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Diary of a Working Mother

By Shaheen Anam
ALL mothers, especially working mothers were in a state of panic just about two weeks ago, and guess why? THE FINAL EXAMS WERE II EREI and who else, but mother, after a long hard day at the office had to come back home to teach her 9 year old the intricacies of the digestive system.
And talking about systems, what system the many little schools that have mushroomed lately are following is a mystery to me. One hears about KG2 kids studying two kinds of sciences, natural and physical. First Grade kids arc suppose to know the 13 and 17 times ta-blcsl a second grader has to study social studies, geography and history. If you had gone to any party or had one at home, half the invited ladies probably did not turn up because their children, age ranging from 6 to 16 were having their exams.
One wonders whether the kids sit for the exams or their mothers. This of course has little effect on the social life of the father, who will tell you in all seriousness that his wife could not come because their daughter still some had some essay memorizing to do.
The father who has worked all day is certainly not expected to tutor the children and If by some fluke he did sit down with them you can count on hearing shouts, screams, tears and tantrums after fifteen minutes which means end of studies for the time being. (No offense meant to fathers). The mother, who also had a tiring day, at home or at work cannot afford such luxuries. She has to swallow her anger and her pride even when her 5 year old points to the alphabets and demands to know If these are letters or numbcrsl (This is a true story). The working
mother has to take leave from her office because God forbid if the child fails to get promoted It will all be her fault. Even If she has appointed several teachers the ultimate responsibility is hers to see that the children do well In school. She gets very little support at home and less support from the schools the children go to. Parents days, and other school activities are planned with no consideration for the fact that many mothers might be working outside the home. If she fails to attend any school activities than she Is labelled as a mother who puts her career family responsibilities. If society is discriminates against working women, than the . working mother is much more discriminated upon and this cuts across country, culture and societies. Even the United Nations which has passed many resolutions prohibiting
discrimination against women in any from is guilty of this. A close friend of mine did not get a promised contract renewed once the office found that she was pregnant. It was Just assumed that once she had a baby she would not remain efficient.
But coining back to schools and exams, there should be some kind of standarized system which all schools should follow, both tn the curriculum taught and the system In which they arc taught only then such aberrations as two kinds of sciences for KGs and 17 times tables for first graders can be stopped. A close friend of mine who runs one of the schools herself said that because of very heavy competition they are compelled to raise there standees meaning that schools with difficult curriculum are perceived to be better and therefore attracts more students. In the process, children are burdened with extra work and have little time for extra curricular activities.
This is an important issue and I would appreciate if mothers would use this column to express their views on.