Relationships:
Father-son
Switch off the TV.
"Mum, dad is coming! Switch off the TV!" shouted the 12-year old as he
entered the 3rd floor bedroom to get ready for bed at 9.00 p.m on August 1, 2000. It
would be a heavy day for him the next day as he would have tuition at the PAP community
centre from 6.30 p.m to 9.30 p.m, in addition to remedial classes at the Catholic High
School in the afternoons. There was a possibility that he would not qualify for the
secondary school at Catholic High. When he was born, dad had dreams of him going to
Raffles Institution, the top school. Nobody teaches him how to groom a student to
get into Singapore's top school and now it is just too late.
The educational foundation has not been built strong over the years as the parents try to
balance studies with television and computer games. One can blame it on too many
relief teachers, but in the end, it is the parents who know want to do. Unless the
child is self motivated and competitive.
The Primary School Leaving Examinations would be in October and he was at the bottom of
his standard. All students know their ranking although the education bureaucrats
think that by not putting the brightest in Primary 6A as 20 years ago, the students would
not know. Nowadays, the 6E class may house the best students.
Earlier, he was upstairs to read, but dad had ordered him to be downstairs till bed-time
as past experiences showed he could be easily distracted from reading by the T.V programs.
He said mum would not be watching television upstairs and therefore he went
upstairs to read. Hence the rush to forewarn mum about the television set being
switched on.
It is very difficult for the father to be the hatchet man if mum does not participate
actively. Television watching takes up reading time. Reading is just not
meant to be for school examinations, son. It broadens the mind.
Reading is not confined to books or one author although you may like the action of
Animorphs to Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. The English vocabulary is just too
powerful in Jane Eyre, but that is how you improve your English sentence construction.
Reading newspapers need time too. So does magazines.
Dad has his work to do and therefore, you always sneak in the times to play computer games
when he is not around. You think of how to get your own computer and broadband to
play computer games. One hour is just insufficient. You become addicted and want all
the hours, if only the hatchet dad is not around.
When you grow up, you will understand the importance of general knowledge in the changing
world. To socialise, to advance in your career and to find a smart partner.
Obsession with the counter-strike computer games cause you to get depressed when you don't
have a session daily. You don't even feel hungry at dinner time as long as you have
the console to gun down the images It costs $5.00 per 2 hours and will
cost $150 per month or $1,800 per year. You don't get weary of the "counter
terrorists" killing "terrorists" in counter strike. Repetitive
electronic warfare games are boring but you just don't feel that. Which is good for
the inventor. But note that the majority of children can't afford to play
counter-strike daily. You should try and get out of the addiction.
Reading should also take part of your spare time and books are free from the library.
Castles are built by hard work, not in the air. At Primary Six, you seem to
understand that academic excellence is important, but the addiction of pleasures of the
cathode-ray tube screen are just too overwhelming.
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Last modified:
August 01, 2000
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