So Far So Good

A couple of Saturdays ago, we went to Big Bee's school for a Parent-Teacher Meeting. This meeting was so unlike all the private ones that we attended in her kindergarten. We entered into the primary hall and was greeted by an entire gargantuan hall filled to the brim with rows and rows of teachers with parents. It was a sight akin to an examination hall! There was a waiting area where we waited for our turn while we observed how other parents discussed with fervour about their child's progress with the form teacher. It was all very serious, it seemed!

When it was our turn, I took a back seat and just wanted to hear what her form teacher had to say. The moment she saw us, she declared immediately that Big Bee is "very good". Her work is excellent and her teacher highlighted that Big Bee can read and speak very well. She went on to inform me that Big Bee will be the star performer in the upcoming Speech and Drama concert and that she was impressed that Big Bee can perform so well. As a parent, of course I was delighted to hear such wonderful things from my daughter's teacher.

However, she continued by saying that Big Bee can be a little chatty, chatting at times in class when she should not. I guess this was a practice she acquired in her kindergarten where being articulate at all times was highly approved and encouraged. Sadly, in primary school, she had to follow the teachers' instructions to the dot. Luckily, I felt that Big Bee's form teacher allowed eloquence to a higher tolerance compared to other classes' form teachers. Big Bee was just telling me that a friend of hers was scolded for saying hi to her during assembly. Such is the beginning of a culture of conformity and uniformity.

After the meeting, we strolled around the school campus, with Big Bee proudly showing off her classroom and where she sat to us. It was very encouraging to see her confident, very happy and independent in school. There was a bustling and festive carnival going on in school simultaneously and we had a really fantastic time immersing in the strong school culture with the older school girls enthusiastically marketing their wares. School life is really fun!


The Bees sharing a cup of yogurt in the school canteen. Big Bee is at this awkward age, like most of her friends, where her 2 front teeth had dropped!!


I sneaked to her school and captured a photo of her prize-giving ceremony for being the top 6th in the Primary 1 hula hoop competition. She did not want me to be present at the ceremony for fear of teachers scolding her so I had to hide behind a pillar with Little Bee!