Mom gets school blues
Published:Sunday | September 2, 2012 | 12:00 AM
Nashauna Drummond, Lifestyle Coordinator
Tomorrow morning, Lesa and Barrington Hue's son, Matthew, heads off to high school. Though their only child, Lesa is prepared to send him off on his own with the pledge that he will call her when he gets to school safely.
Like most mothers, she worries about her 11-year-old going off to high school. She has seen the stress he went through preparing for the Grade Six Achievement Test and she is happy that all that hard work has paid off. When Matthew started preparing for his exams last year, she was off the island. However, a phone call with three words got her back: "Mom, I need you." Lesa told Outlook, "I gave up my job and plans and came home. I felt like I was studying. I spent four months indoors with him," she revealed, noting how dedicated he was and all the late nights she endured with him.
Each day after school, he had extra lessons until 6:30 and she would be at the bus stop waiting for him. However, she notes that they could not have done it if it wasn't a family affair. Members of her extended family pitched in to help him through. From godfather, grandmother to aunts and older cousins, everyone chipped in to help him unwind by taking him out to dinner or just doing something fun to give him a break from studying. She notes that was a great help. Her one wish for him after exams was that he got into a school with a vibrant sports programme. With Calabar the current Boys (Athletics) Champs title holders, no doubt her son will be indulging in his favourite sport - cricket.
Now that they have passed that hurdle, she reveals, "My greatest fear is just for him to be safe, and I worry about him adjusting to a new environment. Coming from a prep school, he was well protected. I worry if he will be getting enough attention in terms of how many children will be in his class, and will he be bullied entering an all-boys institution, and teasing."
She also worries if their relationship will change. She explains that she and her husband currently have a very good relationship with their son, making sure he knows he can talk to them about everything, and so she hopes that continues. "Will he tell me his deep, dark secrets that he wouldn't even tell his best friend? We talk about everything and I'm confident he will still keep that relationship."
In preparing their son for this big step, she notes that she and her husband have spoken to him. He has had the one-on-one conversation with his father, and his older cousin, who is 15 years old, has also spoken to him about what to expect, especially being a first-former and how to react in certain situations. "We have spoken to him. He's a sweet boy. Being an only child, he is well adjusted to being on his own, but we have spoken to him about trying to figure out where he belongs. We tell him, don't try to belong to the bullies, or the nerds. Just be yourself."
But one of Lesa's wishes is that her son gets a stern teacher. "I don't want it to be a mummy and daddy telling him when his assignments are to be done, for him to do it by himself, with us just going over it, and that as soon as he gets a project, he starts working on it and not wait until it's due. But, of course, while not neglecting his chores at home."
She explains that, especially with boys, if they have a 'soft' teacher, they may not be so driven, knowing that they can get away with certain things. "They do need that extra push. We don't want to lose our boys."
The fact that Matthew is a Christian has some comfort for his parents. "We keep him in the Word of God. That's what keeps him growing."