My Body Officially Peng San

The other day, I was happily lying down on bed, preparing to take an  morning nap when I got a call from an unknown handphone number.

When I picked up the call, I heard Ace on the other line telling me, "Mummy, I forgot to let you sign my composition file. My teacher says I have to call you to tell you..."

And I was wondering why he never used his handphone when his teacher took over to talk to me.

Apparently, this year, they are given a composition file and they are supposed to file all the compo work that they have done and every week, when they get the file, they are supposed to ask their parent to sign and file the paper.

For the last semester, our good friend, who is also class monitor has NOT asked me to sign ANY of his compositions... And because every week when his teacher asked him, he will look apologetic, his teacher will just remind him to do it next week. End up, one semester has passed and not once has he passed me to sign.

This semester, his teacher has taken to reminding him everyday and yet he still says he forgot and will do it the next day...

I know he is forgetful but it is not like him to be soooooooooooo forgetful so I promised the teacher I will talk to him when he is home..

When he came home, I asked him what that was all about and told him that it is his duty as a student to actually complete all his homework and homework includes filing his work. He is a big boy already and if he promised his teacher something, he should do it.

At first he kept very quiet....

Then I looked through the file and realized that he scored really badly for all his composition pieces and I asked him if he was afraid to let me sign because of that.

He then admitted that it was because he was waiting and trying to score better so that when he shows me the results, even though he did badly, he can also tell me that he has improved.

I told him that I love him whether he is good in composition or not but composition is actually a SKILL. It is something you can LEARN. It is something you can get better at if you learn how to do it so there is no shame in doing badly.

Also, if he is not doing well, he should tell me and ask for help. When someone is doing something in a certain way and it gives them a certain result, even if they tried harder in the same way, they will not get better results because it is the same method that they are using...

His teacher also mentioned that P5 students will usually see a drop in their results because much more is expected of them at this level.

Anyway, he promised me he will do better and then when I looked through his compo, I found out why he was not scoring well. It seems that he was unable to apply the tricks he learnt at Chinese Compo on english composition. Also, I find that he has strange ideas that are not really accepted I think as normal stories children will write. For example, for a story about a bad habit, most people may write a story about someone using his mobile phone while walking and getting into an accident. But not my son!


My sons story will be about him walking into a dark alley and  knocking into a group of gangsters and getting stabbed as a result! Drama Mama must have DRAMA DRAMA sort of storyline right?:P

It seemed also that he did not have a good grasp of what is expected of him and so sometimes he was out of point.

And then when I was looking through his compo in detail before I signed them off, I really dunno whether to laugh or cry....

The first one was a story of how a boy tripped over something and broke his head and was bleeding all over and then his mother came into the room and saw him lying on the floor with blood all over... and the sentence went like this... "There was no time to lose.... Mother called the ambulance pronto.."

PRONTO? Max didnt even know what that word meant! Hahahahahaha... This word sounded alright in say a comic book or a cartoon.. but who uses them in composition!?

But the following example takes the cake lor!

The second story is about how the main character (first person account) was bullied in school and how his friends laughed at him and kicked him and pushed him... And then he was talking about how upset he felt that his friends treated him this way.... and then the main character says... wait for it.... wait for it...

"My heart was officially broken..."

Hahahahaahahahahhahaha!

His teacher canceled it and wrote instead "I was heartbroken..."

Hahahahahaha!

I think that phrase looks ok as lyrics of a love song or as part of a script of a book like Dairy of a Whimpy Kid... but not really in a composition in Singapore!

I tell you ah... MY BODY OFFICIALLLY PENG SAN when I read that! Hahahahaha..

Anyway, if I am Ah Q and look on the bright side, I guess I can say my boy is expressive and creative...:)

Previous Post: Transport Exhibition And Dinner With Godma Annie