23 December 2009
Posted by DAVID BC TAN under: Guest Writer; Social awareness.
This is an excerpt from a speech given by Amy J. Delph at the 2008 EDISON Youth Achievement Awards Ceremony. Public service is a component of the award and here Amy is speaking about the need to do longer term public service projects and the benefits such projects have. Amy is the director of EDISON Enterprises, a company that specializes in programs that promote critical and creative thinking. Several homeschoolers have had stints with EDISON as well. You can find out more about these programs by calling her at 012-658-7587 or visiting the website.
A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO I READ a disturbing report about events in Haiti. The report began with this line, “It was lunchtime in one of Haiti’s worst slums, and Charlene Dumas was eating mud. Charlene, 16 with a month-old son, has come to rely on a traditional Haitian remedy for hunger pangs: cookies made of dried yellow dirt from the country’s central plateau. ”
I read further to discover that the price of food had gone up by 40%, not just in Haiti, but in many Caribbean island nations. People like Charlene make up 80% of the population of Haiti and they get by on less than $2 U.S. dollars a day. Two cups of rice (back then in January) cost .60 cents. When they cannot afford the food the poor turn to eating dirt cookies.
Food shortages and hunger are just one issue. We’ve all seen how high oil prices can reduce opportunities for education, health care and other needs for people. We also have natural disasters like cyclone Nargis and the earthquake in China. While we will always have natural disasters, poverty, environmental pollution, and other problems, the severity and frequency with which we are seeing these events take place sends a strong signal that we can no longer sit on the side lines and let others take care of the problems.
We don’t even have to go across the ocean to see the urgent calls for public service. We find them right here in our back yard. And by that I mean the extraordinary change in the political landscape of Malaysia. The results of the March 8th elections have shaken things up considerably and open opportunities for more voices to be heard and more avenues to take action. Furthermore, I believe the results have underscored an important principle of democracy and that is citizen involvement. That doesn’t mean only in political ways. Involvement in democracy includes concern for the sustainable well being of fellow human beings as well as of the environment in which we live. It includes awareness of and concern for human rights and a willingness to consider the views of others.
I believe we are in a unique time period. If we fail to promote a culture of civic involvement among both adults and our youth, then the new democratic space will close. Either the old powers will reassert themselves or new powers will gain control. We must remember that democracy requires us to be active stakeholders. We must not lose sight of the original roots of the Greek notion of government and democracy, which is citizens working together to determine the character and direction of their society. Aristotle, an ancient Greek philosopher wrote, “All persons alike should share in the government to the upmost.
And so I have identified 3 important reasons why we should focus on voluntary public service:
The first deals with effectiveness of longer community service projects. The other two touch on the urgent signs that tell us that we dare not neglect community involvement.
But that is probably not enough to motivate you. Many of us are already aware of these issues, but we still resist active involvement. I think American writer and political activist Paul Loeb summed this resistance perfectly when called it the “perfect standard.” The perfect standard includes: The perfect time, the perfect cause and the perfect activist.
The Perfect Time
With the “perfect time” people believe they shouldn’t begin working for social change until the time is ideal. When the children are grown, when it’s not an exam year, after I finish my studies, etc. But we must realize that there probably is never going to be a time in our lives when we are not facing some kind demand or pressure. Paul Loeb says, “Instead each of us faces a lifelong series of imperfect moments in which we must decide what to stand for.” While we wait for the ideal time to arrive, weeks, months and years pass by. Our whole lives can go by before we fine the “perfect” time to get involved.
The Perfect Cause
With this one we want something that is easy to do and we will see results quickly and there is a perfect plan of action. In other words there is no uncertainty and the cause is already a winner. It has to be in the right location and must fit our schedules perfectly. As we wait for the perfect cause we squander repeated opportunities to involve ourselves in the larger community for causes whose reasons may be imperfect and whose outcome is far from certain – in other words, causes that are real.
The Perfect Activist
For this barrier, people of all ages feel they have to have all the knowledge and all the abilities required before they can get involved. They feel they have to have absolute understanding of the situation before wading in. That may be true of the fireman who walks into the burning building, but it is not the case for lending a helping hand in your community.
