What A Waste Of Time

I hate wasting time - I really do.

I make sure that every minute of the day is spent on activities that are of utility value. It doesn't mean every minute of the day is spent making money, or doing good stuff or anything like that. I mean, if you are tired, even sleeping has utility value. There must be some benefit accrued to either yourself, your loved ones, things that matter to you or the greater society in general.

But this morning, I just wasted 1.5 hours of my time. If I did not cut it short, it would have wasted more than 2 hours of my time. I chose to walk away.

I am referring to the Meet-The-Parents session that I was supposed to have with the teachers in Son No 1's school. The school has this policy that every semester, the academic report will only be released to parents so that the teacher will get a chance to talk to the parents about the child. It all sounds fantastic on paper.

What happens is that the school's turnover of teachers is so high that the teachers do not know the students well at all. And the teachers do not bother to know the students. It is such a farce.

To compound it all, this morning, the session was supposed to start at 9am. When I arrived at the school at 9:15am, after braving the morning traffic snarl, there were already a few parents there. But most of the teachers were not there! Some of the more dedicated teachers (mainly the older ones who look like the retirees - these are the really good teachers from long ago) were already seated. But I would say the majority of them were not there.

What a sloppy attitude by the teachers. It did not reflect well on the school at all. After waiting for 15 minues, I took the bull by its horns and went to look for Son No 1's teacher - who turned out to be a young angmoh (westerner expatriate) with a crewcut hairstyle - a cross-between Justin Timberlake and David Beckham, if you like. I know he is a new teacher, from what Son No 1 has told me. He did not appear apologetic - rather, he looked lost. When he asked who my child was, he was not able to connect the name to the face. I gave up. I told him that I was in a hurry and please, could I just get the report as I needed to go.

So I "cut" the queue, grabbed the report and went. Talking to him would be a waste of time because I know nothing useful would come out from the conversation. I am not trying to insult him, but it is a matter of fact. Better to cut loss - I had better things to do.

Now, if the teachers can make the parents wait, I cannot imagine how they behave with the students. This is not the first time that I have had such experiences with this school. And to think I have to do this again in a few months' time. Aargh!