Standing Strong and Finding Solace in Stories : Weekly Recap (January 15, 2025)

Hello readers! I hope you’re all well and had a great week. Past week for me was whirlwind, it was a week of Standing Strong and Finding Solace in Stories. This post is going up late due to long weekend here and the kite festival yesterday. Today also is holiday here for schools so we are still in relaxing mood.

Week in Life

Most of the week was uneventful. I was pretty happy with report from shadow teacher and how my kid was doing in school but then PTM happened.

Saturday’s PTM (Parent-Teacher Meeting) left me with a lot to process. I had to rant the experience here so I’m really sorry for making it long. I walked in ready to listen and observe but also prepared to advocate for my child when needed.

Throughout the discussion, they said there was only minimal improvement and that too because we got a shadow teacher based on “their suggestion” (unspoken words – if they haven’t suggested shadow teacher and if we went against it there would have been no improvement. Credit is theirs and not for us or shadow teacher). And it wasn’t just a suggestion they literally said “you cannot send your kid to school if you don’t get a shadow teacher”!

They criticized that she took 5 days to complete a 10-page worksheet, which wasn’t done in one go. However, they failed to acknowledge that this worksheet was assigned to kids during a time when my kid and they gave it to her after we returned from vacation. Other kids had completed it in one or two days because they weren’t juggling regular classwork, while my kid had to work on it during free time, alongside her other assignments.

The term “mood swings” was repeatedly used in a consistently negative way. They even had the audacity to ask if she was on medical treatment (as if she has a serious mental illness). When we said no, they brought up that a doctor had supposedly told them, “The parents are not ready for medication.” That was the moment I lost my cool entirely. This was an outright lie. We know exactly what the doctor told us—the school is targeting her to push for therapy under their terms. Even the behavioral specialist we consulted pointed out that this behavior from the school is deliberate.

They claimed my child does things based on her mood, and when I explained that she’s just six years old—an age where showing likes and dislikes is part of natural growth—they acknowledged her strong will as a positive trait but insisted that school isn’t the place for her to show it. According to them, she has to “fall in line” with other kids when told, no questions asked. (So, essentially, they want my child to be a puppet and not an individual with her own personality!)

They even pointed out that her showing dislike or needing a minute to understand why she must do something disrupts the class routine. (A minute more disrupts routine! Are they for real?) I couldn’t help but think, what is this, a military base? Kids aren’t robots!

And the hypocrisy was glaring—there are other kids in the class who display similar behaviors, but the way they spoke made it crystal clear that they are specifically targeting us. We know this for a fact because our shadow teacher reports everything—how they treat my kid and how they treat other children in the same class.

I was furious, and I made that clear as a mother. I even called out the coordinator for trying to put me down, as if I were one of her subordinates. But to hell with them! They might make things harder for my child because I spoke up, but I am prepared to fight if it comes to that. If I can’t stand up for my child, then who else will I stand up for? Advocacy starts at home, and I will always fight for my child, no matter what.

A week of ups and downs, but I’m grateful for the little moments of peace and joy reading brought me.

Week in Reading

Books Read Last Week

I read Before Your Memory Fades by Toshikazu Kawaguchi and We’ll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida. Both were delightful works of Japanese fiction. While I enjoyed the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series so far, the repetitiveness was still noticeable in this installment. In comparison, I found We’ll Prescribe You a Cat more captivating and refreshing. It was heartwarming and unique, and I couldn’t help but fall in love with its concept and storytelling.

Currently Reading

I meant to start A Cross-Country Wedding in the beginning of the week but couldn’t until today. I just started the book and I’m enjoying it so far. It seems just as fun as last book.

Next This Week

As this is long book and previous Jane Austen books took long to read, I hope to start Mansfiled Park this weekend and finish it by next weekend.

How was your last week?
Have you read any of these?
What do you plan to read this week?

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Just in case you missed,,,

• Emma by Jane Austen – delightful and engaging classic
• 10 Romance Books I Loved in 2024
• 15 Best Children’s Books I Read with My Kid in 2024

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