We don’t need absolute knowledge to get involved; we only need to have a sincere desire to make a difference. That desire is the starting point that puts us on the road to learn. We learn as we go, we learn from mistakes, we learn from our experiences and we learn from trial and error.
Take Tara Suri. When she was 12, she accompanied her parents on a visit to their homeland of India. While she was there, she was touched by the extreme poverty she witnessed all around her. When she returned back to the States, she decided to do something about it. Tara decided to raise money for orphanages in India and the Sudan. Did she know a lot about these orphanages or special techniques for raising funds? Did she have a lot of contacts that she could mobilize to raise millions of dollars? No. Tara started with what skills and knowledge she had. Her first effort was a bake sales and recycling used soda cans. Then she got her friends involved and started a club called HOPE. Step by step she and her friends worked on this problem. She has since joined forces with another NGO to form a website called Turn your World Around were she offers encouragement and practical help to young people who want to get active in making a change in their world.
The problem with our notion of the perfect activist is that we don’t think of people like Tara Suri. We look at people like Martin Luther King Jr. at the height of his influence and we think we need to be like that. But we have to remember that even Martin Luther King didn’t know everything about civil rights leadership before he started and he made mistakes and had failures too.
We do not make things worse by getting involved; getting involved helps things get better. In fact “knowing nothing” makes us easier to be around and easier to work with. We have no ego to get in the way! We should be like Tara Suri and take action despite our fears and less-than-perfect preparation.
How do we characterize a socially active person? Another wonderful quote from Paul Loeb says, “We are people of imperfect character, acting on the basis of imperfect knowledge, for causes that may be imperfect as well.” It seems to me that Mr. Loeb’s standard is one we can all live up to.
So we come back again to the question of, “What’s next?” Although as the leader of Edison Youth Achievement Award, I have answered that question, it reminds me of a saying about leadership. “If you think you’re a leading and you look back and no one is following, then you’re just taking a walk.”
The question has to be answered by each of you. If we are able to lay down our perfect standard, we can become an advisor for EYAA, opening an opportunity for five more youths to have the chance to grow in ways they never expect, just like you heard in today’s speeches. If we lay down our perfect standards, people like Charlene Duma don’t have to go hungry. And if we lay down our perfect standards we can shape this nation’s future rather than leaving it to rot in cynicism and indifference. How will you answer this question today?
15 December 2009
Posted by DAVID BC TAN under: humour.
14 December 2009
Posted by DAVID BC TAN under: News.
Here’s another report in the STAR on Desa Amal Jireh (Desa Charity Village or DAJ) a home for underprivileged children in Broga near Semenyih. Children who did not previously have a chance at a proper education are given one. It’s commendable work and worthy of every support. Do check out the news report, and take a look at the photo and its caption:
“Classroom setting: It may be home-schooling but students at the Desa Amal Jireh Home School observe school hours and are suitably attired for studies”
While I am delighted at the good work that DAJ is doing, I cannot understand why the centre’s operators and the reporter (who should have at least put in a modicum of research) insist on calling this HOMESCHOOLING?
Surely one purpose for the acquisition of knowledge is to clarify meaning and enlarge one’s understanding. Words are important, and that’s why what they mean and how we use them have far-reaching consequences. When definitions are misapplied it does little favour for the cause of homeschool; worse, it simply confuses the public, spreads misinformation, and completely misrepresents parents who are really homeschooling by educating their own children at home.
My previous post on DAJ and ‘homeschool’ may be found here.
10 December 2009
Posted by DAVID BC TAN under: Malaysian schools.
WHAT ELSE IS THERE TO SAY about the depressing state of education in the country that hasn’t already been said? Despite all kinds of reports decrying the social costs of shortsighted education policies, Malaysia’s descent down the educational ladder is still leaving families both bewildered and infuriated.
Gains in other countries have left the nation’s schools and institutions of higher learning way behind (read what one opposition leader said about Malaysia’s TIMSS 2007 ranking)while flip-flop politicians and nationalist interest groups squabble over English as a medium of instruction, affirmative action, and racial quotas. Even de facto Pakatan leader Anwar Ibrahim has been quoted saying he’s not in favour of English as a medium of instruction in schools:
“This issue has become a controversy for far too long. We consider this policy a betrayal of Bahasa Melayu as our official language. But how we do it should be decided by educationists and with consideration towards the national education policy. This includes not forcing our children to pass English as a compulsory subject in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) as this will result in many students, especially in rural areas, to fail.”
