This has been very interesting to me. Just to share my story, my six year old son, has been “rejected” at a university we’re he’s supposed to be entering grade school, prior to his exam, we are damn confident about his abilities, he communicates very well with anyone, he shares his ideas openly, making us conclude that he’s a smart kid, he loves science and math, well probably most kids do and he’s been getting straight VS from kinders 1-3.

According to my husband who accompanied him, he got it perfect on the math part of the exam, however, when it’s turn for him to read some phrases there they saw his struggle and he keeps on moving and twickering. According to the principal at that university, they can not accept my son since they think he is not yet ready to cope with the pressures on a bigger school and that he’s still playful, the exact word was “baka maging mukhang kawawa lang ang anak nyo,” We we’re quite dissapointed with that, since everyone was anticipating it even my son, who looks forward to going to that bigger school.he told me ” I don’t want to go to that school anymore, because it’s so hard” and it took us weeks to tell the family and we just made some excuses on why we will not pursue his studies there, since we fear that he would be ridiculed by his cousins

Anyways, I was just wondering based on your experience, would that be possible, like in the case of my son, that he excels on other things, yet not academically, or is there any problem on his reading comprehensions, though he can also answer questions correctly on stories given. Is there any way I can do to help him improve his reading skills and is that normal for a six year old kid.

So sorry for the long story, I know it’s suppose to be a comment.

Thanks and Godbless,
Chyd

• I think I know which school you are referring to. My son was not accepted at UPIS when he took the 2007 test. He was really bent on going there, so he was disappointed when he didn’t make it. I just don’t know what happened. Anyway, though I was brought up in a traditional Catholic school setting where academics seemed to be the end all and be all as well as the gauge for success, I firmly believe that NOT everything we learn in school should be all about academics. There are a lot of discipline nowadays that target specific skills which do not necessarily translate that you do good in the academics. Though it still has a large chunk of the qualifications, if I may add in qualifying for certain positions or placement in the near future. I have seen children who academically excel but cannot use mathematical skills in a real situations like counting the change or knowing how much to pay. As for the problem that your child is having, if you have doubts, you can have him checked by a doctor. Email me your details, home address, etc so that I may be able to refer you to authorities who may be able to help you. If in case there is no real problem, it is still okay, at least, you will know what your son’s weaknesses and strong points are. Thanks for the trust.

• Yeah, talk about nice problem, hehehe. Tina, we plan to get him a homeschooling program alongside the regular school, when budget permits us. We are serously considering Calvert. It’s office is in MD.