No child left behind.

It’s not all peaches and cream in China all the time, no more than it is anywhere else. We all have our ‘bad China’ days for different reasons. I had one today. Teaching at a private school can be a real pain sometimes. Parents think that just because they pay for their child to go through English classes that they will learn English. I only have their kids for two hours a week and can not control their study habits at home. Some times there are kids that do not want to learn or where they are not studying at home. I have had to reluctantly recommend that some kids repeat a book or go down to a lower level class. Parents get upset at this and pull their child out of the school altogether. They never get upset when we recommend that their child should move up a class because they are doing so well. Since the school is a business and does not want to lose any kids or money, they let kids pass to the next book and do not say anything to the parents. You would think the school could build a reputation of having a high standard and showing that they care about the kids’ education, thus gaining the respect of parents, teachers and students. It can be beyond frustrating. I never did teach in America but know they have their own problems to deal with. A ‘no child left behind’ policy can do more harm than good. All kids learn at different speeds and in different ways. Some kids may need more attention than others. All kids should be given a chance. But just passing a kid to the next level when they are not ready sets the student back, because they can not keep up with the other students around them. It is hard on all the students, because the others must learn at a slower pace. It is also very hard on the teacher of course. Suzanne spent most of her primary years in private school but one year she did have to go to public school. She did not do as well in public school as she did in private school. She is doing very well at home with her studies, although not as good as when she was in Victory, but still much better than when she was at Fairview. She has started her 8th grade lessons and has a very large load. I know that she will continue to make us proud. Her baby sister, Destiny has cut a third tooth on the bottom, for a total of five now. Their mother does so much around the house and looks great in her new tailor made skirt. Thank you so much.