I believe the children are our future
Teach them well and let them lead the way
Show them all the beauty they possess inside
Give them a sense of pride
To make it easier, let the children’s laughter
Remind us how we used to be…
Well, last week, Melissa had what they called a school experience where they had to go to a school over there in Wellington, New Zealand for a week, or 4 and a half days to be exact, to observe the things going on and do a bit of teaching. She had to teach a lesson and a teacher was assigned to be her some kind of mentor.
Well, kids will be kids! No matter where, no matter what colour or creed, they’re all the same – delightful, playful, naughty and full of fun as kids should be! Melissa certainly enjoyed teaching them to sing a Malaysian song, “Burung kaka tua“ (which I taught her to sing when she was a kid) and she particularly loved the assembly which was so informal and everybody danced to “Stayin’ Alive”! Golly gee! If I were there, guess who would be the first to strike the all-too-familiar John Travolta’s signature pose…
…a very well-extended version, that is! LOL!!! And they had a concert that week too – centred around the theme song from the one-time very popular TV series. “The Greatest American Hero” and aimed at building up the sense of self esteem in the children.
Don’t you think that is all so very nice? I certainly would love to teach there – compared to the examination-centred pressure-cooker school environment that we have here…with the very pathetic stressed-out students, all the way right up from kindergarten…
Tsk!!! Tsk!!!
P.S.
Sorry, the original photographs in this post have been removed owing to some official policy overseas. In this connection, parts of the post have been edited.
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
Did you know that my boy had to do homework and have monthly test? 😦 He’s five. And I am reprimanded by the *toot toot* principal for letting the boy off when he flunk, or even refusing to do his homework. It makes ME a bad mum when I don’t quite give a damn about his homework and whatnot.
I am aware of the changing times, but kids just wanna be kids. Why the hell would I force my boy to be some loon of a robot who knows nothing about life and just sit there and be spoonfed by the teachers?
I am wrong. Always wrong in parenting. But I will be damned if I take away his childhood!
You are right, they are wrong. But there are parents who would DEMAND that they give exams, that they must have books…lots of homework – even at nursery and kindy level or they’ll move their kids elsewhere PLUS they will tell everybody what a lousy place that is. And they hate holidays and school breaks…and obviously it’s because they’ll be stuck with their kids. Makes me wonder – do they really love children? Or is it their misfortune that they end up with a few…because they want to enjoy the sex?
*sigh* What am I going to do? I am not sure. You see… when I was five, I loved to read because it was fun and wonderful. My boy loves books, but in kindy, he hates it to the very core, because the teachers makes it difficult and not fun. He wouldn’t want to touch it in school, and yet loves it when i read to him at home. Wth!
😦 When I was five, I had no homework or exams. I get to have so much fun, even in the kindy. There was show and tell and stuff… puppet theaters and playing pretends. I dun see that in my boy’s kindy. All they do is just sit at the table for 3 goddamn hours scribbling on a damn book! 😦 But of course, I was not in Malaysia. 😦 I truly resent what I had to put my boy through, because it was expected of me. Torn, sometimes. 😦
I just don’t feel right, putting my boy through what I wouldn’t want to be through at the age of five.
Well, there’s talk about doing away with certain exams. Hopefully that will be a step in the right direction…and not merely one of the ways to cut spending!!! And with school assessment, all the kiasu schools and the kiasu teachers bowing down to the pressure from the kiasu parents, things may not be any better… Let us pray!
Sad to say, most parents nowadays will only scold their kids when they ask too many “whys”…Asking is learning, but they get frustrated when kids ask questions they don’t know.
Dun scold, find out the answers with them!!!
Damn pissed off when i saw a mum scolding her son for asking why is there a yellow light in the traffic lights.
That’s true. I thought the age-old maxim, “Children should be seen, not heard” is something of the past but it looks like things have not changed one bit…or maybe it is even worse now. It is so difficult to teach a class of students who would say nothing – like talking to the wall! Makes me tired just to squeeze out a tiny squeak from them… 😦
Sorry for the angry comment.
