I like "tuesday with morries" cos there is something striking in it that echoes what is within me: dont buy into the culture that we are living in. learn to step back and examine what we take for granted... what we think is so obvious... if it does not fit you, then seek for what is better!

why must the passing mark always be half or 50 out of 100? why cant it be less or more, like even 100 (e.g. when it comes to driving test)? I was posted with this question by someone today that left me thinking for a while...

anyway, here is the main point for this entry...

my wife and I have decided to home-school our kids all the way, up to primary six. We have decided not to let our kids go to public school...

instead, they will be waking up to go to school at home at a slightly later time :D...
where the principal and main teacher is my wife and I...
where the classroom will be the study room,
where the bus driver will be me...
where the canteen is in the living room, with home cooked food and special treats,
where the lessons will not be in the room always but involves going to various places of interest locally and overseas with personal "tour guides",
where they must learn to interact with all kinds of people and not just their own peers so that they have a wide circle of friends (toddlers, kids, teenagers, young adults, adults, elderly),
where they can pursue and perfect skills and talents that they are interested in,
where learning is not forced and is not restricted by the syllabus,
where exams and tests do not happen often and comes in various forms,
where meaningful playing can be learning,
where learning is at their own pace and self motivated,
where individual attention is always there and no one will ignore your questions or think that they are stupid,
where there is no uniform,
where break time is flexible,
where there is constant guidance to know and do what is right and meaningful,
where virtues is not just spoken but must be lived out by the "teachers" themselves (those eyes are always looking),
where misbehaviour means a personal time of reflection on the naughty chair by the balcony,
where the "students" learn from the "teachers" and the "teachers" will learn from the students as well,
where encouragements, hugs and kisses always abound,
where phrases like "why are your results so lousy, why didn't you get an A, why didn't you improve at all, why are others better than you?" will NEVER COME OUT of the "teachers" and parents' mouth,
where they are taught about biblical truths and the unconditional love of God so that they may grow up to be well pleasing to God and a blessing to others,
where our kids will eventually be sent off to take the PSLE with this understanding that grades isnt everything and their parents are always proud of them, so long as they have tried their best! :D

The following statement came as a shock to me when i was told about it by a home-schooling parent who home-school his son who is now 14:

secondary education is actually NOT compulsory in Singapore!

If a parent so desires, he/she can choose to home-school their teenagers with no questions asked! think about the flexibility of choosing the exact subjects that you want to take for O levels compared to what you MUST take due to the limited choices offered by the school! So if God permits, we may do homeschooling when our kids are teenagers too!

what do you think? do post your comments or questions about this style of schooling to me so that I can have a wider perspective of this way that is truly less travelled in a competitive country like Singapore.

Comment! (4) | Recommend! | Categories: culture [t], home schooling [t], kids [t], education [t]

looks like this idea of home-schooling is creating quite a fair bit of "uproar" and comments on my blog...

thanks for the advice and feedback that everyone has given so far... I understand that you are concerned that this idea will do more harm than good for my kids as they may not fit into the society since they are not educated in the mainstream schools... well, we still have 2 years to research on it and see how feasible it can be... meanwhile, our minds are still set to go ahead with it bcos we have considered all the disadvantages that you all have pointed out and how we can resolve them... :D

In fact, it is an easy way out to send them to school... to educate your kids by yourselves require tremendous commitment and patience and love that many parents would rather leave it to others... it requires personal sacrifice on the parents as we have to give up ambitious plans at work or position so that we will not be too busy with our own careers and lifestyle that we give our leftover time for our kids... I saying all these not to condemn other parents but to remind myself of giving my best to the kids...

being a teacher myself, i know the limitation of a teacher in handling so many students... it's impossible to know them well and give them our best attention and help... but of cos, a teacher is defintely someone who can make a big impact in a student's life... so why leave it to probability to decide which teachers should be teaching our kids? why not take the initiative to decide!? :D

i rest my case for now...

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saw this ironical tagline on a bike while driving on sat:

nobody is perfect and i am nobody anyway... :P

read the first and second part of the statement separately and it will mean a pessimistic pt of view

but when you read both together and it will mean an optimistic or should I say an egoistic pt of view instead! :P

who said english is an easy language!?

fill in the blank with a YES or a NO:

_______, I am a pig!

get the idea!? :P

Comment! (1) | Recommend! | Categories: homeschool [t]

a feeling of nervousness and excitement as i step into the parade square...

my heart just brightened up to see them once again...

the greetings and smiles we exchanged are heart-warming...

they are the driving force and the very reason why i love this job...

they are the very reason why i try my best to teach...

:D

a load of class admin time today...

settled the class motto, the class t-shirt & jersey, the class rules, the class notice board, the class expectations and targets, the class profiling forms, the class seating arrangement, the class committee... :D

the class was rather restless today... i pity my class chairman and vice-chair when they were soliciting responses from the class, especially for the class motto...

anyway, we decided on "Ordinary Miracles" as the class motto...

I was thinking of modifying it to the one below to bring out the meaning behind:

Ordinary People, Extraordinary Miracles

what do you think? :D

P/S the class rule I set is simple:
BE CONSISTENTLY ACCOUNTABLE

consistency is the KEY to improvement and efficiency

It's the daily exercise that really makes the difference in an effective and stressless way... not any last-min intensive training/cramming...that applies to studies, perfecting a skill, keeping yourself healthy, spiritual growth, anything and everything that you are doing!

accountability is the DRIVING FORCE to being consistent
If there is no one you are accountable to, you will not bother to be consistent.
It may be your parents, your teachers, your friends or in my case, God, whom I must give an account to one day when i die or when He returns again. :D

Comment! (3) | Recommend! | Categories: school [t], 1st [t], day [t]