Character any day...

Tonight we had a talk with Joel's teachers. This is a regular once every quarter parent-teacher talk where we get to discuss his progress and what we can do to help him in problem areas.

While Joel Jan has many strengths, his fine motor skills need some finetuning. This means more time spent doing jobs that require use of fine motor skills...like maybe building something with his Father or doing chores around the house with me.

Fine motor skills are what children use to color pictures nicely and write their names and their notes neatly. Joel hasn't got the hang of this yet and it affects his performance because coloring something in takes too much time and concentration.


On a positive note, his teachers told us that he has a great character. In their words: Hij is gezellig, leuk om te hebben in de klas, betrokken, aardig, lief, en zorgzaam. In other words: He is funloving, they enjoy having him in the class, he's involved in everything, he's kind, and sweet, caring and gentle.

Between character and know-how, I'd choose character any day. Know-how, he can pick up as he grows older, character that's what he has today and what he's going to build on for tomorrow.