The Way We Chose(8)
My husband said to my youngest daughter again and again, “Although you have refused to go to school, you have learned lots of things by your own way. Your mother and I think it is good for you, but it’s about time to consider your direction. If you don’t go to high school, you should choose your job. You will reach the age the law permits to get a job soon. We think you have gained enough basic manners, literacy and numeracy skills to do some kinds of jobs. You should be independent.”We didn’t mean to force her to go to high school. We’d rather want her to get a job. We thought whenever she noticed the necessarily to learn more, it would be the right time to learn for her. However, when she faced the reality, she confessed us that she didn’t have any confident to get a job because she hadn’t learned anything the other students learned at school. Even though my husband and I said she had enough ability to do it, she didn’t have any objective criteria. She didn’t have any friends to compare with her. She admitted she should be independent, but she realized she needed a steppingstone to jump into social world. Then, she and I took part in a credit-system high school’s information session last October. I was really impressed with the teachers’ attitude. They try to accept any type of students. The assistant principal said to the participants, “Compared with most students who have grown up straightly and quickly, you have done widely and slowly. I’m sure you have reflected on your inner self much more than them. You can study at your own pace at this school...”I though the school might be fit my youngest daughter. She often used to say she hated school because she felt everything was forced. Her way of thinking is unique. This episode in her first grade in elementary school shows it. In a math lesson, she was questioned, “There are five children and four cakes. Which number is bigger and how many?” Instead of answering it, she added a picture of a piece of cake. She said,”One of them was poor!! A piece of cake was lacking,” Maybe, it was hard for her to learn at the same pace with other pupils. However, she wasn’t interested in this school very much. Next, we visited the nearest part-time high school from our place last November. After seeing some classes at work, we talked with a teacher. He said, “We are willing to work for this school. There are about one hundred students and most of them used to refuse to go to school for various reasons. However, they enjoy their high school life here. Their changes are our pleasure. We love this small school. Still, I don’t recommend you should come here. You would be better off giving yourself time to look for the best place for you. Of course, if you find some places, for example, library or nurse's office, or some teachers comfortable, we will welcome you.” Even though we stayed there only for a couple of hours, we found all teachers, staff members and students enjoy communicating with each other. To my surprise, soon after getting home, my youngest daughter said, “I will take the exam to enter the part-time high school.”