A Clever Alteration
When Hans prepped for the CW
audition, he "worked" with 5 other kids - 2 boys and 3 girls.
One of the girls had a seemingly sweet disposition. She was quiet and polite.
Later, I found out from a trusted source that this girl was of the opinion that
Hans is dumb! I could not believe that
someone as silent as this girl could mouth such harsh words!
A couple of weeks ago, I met
with this girl and her younger brother for a diagnostic assessment. They were
both supposed to start tutoring sessions with me. On the first day, only the
brother showed up. When I asked the mother about her daughter, she indicated
that the girl did not feel the need for any tutoring.
My first feeling when I met
with the girl was that of conflict - do I
want to spend time with a girl who goes around saying unkind things about
others?! But then, I told myself that my job is to educate kids and not
judge them. To that end, I actually prepared a lesson plan diligently that
included some fun learning activities. When I realized the girl was a no show,
I felt a sense of relief and indignation all at once.
Did she feel she was too smart to learn from a dumb kid's mom?! Who
knows?! I have decided to put that behind me and maybe use the lessons planned
for this child instead for Hans. Why not?! Someone
should benefit from the time I put in.
An Unexpected Opportunity
A few weeks before school
ended, G calls up to inform me that there is a new family moving into our
neighbourhood. He felt that this family would benefit from connecting with me.
G is always trying to get me gainfully employed in some way. It appeared like
the family has a child who would require some ESL help.
Both Craigley and I got an opportunity to connect with the man/father in a chance encounter at Hans' school and last weekend, we
invited the family over for dinner.
The new family ended up
spending about 6 hours with us and the best part was that ASid was with us the
entire time. The family recently moved from Craigley’s ancestral
"motherland" and since ASid is learning the language of that land, he
was delighted to meet with people who lived there for a few years and knew the
language!
G probably had his own
reasons for reaching out to me about this family; however, we ended up making
friendly and neighbourly connections with them. It was best to find possible friendships in this particular situation than
a profitable opportunity!
A Delightful Accommodation
ASid's friends keep dropping
by with a few seconds' notice!
“Mom, they are right outside our door. Is it OK if they come in?”
Really?!
As mentioned earlier, I am
all for an "open door" policy. Even if we are all collectively
inconvenienced sometimes, I'd rather ASid's friends come over anytime to our
home.
The other day, ASid's
friends, N1 and N2, were over after a long time. I let them know that they
could hang out until my tutoring session starts and then, I expect them to
leave!
They did not leave. Instead
they moved themselves to the basement and promised to be quiet for an hour!!
So, how has summer been so far?! I can't complain at all.
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