Ara Karnesi

Much to my amazement as a former teacher and a mom,Saturday was the day i discovered that...

There is NO EXAM SYSTEM for the
PRE-SCHOOL (anaokulu/pra sekolah),
FIRST GRADE (birinci sınıf/darjah satu),
SECOND GRADE (ikinci sınıf/darjah dua)
THIRD GRADE (third grade/darjah tiga)
STUDENTS!!!

Nice isnt it? i wish we had that while i was still a student..What do we have here? we have...

DAVRANIŞ KARNESİ (character report card /laporan pembinaan karakter)

how cool isnt it to be a teacher in those grades? It leaves u in a less strain position and that allows u to be more creative and relaxed in educating ur students..especially in the early days of schooling years where if u love ur school life..that will be a positive beginning for a child esp for his or her future years in the struggle to get a place in a university as she or he will have to study really hard to pass the complicated...difficult system of university exam entry....

Yesterday..i died of exaustion...figuratively speaking.

Halil left me in front of the school compound by 12 noon. Then, he took safa (his nephew) and our kids to Carrefour since i am left to this excruciatingly painful task...the least he could do was to babysit his kids for a few hours, right?12.15 noon, the veli toplantısı (parents meeting) started...mothers vs hatice's class teacher..that sweet Nilgün öğretmen (Nilgün teacher)...The meeting ended up at 1.30pm where later the parents proceeded to several rooms to meet the *branş öğretmenlar* (branch teachers..ieiii other subject teachers..) It was que after que that no man will have patience to do..That is why Allah has created us mothers... to deal with these things...i went there at 12 noon n i left the school at 4pm.. tired..thirsty..hungry..(they did offer refreshments but all i wanted to do was to finish the que n meeting all of hatice's teachers..).....the day did not end there.. at 5 there was ipek's birthday... then we went to baba for a while..then the kids (nephews n nieces) were at us for a while..n by the time they left.. my body was itching from my allergy towards dust..my feet aching ..n the sound of yasin lulled me to sleep from halil's mp3 player...

What is important for me yesterday was that it was ara karne (first semester report card) distribution..this is the chance for me to see how my daughter is doing at school..how the teachers percieve her in class..

This is her class teacher's assesment of Nur Hatice ..Wanna see her status?? Yup.. as u can see.. she scored *çok iyi* (very good)..top grades for her character building..The character list is..(i hope i am translating these right.. i am not too good in turkish..will ask halil to check my translation after he wakes up)

1. The responsibility of the homework given

2. The speed and capability in preparing herself for reading and writing

3. The habit to come to school

4. The capability to use of the language, respect and words used in conversation

5. The capability to use carefully and protect the school and class property

6. The capability to use carefully and protect personal property

7. The ability to be get used to the eating habit and following the eating room rules

8. The habit of doing the homework systematically

9. The ability to listen and join the lesson

10. The ability to carry responsibilities in a group

11. The capability to bring a task to a success

12. The capability to finish a task given

13. The relationship between friends

14. The love to be helpful

15. The capability to show respect to the elders and to show love to the younger

16. The habit of waiting in line

17. The ability to speak out in class

18. The ability to keep the personal locker tidy in between classes

19. The capability to be clean

20. The ability to listen

21. The ability to follow up the basic rules of mannerism (to thank, to apologize, to say hi etc)

What is soooo cute about this report card is the personal comment from her teacher.. she used the word..Benim Minik Papatyam(My little papatya *a flower*) to refer to hatice.. isnt that soooooo sweet??

That is the overall report card..There is a separate report card for english lesson..Hatice again get all top score (Excellent) except for homework and working in pair where she got only *very good*.

The homework was because hatice did not bring one english homework to school the other day coz her mom got her homework all mixed up..(should she be blamed for this?) and the other one was because the teacher once saw her fighting with a friend...Anyway.. had to queeeee long lines..many many hours..here is what i gathered from those i went to see:

Class Teacher (Nilgün Gülen)

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She is extremely happy with Hatice's development.. her character etc..I asked her whether there is any problem with hatice in her class.. she said no.. Hence, i did mention a few of my worries..n possible problem with hatice..for her to look into.. she is such a sweet lady! i even managed to chat with a few moms (of the older grades) while waiting in que.. they said the same thing too..

English Teacher (Sumeyye Özel)

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She is happy with hatice as well..Hatice is very participative in class etc..etc..her only complaint was that hatice did not bring back her homework (as i mentioned above..it was my fault)The rest..she is happy with hatice.. my only concern is.. (perhaps due to exhaustion n endless parents she had seen)..but can she ..the teacher..smile a bit???

Resim/drawing..art (Gülçin Gül Erikçi)

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She describes hatice as *aceleci* heheheh *nak cepat*..i think i know what she meant.. at home i see hatice holding a pen and she can finish her drawing in seconds... she is fast... but the problem with that is..she does not stop to *think*..or *listen to instructions*...esp in class..The problem with hatice is... she is at times in a world of her own..no matter what u say (or the teacher say)...she has made up her own conclusions..hmmm... so in class..she finishes her drawing fast but not as what the teacher has instructed.. she needs to improve on that..Other than that..the teacher is happy with her.. -*sweet kid* she said..

Muzik (M. Kemal Öndeş)

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A cheerful guy.. his description for hatice *Perfect...çok akılı bir kız* ( a very intelligent girl)MasyaAllah....

Physical Education (Hülya Baş)

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She was not around

Computer (Gökçe Akça)

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On leave

Chess (Ediz Gürol Gündüz)

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He think hatice is *çok akılı bir kız* ( a very intelligent girl) and he thinks that she can go far with chess if she wants to...but the aim is for the kids to love playing chess..no strains..he gave other compliments as well but better not exaggerate here..Else, somebody will muntah on this entry hehehehheeh (looking at my dearest friend M) hahahahahah

Drama (Enbiya Avcı)

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This teacher went to drama. He was no where to be found. Grrrrrr

Turkish Plays (Necla Aktaş)

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Again compliments for hatice but..hehehe yup there is a but.. hatice is a bit lazy to stand up..she prefers lying on the floor at times (but she also mentioned that it might be because the lesson is normally early in the morning.. the kids r still sleepy etc.)

Dear Teachers.. THANK YOU for ur guidance especially in EduCATiNG my daughter.. Nur Hatice. Only Allah can repay for all that u have done..

Saturday..25th November..my Daughter's first Report Card..:0)

No exams ...how cool is that??I think this is something true.. once the students have a good character base in life, this will make their life much more easier n fun.. they wont see the school as something far too seriously *boring*..I try not to mumble too much about hatice's schooling in this blog.. after all, she has her own blog for me to mumble of her schooling life..but i think i am so over the moon when the teachers compliment my daughter....which parents wouldnt, right?