Mandarin Rampant

For many, the weekend is a time to recharge, to recover from the work week’s mental or physical drain. Some sleep in, ignoring the rigid cycles that define their work life. Others pack their schedules full. Most spend their Saturdays and Sundays with their families, forging deeper bonds. Yet others indulge in their passions and activities, which lift them up spiritually or psychologically.

For me, there is no choice in the matter. With the missus out of town for work, I have been left to take care of my daughter. The situation does not allow for much relaxing, sleeping, or any activity that does not involve bringing a seven-year-old along for the ride. And since her school teachers have indicated that her Mandarin is less than stellar, and wished to put her in a remedial class, I have had additional duties piled upon my plate.

Honestly, my wife’s Mandarin sucks. She is barely able to converse on a kindergarten/lower primary level. And she has difficulty reading even the Mandarin section of the daily free tabloid. I sometimes wonder how she managed to survive in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, those years that she was outstation there.

It stands to reason, therefore, that I be assigned the task to teach my daughter the intricacies of Mandarin. Unfortunately, I know only the methods by which I myself had been taught. By ‘unfortunately’, I mean unfortunately for my daughter:

It was a harsher time when I was a student. The teachers do not mollycoddle their pupils as they do these days. Punishments were swift and merciless. My knuckles were not permanently damaged, and I can still sit on my arse, so I suppose it can be survived. So I am going back to these ‘tried & true’ methods – writing, recitation, repetition. And a swift whack when her attention wavers.

The results have been promising so far: she received 42/50 for the first ‘Ting Xie’ and full marks for the second. Now all I have to do is to keep her sufficiently motivated. All the praises heaped upon her by both her grandmothers help.

As does the promise of a new tech-toy. Like me, the daughter’s a gadget freak : )