No leh… Dun think that was angry. You’re only expressing your views…
I feel happy for your girl, Melissa… and i am sure you are a proud papa too.. seeing our kids grown up is really something..
Yes, and you’re lucky to have three to be proud of!!! 🙂
Morning ! Hahaha… wow.. quite modern eh, i remember back in my primary school years, we also danced during the monthly assembly. I think the song was ‘Lemon Tree’. They call it Senamrobic… =)
Probably some kesihatan campaign going on – don’t think they do that normally. But “Lemon Tree”? Eyewwwww….!!!! Hahahahaha!!!
nice, i love this kind of visits, bring me along next time.
In NZ! Wanna go? Come, let’s hop over sometime… 😉
Look at the kids…. more black hair than ang mo!!! Next time tell Mel to go for ‘Enjit, Enjit Semut”
“Siapa sakit naik atas…” As long as she does not translate this, then it should be ok! LOL!!! She had the word “penetrating” in her vocabulary exercise and the teacher asked her to remove the word. I thought the ang mohs are very open about such things. It was about the hornbill’s penetrating call = shrill, high-pitched. Maybe the teacher did not want the kids to make fun over the word and embarrass poor Mel.
Looks like your girl is enjoying herself there! On the way to becoming a great guru like yourself? 😉
I’m sure she will. She’s always serious and dedicated in what she does. Not like me! Hehehehe!!! 😉
Though i have sent my gal to kindy when she is four, but i make sure at her stage now is more on playgroup activities and emphasizing on motor skills. I didnt want her to come back home everyday with pile of home works which i think will make her more stress…Glad this kindy so far have make her happy going there in fact of crying everyday…
Ya…that’s the best kind of place to send kids. My daughter went to a Chinese kindy (The only English one in town was really the pits!) near my house…and changed from a livewire into a quiet reserved little girl. I dunno what happened but she seemed to learn some phrases like “Kui chai na pian!!!” (Kneel over there!) We had to promise her that we would not send her to a Chinese primary school…or she would not get out from under the table!
Yo yo yo! using songs to teach children that’s cool man. “Believe it or not I’m living on air…” haha that Greatest American Hero sure needs flying lessons. Oh ‘Rhinestone Cowboy’ is your fav karaoke song btw thankz for the one vote means a lot to Bananaz as every vote counts from now onwards. tQ.
Not my favourite but I would sing that at karaoke sessions…until I lost the vcd. Maybe I left it somewhere or somebody took it. I often used songs in my lessons in school – a welcome relief from the boring, monotonous everyday routine.
i would be stressed if i were the kindergarten instructor.
I would too! Thankfully, I taught upper secondary classes…so no little kids to get into my hair! Hahahaha!!!! 😀
I cant teach. Not much patience. That’s why I salute those who opt to be teacher
You’ll be surprised. Many, a lot worse, ARE teachers… 😦 You’ll get to meet them soon enough…when your kid goes to school!
sigh..what happen to the old school teachers ah? I remember during my time there were quite a number of very caring teachers.
My standard 2 teacher..forgot her name. Loving lady.
Standard 5 teacher, Mr Yeoh Swee Aun, was like a father figure to me. He passaway already.
Another memorable teacher was my standard 6, Mr Thangapumal. He cried on our last day of class. It was his 1st time teaching Standard 6.
I was very lucky. Went to National school and the atmosphere there is quite relax as compared to the Chinese School. And the teachers there were very attentive.
Secondary school was under the rule of Mr Phua Seng Tiong. Terrified of him. Very strict. We nickname him “Yap Poon Chai”(japanese) coz he was short. But as I grow up, then I know he is really the best teacher ever. He made study fun instead of being a chore.
When the best students go on to become doctors, engineers, accountants etc…who do you think they have left? And when you are “privileged”, even if you’re not the “best”, you will be given the “better” courses. Then they scrap the bottom of the barrel and even though not deserving, they dump them into colleges to become teachers. There, you will find that many of the people seem to fit into this description: “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach. Those who can’t teach, teach teachers!” 😦
Guess I should count my blessings as my son is not at all familiar with “stress” nor “pressure”….yet. Maybe he will a little, if and when he gets into uni. Am grateful he is enjoying school.
