this morning, one of our TEKNON nursery 2 students came to register for the new school year which begins on june 13. his name is nico aycardo and i've been watching him grow and mature for the past 4 years. when i first met nico, he was SOOOOOOOOOOO shy, he wouldn't even raise his head to look at you. when his class had to perform during our TEKNON programs, he wouldn't open his mouth. but, in the past two years, he has become more confident and outgoing and has really come out of his shell. i like to think it's because TEKNON is a school that truly cares for the kids. not only that, the kids care for each other. we're really like FAMILY here! so, it's always so gratifying to me as the school superintendent when students return for the next school year. nico was in nursery 2 last school year, but because he's already 5 and in the new Philippine school structure of K-12 which begins this year, he should already be in Kinder 2 so that he will enter Grade 1 when he/she is 6, i decided to accelerate him to Kinder 2 this school year. he will have to work a little bit harder with the material, but i think he can do it. i'll be watching him with great interest to make sure he doesn't get too overwhelmed. this reminded me of an experience from my childhood. back in the 1960s, you had to be 7 in order to enter grade 1. my parents waited until i was 7 to enroll me in grade 1 at karuhatan elementary school. my best friend at the time, frances, was a year younger than me, so imagine my dismay when her parents changed her age from 6 to 7 on her enrollment form. this allowed her to be in the same grade as me!! i still don't understand how a pastor and his wife could do that!! shouldn't they have known better???? my dad was already a pastor at this time and he and my mom would never fudge on an enrollment form. when we emigrated to the states after i finished 3rd grade at karuhatan elementary school and i enrolled at bannockburn elementary school, i was a year OLDER than everyone my age because in the US, you started grade 1 at the age of 6. even in high school, i was one of the eldest in my class!! thank God for college, however, when folks of ALL ages are enrolled and nobody thinks twice about it... but, in your elementary years, sometimes kids can be so cruel and make a big deal if you're older than the rest of the kids in your class. because of all the negative feelings i experienced during my childhood, i was happy to accelerate nico to Kinder 2 so that he won't suffer like i did!! needless to say, i'm excited to see nico's progress this coming school year!