Meanwhile, the merit of a single-stream educational system is once again being touted as the magic wand to stop the rot and promote unity. That’s bitter medicine for a lot of parents. No one is holding their breath of course. But what options do parents have in Malaysia’s blighted educational landscape? Here’s an overview of some hard choices:
National schools
These are government schools that have been largely abandoned by non-Malays due in part to allegations of institutionalised racial and religious tendencies. According to a report, 93% of Malays attend national schools, 90% of Chinese attend Chinese vernacular schools, and 70% of Indians attend Tamil vernacular schools. Some 5 million Malaysians are in national schools (primary and secondary), but the absence of a significant number of non-Malay children in the classroom is telling. Race and religion notwithstanding, a lot of parents will tell you with a straight face that if national schools were any good there would be no reasons to leave.
Vernacular schools
More than 100,000 Indian children are taught in 525 Tamil schools according to 2007 figures. Many are in deplorable condition, and some classes were even held in warehouses and under trees, says Selangor state executive councillor Dr Xavier Jayakumar.
On the other hand Chinese vernacular schools are thriving and bursting at their seams. Often seen as a vanguard of Chinese culture, these schools are popular among Malaysian Chinese and an increasing number of non-Chinese too (60,000 at the last count). DAP leader Lim Kit Siang wrote in 2006 that Chinese primary school enrollment had more than doubled to 636,124 since Independence. These schools enjoy minimal government handouts but admirably, the Chinese community raises millions every year to keep their schools afloat. There is an undiminished surge in admissions to these schools due to their perceived educational excellence and discipline, contributing to a critical shortage of classrooms.
Private/International schools
Say what you will about the exorbitant costs of these elite institutions; the fact is 5000 Malaysians are currently enrolled in previously out-of-bounds International schools since admission was relaxed in 2006 (40% of places in international schools are now open to locals). At least 20 new international schools are slated to open soon much to the delight of middle-class Malaysians whose frustration with the local education system are being addressed by the promise of a superior learning environment and state-of-the-arts facilities. American and British-style international schools lead the pack, offering O Levels and IB, but of late Global Indian International School has opened a campus in Kuala Lumpur.
Singapore schools
Not many people are aware that some 10,000 children cross the causeway from Johor to Singapore daily for their education. Again, parents forgo free education in national schools for higher than normal fees (school fees and biennial donations in Singapore dollars) to put their children through an English medium school in Singapore where the learning culture is perceived to be superior to Malaysia’s impoverished options.
Immigrate
Move abroad, preferably to Australia or New Zealand, get PR, or burn your passport and give your children an education and a future you never had. Not to worry, you’re in good company – over 300,000 Malaysians have moved abroad since 2008. Ostensibly for the sake of their children’s education, and most certainly because they feel in their bones their own country’s inescapable collapse and they don’t want to be there when it happens. People are voting with their feet and incredible as it may seem, the powers that be are looking the other way.
Homeschool
Now, this option does not necessarily sit well with lots of parents (or educators) although reports coming in from abroad attest to educational achievements above the national average. And there’s the rub: In Malaysia, homeschooling hasn’t been around long enough (no more than 20 years old); we’re just seeing the first generation off and there’s no available research to confirm if homeschooled kids are indeed succeeding or if it’s just spin. Admittedly educating one’s child at home will make different demands on different families and I am realistic enough to see that it won’t be practical for a lot of Malaysians at this point of the country’s development. Nevertheless, I am convinced it is a rewarding option and there’s no question of homeschooling if I have to do it all over again.
Learning Centres
This is where parents who like the idea of homeschool send their children to if they can’t (or won’t) educate their children themselves. You won’t catch me calling these centres ‘homeschool’, but who am I to contradict the vendors and operators who promote these places as such? As much as I am bugged by this misnomer, I’ll grant that these learning centres are doing families a favour.
Learning Centers are a relatively new phenomenon in Malaysia and almost all are set up by or affiliated to churches (which means they do not fall under the MOE’s jurisdiction). These centers subscribe to two well-known Christian homeschool curricula – AOP or School of Tomorrow – of which AOP ones are by far the more popular. My guess is, there must be close to a hundred of these learning centers today. As far as alternative education goes, they do fill a serious need although their performance is understandably spotty (many are staffed by well-intentioned but untrained educators).
