These past few weeks have been nothing short of hectic! And now that the school year has come to an end, I feel like I can finally breathe a sigh of relief and process my thoughts before holiday mode fully takes over. It's been nothing short of rollercoaster... with all the end of year demonstrations, awards ceremonies and graduations. Emotions catching me off guard as it fully started to sink in that Zaydaan will start grade 1 next year and Raqeeb joins his big sister in High School!
As a mother; a parent; I think it's only natural to want to see our children flourish and succeed. We want our children to do well, so that one day they can make something of themselves, get a degree, integrate into society and not be left behind. We want to know that when the time comes, they will be ok. That they will be able to fend for themselves. We want them to follow the 'norm'....and with these good intentions, we send them off to school; getting lost amongst the swarms of other kids whose mother's have the very same feelings and intentions.
I love that accolades celebrates the kids who rise above the rest, but at the same time, I don't believe in 'stupid' children. I believe that every individual has been gifted with strength and purpose; and like a field of flowers, each has their own time to bloom. Sometimes I feel like the system is slightly flawed. That it pitches kids against each other. That it sets one up to fail. That it doesn't recognise the child in the middle, or acknowledge the child who; despite trying their best; didn't quite reach the mark. I feel like it forgets the child who persevered through a subject they didn't quite understand or tried hard at a language they find difficult to comprehend. And very often, I feel like it fails humanity when they neglect to recognise the child with compassion, integrity and humility. In short, I feel like they celebrate kids, but not ALL kids...under the premise that we all need to strive towards a certain standard...and yet I find it strange, that in these very same schools, they don't expect every child to run the race...or do long jump....or kick/pitch the ball.
I feel like the world wants academics and so we groom our kids for this world, but sometimes we forget what the world needs more of and forget to nurture those aspects in our kids. What I do know is that the world/universe has a way of teaching you what you need to learn irrespective of our accolades, and perhaps we need to nurture individuals to be more attentive, more balanced. Perhaps we should try celebrating ALL individuals and acknowledge their strengths. Perhaps in this way you truly will be grooming a generation to strive to do better...not compared to everyone else...but better than themselves!
I guess what I'm trying to say is that we all progress at a different pace, and though we should always strive to be better and do our best, we should never compare our best to the best of someone else. In my own kids, I want to create balance. I want them to know what the world expects of them, but I also want them to know what to expect from the world. I want them to strive towards success knowing full well that the definition of success will differ between each individual. And so as a mother, I will encourage the academically strong to achieve their full potential, motivate the one who is struggling and praise the one who is trying hard! I will teach the one who cannot draw while not diminishing the pride of the artist. I will run alongside the one who is slower, while cheering the one who can sprint... My kids all have different strengths an I love them ALL!
Well done on your achievements kids! You all shine in your own special way <3
Happy Holidays!!
Peace,
NAMU :)
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