What The Girls' Chinese Teachers Think Of Their Progress

Had a brief mummy moment on Sat when I was given to understand by BOTH my girls' Chinese teachers that they are not up to par.

At Arndell Park, B's teacher called me over after the class.

She was concerned that B had failed to complete her homework and that she needs to work on her ting1 xie3. She suggested I supervise her more.

Thankfully, she's only the relief teacher. The regular teacher is away in China nursing her ailing elderly mother. She has taught B since Grade One, during which I have seen steady progress in B's mastery of the language.

The regular teacher would have been more diplomatic in the way she put the message across.

At Point Cook, J's teacher was even more to the point.

She told J in front of me not to engage in "small talk". I was about to tell J off for chatting with her classmates when I realized (1) I didn't know which classmate she was guilty of chatting with (2) the teacher actually meant that J wasn't speaking up loudly or frequently enough in class.


Not only that, she said J's dictation is "not satisfactory".

Strong views indeed, considering we're in a community language school in the western suburbs of MEL, not an elite scholarship coaching class or SG or Shanghai.

Then again, I have to remember the teachers have a different map of what makes a "good" student. They're probably measuring the kids against what's expected of them as ethnic Chinese students from an Asian country with high academic expectations.

Which presents a dilemma: how do I encourage my child to be more confident in class when (1) she doesn't really want to learn Chinese (2) she's not comfortable speaking cos we don't speak Chinese at home, other than when I'm helping the kids with their homework?

The surface solution is obvious.

The deeper (meta) solution though, is that it's about BALANCE.

I didn't move to AUS for my kids to be measured against their peers in SG and found wanting just because our family's focus is on a well-rounded education and personal development where proficiency in Chinese is just one of many goals.

I am searching myself to be certain there is no defensiveness or ego speaking here.

One interesting thing I noticed about myself as I heard one teacher then another comment on my girls' progress and prowess, was that I was able to stay detached in observer mode.

This is way more resourceful than what my automatic reaction might have been had I focused on what was "wrong" or what needed "fixing".

For now, I'm taking the long-term view.

I will continue helping the kids with their homework, making sure they keep up with their classmates, encouraging them and cheering every tiny bit of progress. I want them to know they are getting better all the time. I want them to stay in that resourceful emotional state that is most receptive to learning, rather than feel discouraged and tempted to quit because their teacher doesn't think they're good enough.