Little Soldiers by Lenora Chu

Author:Lenora Chu
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2017-09-19T04:00:00+00:00

9

Shortcuts and Favors

If you have money, you can get ghosts to do your work.

—Chinese proverb

Teacher Song had a proposition for me one spring afternoon, though I didn’t immediately recognize the offer behind her words.

“Rainey’s attention span needs fixing,” she told me at pickup, as children weaved around us on the way out of the classroom. She had a habit of standing in fifth position, like a proper ballerina, heels locked together and toes pointing toward opposite walls.

“Buhaoyisi—what do you mean?” I said, startled. We’d settled into an easy rapport buttressed by head nods and waves, but Teacher Song didn’t usually address me so directly.

“His attention span is poor,” Song told me. “You have to practice at home with things that require concentration, like puzzles.”

Earlier in the year, Song had sent an article via WeChat about cultivating “focus and attention.” “That is the important, first step toward genius,” the article declared:

Subject your child to the stare-point method, by requiring him to fixate on a single spot for several minutes daily. Upon success, deliver positive reinforcement with verbal praise, touching and kissing. Then the child should rest for 5 to 10 minutes.

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