Mistakes

That's not serious; it's just human. ~Jerry Kopke

The kids got back some of their papers officially for me to sign on.

Going through the papers is another ordeal. Careless mistakes are unforgivable. Making the same mistakes is incorrigible. Having no mistakes is impossible.

Angel’s Math paper was the first to be scrutinized by me. Needless to say, she got the merciless blasts from me right in the face. By the time I was halfway through the paper, her face was as dark as Batman. I was immediately put off by her attitude.

“I am trying to help you see your mistakes here and yet you refuse to listen! If you think you are so smart, you show me how to do all these again!” Angered, I pulled out an old exercise book and copied all the questions that she had erred on.

That girl had the guts to fall asleep while I was copying the questions!

I looked through her English paper next and was thrilled with the exceptionally good result she had obtained. Too bad she was unconscious to receive my compliments.

I flipped through Mervin’s English and Math papers after that. His English was weak in his usual areas. He didn’t score well this time but I decided to forgive him as it was quite a tough paper for him.

I was a little disappointed by his Math marks initially as I had higher expectation from him based on the hard work he had put in over the past weeks for this examination. But I was greatly impressed when I saw that he had actually remembered and applied what I had taught him during the revision!

I went through the mistakes he had made and his attitude was a stark opposite from Angel! He actually listened intently to my explanation and even willingly tried to solve the questions on his own again! For that, I was ready to overlook the few careless mistakes he had made. Despite the less-than-satisfactory marks, an improvement nonetheless, I’m still a proud mama.

Overall, I’m still quite satisfied with the kids’ results. Though some are way below my expectations, there are a few surprises too.

Rachel got top in class for her English and A1 for her Math! Both she didn’t fail to disclose to me the moment she got her results. She scrapped through the rest of her subjects with not-so-bad results which she had tried to keep silence about until I pried them out of her. But I considered it an achievement despite being a busy social butterfly this whole year round!

Mervin really improved on his Math and Chinese. He has a high possibility of passing ALL his subjects this time round if he passes his Science, which he claimed to be another “easy paper”. (Math was the other “easy paper” he claimed.) I am sure that if this boy continues to work hard towards his goal with the same attitude, he will not fail to surprise me with excellent results for his major examination next year.

Angel had a marked improvement in her English, supposedly her worst subject. She was actually able to tackle on most of the Math problems except for the stumble over the questions on area and perimeter, which unfortunately carried a high percentage in this time’s paper. She had improved a little on her Chinese too.

What more can I ask for? Moreover, I am partly to blame for not being able to spend more time with them on their revision.

The ache in my heart is replaced with guilt and regret. I cannot promise, but HOPE, that I will be able to spend more quality time with them and help them through the obstacles.

To all of us,

gambateh!