January 30, 2016 8:30 AM – It is my usual duty of looking
after my store in the morning. One of our neighbors bought 6 pieces of
chocolates for her son. She told me that her child still insisted on buying
something from our store even though they already came from the public market.
Out of curiosity, I asked how old her son is. She replied, “He is three years
old”. “Isn’t your son will be in Kindergarten this coming school year?” she
asked. I said yes. And then she said
that I must register him now at school. I was surprised because every day that
I passed the elementary school near us, I haven’t seen any posts about the
early registration. I was even told by the teachers that there are no announcement
yet and just look at the billboards for schedules.
Just to make sure of the news, I asked my mother to confirm
it before going to market that same time. She came back and told me that it is
true after all. She was even told by a Grade 1 teacher that I just need to
bring a copy of my son’s birth certificate and no fees will be collected.
Me and my son got ourselves ready and brought the requirements.
When we got there, 3 sets of lists are on the table. One for Kindergarten and
two for Grade 1 students. I talked to one of the teachers in charge and asked her where I should pass the requirements. She instructed me to give it to the
person seated on the left. There are 2 parents talking to the teacher so I
waited for my turn. After they left, I approached her and said that I would
like to enroll my son for Kindergarten. Without looking at me, she took my son’s
birth certificate (original and a photocopy) in my hand and asked me (still no
intention of looking at me and sounding uninterested) “SPED or not”. I was
unsure of what to say because I know that before a child joins the SPED class,
he/she must take the assessment. I asked my son if he wants to be in
SPED, since I already briefed him about what he could expect and should do if
he becomes part of that class. He hesitated but after a while, he said yes.
Then the lady asked for another requirement (still did not bother to look at
us). I need to pass a picture of my son. Good thing I keep pictures of my son
and my husband in my wallet. I gave it to her and she stapled the picture on the photocopy of
the birth certificate. I saw her copying some details from the birth
certificate on a yellow paper which I presumed is the list that they will pass
to the Department of Education. I asked if we are done with the registration.
She just told me that we can leave. I can’t help but notice that she wrote
something wrong on the list, so before we go, I told her about the mistake I
saw. She insisted that she only copied what is written on the birth certificate
and there is nothing wrong. Even if I am already disgusted about how she
entertained us, I still told her in a polite manner that she wrote it wrong. To
prove that I’m right. I showed her what is written on the certificate and she
just changed what is on the list and didn’t even bother to apologize or admit
her mistake.
I am not used to complaining about things around me and let
negative things pass my way instantly but this experience made me think twice
about enrolling my son in that school. All my siblings and I went to the same
school so it would be nice if my child will study there. But considering what
happened yesterday, I have second thoughts. I’ve been an educator before, for
secondary and college that’s why I know how a teacher or a school staff should
behave towards people. I guess, Good Manners and Right Conduct is not just
removed as a subject and also not practiced by some teachers as well. Plus the fact that the registration is not properly communicated to parents or in the community. We came to school before 10 AM but the list of children did not come close to 10 and we did not see any parents coming to register after we left. The registration is until 11 AM.
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