[High School Entrance Exams: My Son | ep11] Is a specialized school something to be ashamed of?

Recap of previous events

In order to talk to my husband about our son's future path, I had one condition.

That was to aim for a time when my husband was in a good mood.

Perhaps that is only natural.

However, this is actually quite difficult.

Just when I think he was talking happily a moment ago, he might suddenly get angry for no reason.

That is why I tried to have conversations I didn't want my son to hear only when I was alone with my husband.

However, that day was different.

Before dinner.

As I was talking to my son in the dining room as usual, my husband, who was sitting on the living room sofa, suddenly asked.

"Which high school have you decided on?"
It was an unexpected question.

I braced myself instinctively.

My son answered with a blank expression.

"School D"

My husband continued to ask.

"What about a public school?"

My son glanced at me.

I signaled with my eyes,

"You can go to your room now."

But my son did not move from that spot.

My husband looked at me with a puzzled expression.

"I was just about to talk to you about it."

I explained the circumstances so far.

That I had consulted with his homeroom teacher.

That I had looked into public high schools he could apply to with his grades.

Because my son is easily influenced by his environment,

I considered not just the deviation score,


but also what kind of environment he would spend his time in.

As a result,

School D and School A became the candidates.

After listening, my husband frowned.

"Huh?"

"You're not applying to a public school?"

"Isn't that too soft?"

And then,

"What is a specialized school?"

"That's not a high school, is it?"

And my husband continued.

"Our son isn't thinking about anything, is he?"

"Isn't he just taking the easy way out?"


I said instinctively,

"Saying he isn't thinking about anything"

"Please stop saying that in front of him."

"He thought about it and decided for himself."

My husband said,

"Hmm."

"I think it's soft, though."
Having said that,

he said nothing more.


I felt sad.

It was my son's answer, reached after visiting schools many times and struggling with the decision.

Yet,

before even looking at my son himself,

I felt as if only his path had been rejected.

He had accepted the option of a private school for our daughter.

Why is it different only for our son?

Such questions also arose.

But what made me saddest of all was


that he didn't look at what my son was thinking when he considered his future path.

However,

I thought that talking any further today would just lead to a stalemate.



Let's talk again when we have more time.

Thinking that,
I returned to the room with my son.

Then my son asked quietly,

"Is a specialized school something to be ashamed of?"

I was surprised.

Even though he seemed not to care about anything,

he had been listening after all.

"There is nothing to be ashamed of."

"Mom doesn't understand what there is to be ashamed of."

"It's a place where many people go because there is something they want to learn."

"It's just a different form of high school."

My son listened in silence.
And then,

"Yeah, I understand."
he nodded.

After a short pause, he continued like this,

"For now, I just need to do my best aiming for School D, right?"


"Yes."
"Leave Dad to me, Mom."
My son nodded slightly.

While looking at his face,
I was thinking that I want to decide this child's future path

by valuing his own feelings, not someone else's "normal."
The discussions with my husband


will continue many times from here on.