Report Share Posted March 26, 2004 If I was 7 I would love you as a DAD, lots of cool things around the house, schoolwork that I can just walk away from, have all my friends around to play with and you are wrapped around his finger..... just a thought from a young mind...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrX Posted March 26, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2004 Zaad wrote "your son is trying to follow his interests at a very early age." Think this might be how to realize a good education Zaad wrote "He has (naturally) no idea what's right or wrong for himself which is why I think you as the father should guide him before it's too late." I am not sure that he has no idea what is right or wrong...why do you say this as though it was self-evident? Zaad wrote "What worries me here are your words: "before I can object he's gone". It may happen once but if you *allow* it to happen on a regular basis then he'll undoubtedly have no discipline a kid his age should have. And more negativities will follow." Think I am guilty here of a kind of rhetoric..If it were a life or death matter of course I would object...just that he senses it is a kind of grey zone and is faster an more elusive than perhaps I would like. Zaad wrote "Sorry if I forced you to talk about stuff you prefer to keep inside. I just felt the need to give you my advice on your kid". Absolutely no problem.. appreciate your thoughts and anyway if I post here feed back is to be expected dont you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrX Posted March 26, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 26, 2004 OCgringo wrote "just a thought from a young mind...." and what is a youngster like you doing reading a board like this I wonder? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaad Posted March 26, 2004 Report Share Posted March 26, 2004 Zaad wrote "your son is trying to follow his interests at a very early age." Think this might be how to realize a good education Only problem is that he's got the wrong interests. Hey, I don't blame him being young as he is. Kids *certainly* need their precious freedom as much as a good education. I have the feeling that certain Thai kids spend way too much time in class and extra classes on Sat. Sun. and have hardly any freedom and playing time left at all (which is just as bad) but that's another discussion. Zaad wrote "He has (naturally) no idea what's right or wrong for himself which is why I think you as the father should guide him before it's too late." I am not sure that he has no idea what is right or wrong...why do you say this as though it was self-evident? He is 7! If it were a life or death matter of course I would object It may not be directly a matter of life or death but it will affect your young boy's future, thus important enough to show your objections IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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