If he’s going overseas, he’ll get on fine… Some students of mine from my tuition class last year went to Concord…and they were involved in the college production of “Les Miserables”. They enjoyed it so much, such a wonderful experience….compared to what they do here in Form 6 – real miserable
s!OMG, I hope he’s not reading this! He will kill to get involved in a musical of that nature!
Concord, here he comes! ROTFLMAO!!!
P.S. My students posted the photos on Facebook…and it certainly looked so impressive!
They sure have better education system over there!
They’re definitely not like the spoon-fed exam-oriented zombies we have here. It distresses me greatly to see students who seem to be quite blank – completely empty in the head, waiting for things to fall down from the sky or served to them on a silver platter…despite their straight As in the public examinations. And it is getting worse and worse, it seems. Something is VERY wrong somewhere!!!
It must be a very good experience for Melissa.
My friend who resident in Australia, told me, her kids went to kindy, most of the time just play and do some reading. The teaching method far away diffferent from us here!!
My boys just had their 1st exam this week! I don’t think during my time got any exam for kindy?
Oh dear! I guess you let them enjoy their childhood whenever they can. They go on school trips….to places like the museum and so on and they get to know so many things. Students here memorise everything in the books, score in the exams and then forget everything! Really sad! Tragic, I tell them, that they live in the cyber age and yet they are so very ignorant of anything and everything.
I think kids here hardly complain about going to school for they have so many interesting activities to do everyday! Especially for children who newly migrated from overseas, it was just a very enjoyable transition for them to study here becos for majority, back home is all homework and tuition….
Hahahahaha!!! Dunno why but your comment brings to mind the bus driver, “Chee tu aboi thek, chee phoi tu phua liao liao!!!” 😀
OMG!! i forgot how to sing it!! tsk tsk!!! i only know the first sentence. gudness!
Come, we go karaoke…I sing and teach you! 😉 Hahahahaha!!!
Parents are so KIASU nowadays. Received complaints from parents that not enough written work is given to their kids. I also received a phone call from a parent who wants more for her daughter. Wants to know how to get her daughter to improve even though she is among the best in class. Wah lau, expects so much from her daughter…..
That’s the root of the problem. It all boils down to the parents. Bad enough that there are schools that are run by the parents – they have everybody dangling from and dancing on their fingers…, they also control the department and even the ministry. Somebody should stop all this interference – keep parents and politics out of education – and let the proper people do their proper jobs!
Ah kids… ^_^ Ey…I am a kid too. Nah! Just kidding. Anyways, I like the song that you posted here.
Yes, one of my favourites…
would love to see you sing! and probably you should go teach Kindergarten!
Jom! Let’s go croaking when I get to go to KL again! Hehehehehe!!! Me in kindy? So big, so intimidating…the poor kids will all go running back to their mamas.
To me, my children will be my everything. 😀 They are my happiness.
So? When are you going to start? Not even one yet? Can change gear liao…still 1st gear, so slow! 😉
Me too me too!! My kids are my everything… lol! I’m always proud and blessed of having them, despite the elderly always said I should not be ‘too proud’ of my own child, specially infront of other people(which they believe by doing this might make them arrogant)!:p
That’s the ancient Asian way – be humble, right down to the level of being ridiculous. But being “too” proud may not be good either. They may feel pressured to do well and may end up all stressed-out…and so on. Each child is different – it is a one-to-one case. No one rule fits all… You’ll just have to be sensitive to such things and not be blindly blowing your child’s horn….regardless.
YOu’ve done good now see how she end up 🙂 She, you and missus are just the perfect picture of a happy family 😀
Have to try our best to be happy. Will benefit from all the good vibes. This life is the only one we have, must make the most of it. No point spending it unhappy… Nobody likes unhappy, grumpy people, I’m sure…