What exactly do I expect of them?

We watched "The Wooden Dream" during AVA period today. The show talked about a particular king who was never contented with what he had. After that, I told the children to list 3 things they are thankful for in their journals.

If I have a choice, I would rather blog about those children who torture me mentally than to be thankful for them. My 6-month school experience is fast approaching the end. I am anxious to see progress in these difficult ones. Instead of measuring up to my expectations, they seemed to have fallen back to their old ways. Consequently, I had been angry and deeply fustrated with myself again.

"The art of good parenthood revolves around the interpretation of meaning behind behavior. If parents intuitively know their child, they will be able to watch and discern what is going on in his little head. The child will tell them what he is thinking if they learn to listen carefully. Unless they can master this ability, however, they will continually fumble in the dark in search of a proper response. ...... the most vital objective of disciplining a child is to gain and maintain his respect. If parents fail in this task, life becomes uncomfortable indeed." an excerpt from Dr. James Dobson in his book "The New Dare to Discipline"

About Mr WL
He is a short skinny little boy with lovely big eyes that has the ability to make an adult's heart melt or simply sympatize with his plight. His parents considered him "out of control" and handed him over to be taken care by his guardians.

WL had been the one who had the worst ability to torture me mentally. As such, he is vulnerable to my neglect and abuse because I am angry with myself for not being able to have a hand over him.

Whose fault is it that Win L is the boy he is today? Does he have a choice over his response towards the adults around him? Have the adults tried to think from his point of view and understand his attention-seeking ways?

The WL that I know is the result of parental negligence - he does not know respect for authority and hence does not know how to give Miss Goh the respect she clamors. Silly Miss Goh - she had failed to interprete the meaning behind his behaviour before choosing the correct response to deal with him.