First School Experience... as a parent that is

My first son, Adam, is turning 7 this year.. and like any other children of his age.. this will be the beginning of his primary school years.. a journey to be remembered by both - the student and the parent.

We (as any other responsible parents) had prepared for this moment - mentally, financially and physically - many months ago.. (in fact the last 2 years when we first registered him for a place in the primary school system). All the fees were paid way back in the month of Oct/Nov 2010 (if my memory still valid). A visit to the the school bookstore was almost a ritual (weekly basis)  from thereon by my domestic engineer to check on availability of books - YES - 2 more books left to be bought. 

We had our final preparation today.. buying extra shoes.. white polish.. additional stationary (ultraman pencil box - as requested). The uniform.. bags.. and other essentials were prepared many moons ago as we were concern that there wont be any sizes left (Adam is an average size so it will be challenging to find the right size if done at the very last minute) and I dont want my son to go to school in an oversize shirt or pants and proclaim to be on hip-hop dress code on his first day of school :-)...We are ready.. we are SET!! (That's what we think anyway).

 
Even though we had prepared for all this.. surprises are inevitable!! During the orientation day on 31st December 2010.. we were told to dress him in his gym wear.. THAT's IT - NOTHING ELSE - no bag.. books or stationery to bring. Its just an orientation and some briefing - we were told. On that day.. we arrived 15 minutes earlier.. went straight to the registration booth. Our first surprised was that his name was not in the list. Fortunate enough I brought along copies of his registration - after much consultation with the "senior", the teacher agree to register him in class 1 Maju but warned us this might be temporary and should accept any changes. 
 
After registration, our son was required to join the others student and proceed to the classroom whereas the parents were invited to attend a briefing by the Head Master and Head of PIBG.. The briefing was about the school achievement.. the school policies.. the cooperation expected with parents for the betterment of the pupils.. bla bla bla... went on for 2 hours. Once done.. we were required to collect the textbooks and make payments to PIBG for RM107. Huh.. another payment? Why was this not informed? I am the type of person who only had RM50 at any given time in my wallet as I hate to carry much cash unless necessary. But that day.. before leaving the house.. some small voices told me to bring extra cash.. and thank GOD I did.. that save me from a potential embarrassing moment... hahahah

After much experiences with the surprises.. I cant help but to develop my "hate" (for lack of better word) list about primary school as follows;

1. Teachers do not advice parent of what to bring in 1st day of school - should I pack the whole load of textbooks + exercise books or come around in a free and easy mode?;

2. There's always "surprised" fees to be paid - make sure you bring extra cash to avoid embarrassing moment;

3. Standard 1 class is located on 3rd floor - can imagine that my son will build muscle around his thigh and hand after 1 year;

4. There's always "kiasu" parent who keep on bragging about their children ability and that the school syllabus seem to be lagging behind;

5. There's no such thing as "healthy" food at the canteen;

6. Why am I wrapping these textbooks? Did my parents did this for me? Hmm...

 
Our son will officially start his standard 1 tomorrow.. Our hope is that our son and all the other children will enjoy this experience.. will cherish this moment.. and may they all grown up to be a better and successful person in their own way..