Julian’s home school services provider Catholic Filipino Academy and its students had their District Achievement Test last Wednesday, March 13, 2008. It was supposed to be held last Tuesday but due to the transport strike in the Metro, this was moved to Wednesday.
As soon as we finished with all the lessons last week, I gave Julian reviewers for him to remember the concepts he has taken up for first grade. Saturday was spent answering questions that I prepared for him. These were mostly quarter tests that he has answered previously. I even challenged him, saying that “You have to pass this test or else you will have to repeat first grade.”
My mistake.
Saturday afternoon, he was coughing. Sunday he was wheezing and can’t take in food. Monday was just the same with us bringing the nebulizer when we went to the center where I teach.
Hmmm…I knew the weather was erratic these days since I too, was feeling different, my allergies were acting up. Is it weather-related? I must be. It should be.
Monday night he said he is “not ready to take the test the next day”. Uh-oh!
Thank goodness (?) for the Metro’s transport strike, the test was moved to Wednesday. I can’t be with him because I can’t cancel my work since I canceled Tuesday so it was arranged that hubby will have to stay with him.
We were ready for a whole day testing. Then I got a text message from Julian around 11am. He asked who I am teaching at that time. What the…?
Hubby then sent me a text message that Julian is finished with his test. Whaaaat? They were supposed to be at the testing center until 3pm.
According to Julian’s reply when I sent him a message “Did you read all the instructions properly?”, he said “Naread ko ang dali (I read and these were easy)” He said the test was easier than what we reviewed. Ok. That it was just encircle the correct letter of the answer and not fill in the space near/below the correct answer like I said it might be.
Wednesday night he was still coughing but not much. When hubby asked him if he was happy because the test was over, he said yes. Then he went to the living room.
Julian didn’t know that hubby followed him and hubby saw that he jumped up and down with joy, with relief when he thought nobody was looking.
My, I feel guilty! He got sick because he was stressed, he was worried, just as I am, about the test, which by the way, is not really an individualized score but a collective score.
Does it have a correlation then? Asthma attack and stress?
I have read that stress makes child asthma worse. And that stress and asthma don’t mix well in kids and that there is an ongoing asthma epidemic.
I answered yes to Julian’s question if he would be absent from school when he has asthma. And he replied that he is glad he is homeschooling and can’t be absent even if he is sick, even if he said he was not comfortable when he had to use he nebulizer while he took the test. Though on the other hand, he was glad to know that others who belong to CFA were like him too.
Oh, and hubby, it is the Philippine Eagle that is now the national bird, not the maya bird 
This entry was posted on Thursday, March 13th, 2008 at 10:03 pm and is filed under Being a (Special Ed) Teacher, Challenge Yourself, Health, Interesting tidbits, Lessons in Life, My Family, My Thoughts, Parenting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
my nephew also gets very bad asthma attacks. 
don’t be too hard on yourself though! sometimes, our mommy worries get the better of us. which reminds me, i have to watch myself, too. i may be causing my 3-year old undue stress! ayayay!;) enjoy the summer! 