Postcard from Bishkek

People sometimes ask me questions or pass a comment about the postcards.  Sometimes it is about the content – usually, where did I find a particular piece of information.

Apparently I am alone in this respect.  Each week I receive a newsletter from Rob Bruce, the Principal of the European School that has been established here in Bishkek, called “Voices from Our Side of the Mountain”, or more simply “Voices“.

It usually starts with a short homily, (called “The Mountain Goat Bleats”), followed by news of the previous week and plans for the coming week and some photographs.

This week’s homily began with:

In conversation with some of our parents a while ago, I was asked where I find some of the information that I have provided in “Voices”. Perhaps it is a hazard of the profession but I seem to latch on to the many “pearls of wisdom” that float around in education-related literature.

It seems to me that it is indeed an occupational trait, although I am not sure I would call it a hazard.  Teachers are always on the lookout for useful material which they can introduce in their lessons to help make them more interesting, relevant, meaningful and effective.  Sometimes a snippet is particularly timely, of topical interest and value, but others cannot be used immediately, so they are squirreled away, often on odd scraps of paper, or stuck into a scrapbook, or jotted down in a notebook so that they can be retrieved and employed at a later date.

I don’t know where he found this week’s particular homily, and he admits that he’s forgotten where it came from, but I quite enjoyed it and thought that it was well worth repeating.

It purports to be a letter from a child to their parents, but it was clearly written by an adult, probably a professional educator or social worker, but all the same I thought it had a lot of useful advice:

Dear Mom and Dad

♥ Don’t spoil me. I know quite well I ought not to have all I ask for. I’m only testing you.

♥ Don’t be afraid to be firm with me. I prefer firmness. It lets me know where I stand.

♥ Don’t use force with me. It teaches me that power counts. I will respond more readily to being led.

♥ Don’t make promises that you may not be able to keep. That will destroy my trust in you.

♥ Don’t fall for my provocations when I say and do things to upset you.

♥ Don’t make me feel smaller than I am. I will make up for it by behaving like a “big shot”

♥ Don’t do things for me that I can do for myself.

♥ Don’t let my bad habits get me a lot of attention.

♥ Don’t correct me in front of people. I’ll take much more notice if you deal quietly with me in private.

♥ Don’t try and discuss my behaviour in the heat of conflict. For some reason my hearing is not very good at this time and my co-operation is even worse. It is all right to take the action required, but let’s talk about it later.

♥ Don’t preach to me. You may be surprised how well I know what’s right and wrong.

♥ Don’t make me feel that my mistakes are sins. I have to learn to make mistakes without feeling that I am no good.

♥ Don’t nag. If you do, I shall have to protect myself by acting deaf.

♥ Don’t demand explanations for my wrong behaviour. I really don’t know why I did it.

♥ Don’t tax my honesty very much. I am easily frightened into telling lies.

♥ Don’t forget that I love experimenting. I learn from it, so please put up with it.

♥ Don’t protect me from the consequences. I need to learn from experience.

♥ Don’t take too much notice of my small ailments. I may learn to enjoy poor health if it gets me attention.

♥ Don’t put me off when I ask honest questions. If you do, you will find that I will stop asking and seek my information elsewhere.

♥ Don’t ever think it is beneath your dignity to apologise to me. An honest apology makes me surprisingly warm.

♥ Don’t worry about how little time we spend together. It is how we spend our time that counts.

♥ Don’t let my fears arouse your anxiety. Then I will become afraid. Show me courage,

♥ Don’t forget that I can’t thrive without lots of understanding and encouragement.

♥ Treat me the way you treat your friends and I will be your friend too.

♥ Remember I learn more from a model than a critic.

Love from

Your Child

_______________

For the record: I have written about the European School before, here and here.  You can find out more about them on their website although, to be fair, it’s still under development.  I sit on the advisory Council representing the IBC, (International Business Council).

Rob, (it’s short for Robin), was born in South Africa and has been a teacher and School Principal both in South Africa and Internationally. He graduated with an Honours Degree in Education from the University of Natal and has teaching certificates from Natal Teacher’s Training College, specialising in Primary Education.

His special interest is curriculum development and he has a fascination for History, (so we have several things in common).  His experience in a variety of schools and his interest, and exposure to, different curricula and approaches to teaching and learning and his knowledge of a range of cultures and customs has both enriched and inspired him .

Rob is excited to be part of a fledgling school and works hard to make it a successful and happy learning environment for those very important members of our society – the children.

Rob is married to Shirley, (also from South Africa), who also works in the school as an Early Years specialist.

At the moment the school has three other teachers on the staff and there are plans for further expansion of the team as the school grows.

 

 

Tags: Education, European_School, Expat, Organizations