School Opening

Are the boys ready? Well, they seemed subdued all evening right after they helped Anita prepare their school bags. Everything was in order. New uniforms and all. Irfan would be entering Year One tomorrow. And I will be following him to school, and will be starting my rounds and clinic a bit later then usual.

It took us a while to get them to bed, and finally did so just after 10 am. Hopefully there would not be much drama tomorrow morning ......

Am I Going Mad?

I'm glad that I do not have to go to school at this age.

I pity my children. They were burdened with exams from such young age. Look at Irfan. He is six, just done with his kindergarten. He had an exam at the end of it. And guess what, there were pressure on him to do well by a certain member of the family. Poor boy is only six for God's sake. And some of his classmates had been going to tuition since last year. We're talking starting at five years of age. To get them into the habit of studying? I hope not! I went to Med School because I like Medicine. Not because I like to read. I listen to books rather than read.

Then, there is the elder, Idlan. In Year Two. He did fine in the exam, but his Bahasa Malaysia was not the best. And he was given an essay to write? Have mercy. He speaks pristine English. In fact, his English is better than mine. He knows more Science and Maths than when I was at his age. The amount of pressure for him to do well was enormous. He got all A's apart from his Bahasa. I was more than happy. Unfortunately not for everyone.

When I was a Faculty Member at Universiti Malaya, I found hard to make sure that we have an interview on all the candidates coming into Medical School. I did when I went to Med School. And all I needed to get in was 3 B's in A level. But you have to have a certain soft skill to get in. That is more important than getting straight A's in my opinion. The ones which got all A's did not necessary became good Doctors, Engineers or Lawyers. They were just better at getting better grades in exams. I want people to get further educations because they wanted to, not because society tells them that they have to.

I tried hard not to emphasise exams on my boys. At a young age, they already had SIX assessment per year! SIX bloody assessment. I would go mad if I had to go through all that ....... In fact, I go mad just thinking about it ......

That was a Full Day

For the first time in weeks both Idlan and Irfan went to bed early without much prompting. It wasn't a surprise as they had really had such a busy day. It started out with an early rise. They had a small parry at one of their classmate's house in Setapak. A pool party it was. And they played all morning.

The party did not end there. Straight after lunch - well, I think they skipped lunch, they went straight to Great Eastern Mall to play at the indoor playground there. Spent more than a couple of hours there, until I showed up after work.

That didn't stop them from running around further. Next, we went to my parents house for tea. They then played with their cousin. Idlan had started grumbling by then.

We finally reached home by Maghrib. After shower, then they hit the Xbox. Finally, they gave up soon after asking for bed. I felt tired just describing what they were up to ......

And both of them were snoring away while I wait for the United game later tonight. Well, good luck to me to stay awake ......

School Almost Out

Finally, the end-of-year exams for my boys were done with. They were now looking forward to the holiday break - it wouldn't start for another 2 weeks though. Yesterday was Idlan's final paper. There was a class party organised for this morning but from what you could see, getting them out of bed was a right challenge.

There is no school today, Idlan said. Do I have to go to school? Well, there would be no class. Just party and it should be fun. We would be spending the weekend - and the whole of next week - at the apartment. We had still yet to pack, and I would be back from work before I start packing my documents and gadgets. Not sure what time tonight before we would be settled in.

The boys were really looking forward to the stay. I was happy as well, although it would not effect my travel time as much as with the school holidays starting next week, expected the traffic would be light. But the short drive would always be a welcome. I would also be on call on this coming Sunday and Tuesday. Should be a busy week.

Settling Down

Irfan skipped school today since Anita had to stay the whole morning with her Mum. The initial plan was for her to spend the night last night, but since Mum was feeling much better, she asked Anita to stay with the kids instead. Mum's appetite was much better, and she starting to nag again - which can only be good.

As for my brother-in-law, he was feeling more lethargic. His fever was still high and his platelet count was dropping. His room was on a different level to Mum, so he was not able to walk around there. Anita made sure both of them were settled before leaving to pick Idlan up. As for me, I would have to return tonight for a patient. I would be dropping by to see how things were as well. Maybe I had to drop something for them then.