Teacher vs Russell

I've been busy with volunteer work in the boys' school again. I help out with the weekly Math Mom and Learning Mentor programs. I enjoy motivating the children and watching them improve academically and emotionally. I also help out in ad hoc programs like chaperoning on excursions and manning the booths during Chinese New Year period and will be helping out with Racial Harmony Week next.

I started volunteering when Russell was in primary one. His teacher gave the class a form each for their parents to fill up if anyone of us wanted to be parent volunteers. Russell was excited at the idea of me getting involved and I thought maybe it would helped me get to know the school and teachers better. Whenever we were in school together, Russell would not fail to tell his friends (whoever we walked pass) and teachers that I'm his mom and I'm a Parent Volunteer! LOL...so cute right?! I know most of his teachers pretty well and they gave me feedback very often too.

I stopped volunteering when I started working part-time in the children's library across the road from my home. The teachers and I communicated less and trouble started brewing during Russell's Chinese lessons. When he was in primary 2, he had weekly Chinese spelling test. He was supposed to learn about 8 -12 new characters each week. There was a time when he told me there weren't any spelling test after school on test days. And that went on for about 2 weeks. On the 3rd week, I was waiting at the school gate for him when I bumped into his classmate. I told him how lucky he was for not having spelling test for so many weeks. He looked at me with a puzzled face and told me they had Chinese spelling test every week! I was shocked and surprised that the Chinese teacher didn't inform me why Russell hadn't been doing his tests. I met up with her the next day and she told me why she stopped demanding work from my defiant boy.                                   *Pls click on pix for larger image.

He really scare his teacher with that crazy move! Russell feels embarrassed about his action now when I retell this story. But it made Jonah laugh whenever he remembers it.