Expectations to be expected
As the exams roll ever closer (imagine a steamroller chugging down the road, smoke bellowing from its chimney as it flattens everything in front), there is a growing sense of stress and expectations. Stress from the students because they might feel like they forgot to study something and Expectation from parents who want their kids to do their best and more.
Would you love them less if they failed? What if they don't get into a good school (by your standards)? Would they become failures in your eyes? Would you still call them your pride and joy?
These are things that are easy to answer in the calm of the school term - but not so at the end when the results come out. Some might assume their children did not take the exams seriously and were fooling around - or that they have no interest in their future? Both could be true - but for these young ones, it's hard to see the future, especially if you're short and have only had the experience of slightly more than a decade in life. Things don't "click" until a certain point in life, and until then, you just bounce around like a ping-pong ball.
So don't let your Expectations become Requirements. Let them remain targets which you set for your kids (and yourself) to help them achieve their potential - but remember, they aren't your employees with annual reviews with bonuses and increments tied into their performance. They might mature later, or have other skills which might not be as academically focused.
Would you love them less if they failed? What if they don't get into a good school (by your standards)? Would they become failures in your eyes? Would you still call them your pride and joy?
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| Grandma doing work on Nigel's behalf |
So don't let your Expectations become Requirements. Let them remain targets which you set for your kids (and yourself) to help them achieve their potential - but remember, they aren't your employees with annual reviews with bonuses and increments tied into their performance. They might mature later, or have other skills which might not be as academically focused.