Week-2 Day-2

LEARNING THE ART OF PATIENCE

“Mother, what does this say?”

A boy held up a book for his mother to see.

“It says, ‘Mesopotamia’. It’s not too hard. Say it,” she replied curtly.

The boy sat there and attempted to mimic his mother’s pronuncuation. “ME-POT-O-SEMIA” he sounded out.

“No. Pay attention. Mesopotamia”

“ME-POT-O-SEMIA” 

His mother continued to pronounce the word, louder each time, but the child continued to struggle. Growing impatient, the mother roller her eyes and with an angry expression, went back to her chores. 

The boy’s grandfather observed his struggle, put a kindly hand on his shoulder and said, “Here, let me teach you.”

First, the grandfather patiently broke the word down, pronouncing it one syllable at a time, “Me… so…. po…. Ta….mi…a…” Then he had the boy repeat after him. Next, he began to combine the syllables, “Meso… pota…mia,” for the child to practice. Finally, the boy was able to correctly pronounce the word. In just 3 minutes, the boy learned its pronunciation under his grandfather’s patient instruction.

Parental patience plays a major role in their child’s educational success. If your patience was tested, would you pass the test?

For parents to ponder and reflect upon:

• Each child has a unique capacity to learn. If your children seem to have trouble with grasping a concept, do not belittle him/her. Belittling them will shatter their confidence and make it harder for them to learn. 
• When teaching your children become too challenging, take a break and regain your composure. Empathize with their difficulties instead of resorting to physical or verbal punishments.
• Every child has a distinct learning style. Some are visual learners, others are auditory learners, and some learn best through practical application. Find out what type of learner your children are so you can develop teaching methods that are most effective for them. 

Due credits: Story adapted from Parenting Journal

Should you wish to give yourself another chance to help course correct where you are going with your next generation, do give this worksheet a chance as well! It is going to help you immensely to understand and recover from your lost time.