A clumsy mother is shocked by her son's statement that 'the sun rises in the west and sets in the east.'

What he got wrong was a question about 'the shadow when the sun is at its highest point'.

Moreover, the correct answer rate for that question was 84%.

It was the question with the highest correct answer rate among the science questions this time.

I thought,

'No, no, this surely isn't a question he couldn't solve because he didn't know it.'

Just to be sure, I asked my son.

'Which side does the sun rise from and which side does it set on again?'

Then my son answered without a moment's hesitation.

'It rises from the west and sets in the east.'

…….

………….

……………….

Huh?

For a moment, I doubted my own ears.

Could it be that he is talking about a different sun than the one I have been watching until now?


Because this isn't the first time we've talked about this.

When we eat Eho-maki,

When we walk in the shade of buildings on the way to school,

'The side where the sun rises is the east'

'Since it's morning, the sun is over here, so the shadow is stretching to this side, right?'

'In the morning, the sun's position is low, so the shadow is long, too.'

'If the sun is over there, the shadow is formed on the opposite side, right?'

We have talked about things like that many times.

So I naturally thought,
'He knows this.'
However, he didn't 'know' it.

What surprised me even more was the conversation that followed.


'A similar question appeared before, didn't it?'

When I asked that, my son said,

'It was on the national mock exam.'



It seems he remembers which test the question appeared on.

He remembers the source of the question, but he doesn't remember the essential content.
Or rather, he can't connect them.


Where was this story written?


I have experienced this often for a long time, but in any case, my son remembers very well where that story was written.

I don't understand it anymore.


I went beyond being shocked and exploded on the spot.

However, the next morning I thought.
This is because of my son's characteristics.

My son's ability to remember is by no means weak.

Rather, he remembers things he is interested in to a surprising degree.

It is not rare for me to be surprised that he remembers stories or numbers he heard only once.


On the other hand, things he is not interested in do not remain in his head at all.

And his range of interest is truly narrow!!

He is also not good at connecting knowledge with knowledge or applying it in other situations.



I end up thinking,
'I taught you so many times!'
But in my son's head,

what I told him might have been saved not as science knowledge,
but as 'a conversation with Mom'.

Thinking about it that way, I felt a little empty and started to laugh.

Of course, I couldn't laugh at all the day before.

'This is science knowledge.
Please remember it.'

If I don't say things like that one by one, maybe he can't remember things he's not interested in as knowledge.

When raising a child,

'Things I thought he could do, he can't do.'

I encounter such situations many times.


Every time, I remember.


This child is not a smart child with a quick mind.

He is a child who demonstrates phenomenal concentration and memory for things he is interested in,

and brilliantly ignores things he is not interested in.

General knowledge is like something that exists but doesn't.

And today again, the clumsy mother learns.

You must not overestimate your child's level of understanding, she says.


……No, before that.


The sun rises in the east.

I think he has finally remembered it this time... hopefully.

'Back then, you used to say the sun rises in the west, didn't you~'

I can't help but hope that the day when we can laugh about it together as parent and child comes soon, very soon🤣