So how do you choose? Caught between a rock and a hard place are you?
As a homeschooling parent, I know what works for our family, but I appreciate it’s not an easy decision to make. I have heard parents say how they wish they could homeschool but a) they can’t afford to have one spouse stay home, or b) they’re no good with children and couldn’t possibly teach them at home all day. Others claim that theoretically homeschooling sounds great but it’s fraught with too many uncertainties.
Once a mother told me that many homeschooling families in Malaysia were ‘failing’ – their kids in limbo, resisting discipline or instruction, with a number unable to get beyond basic arithmetic or even write a half decent essay. Where the fault lies will require another post. Writing as a homeschooling parent (I am aware of my own bias), there’s no need for homeschool to fail, and every reason why it can only succeed. But there you are – decisions, decisions, decisions. How will you choose?
25 November 2009
Posted by DAVID BC TAN under: Homeschool Profile.
Visit the home of Edward and Selina Lim and you know you’ve dropped in on an unusual family. Married for 12 years, the couple have 3 daughters (between 11 and 6 years), and a 16-month old son. Both are are also pastors of a church in Penang. Edward has been in full-time ministry for about 15 years while Selina was a state registered nurse before she received her full-time calling into ministry. Edward also runs Contact Sports Enterprise, a sports events management company. He is just as involved in promoting Floorball and coaches both the state and national team. On top of it all, they’re homeschooling. Here’s what Selina has to say about their homeschooling adventure:
So when did you start homeschooling?
Ever since we became parents we’ve homeschooled and it’s a part of our life – we’ve never lived any other way! Our eldest is 11 years, so that makes 11 years of homeschooling in all.
What made you both decide to homeschool? Who thought of it first?
The decision was actually made during our courtship. Even then we discussed how to raise our children, and I remember we said we wanted them to enjoy the learning process and not be caught in an exam-oriented culture and the rigidity of a regular school system. We wanted to nurture them according to their natural bend which we knew conventional schools couldn’t provide.
We knew we would need flexibility for the family anyway, in view of our church ministry. So before we became parents we sought God intently for confirmation, and our desire to beat the school system became a conviction when we were expecting our firstborn.
Tell us about your homeschool – the curriculum you use, the way you spend your time, etc. With your busy schedule, what’s a typical day like?
Throughout the years we tried different approaches but we found ourselves leaning towards unschooling as it suits us best. We may not be 100% unschoolers but we do keep to Charlotte Mason’s motto of living, learning and loving.
Typical day? Different seasons have different days! Generally, our children begin their day with their own quiet time with God. This slot can sometimes take very long as their prayers often turn into occasions for poems, stories and songs. They call it “creative dreaming in progress”. We have some workbooks for languages and Math but do not rely on them completely. We have a pretty good home library so we don’t need to depend on the public library. However, we do make a point to visit the public library as regularly as we can.
A big chunk of the day is spent reading, making dance pieces, writing stories, playing, talking as a family, and learning from our natural surrounding. We enjoy unit studies too. If something in a book, a recent experience or an issue captures our interest, we will pick it up and do a unit study. Depending on our girls’ level of interest, the topic can occupy us for a week or many months.
Most of all, they find every possible opportunity to play – whether it is a household chore, mealtime, babysitting, even their educational project. Play is work. Work is play. If you ask them, they will tell you: “Everyday is a holiday and everyday is a school day.” So, everything we do at home is intertwined. Household chores are done together with a gotong-royong spirit. No charts. We do almost everything together (or at least with one parent). We minister together. The children are part of our ministry – our prayer team, our helpers, and our dance team. They go with us whenever and wherever we go for ministry (except hospital visitations).
I see flexibility, but where does discipline come in? Don’t you need to have a lot of discipline to make unschooling work?
Indeed, our girls delight in the flexibility of time, space, and freedom to explore and experiment within the boundaries of our faith and values. But along the way they have learnt discipline. They are independent and industrious, and know how to take responsibility for their own learning. Every day offers ample learning opportunities. As i see it, learning is really an ongoing process and all I do is ensure our home provides the children with liberty and every opportunity to exercise their creativity, even to make a mess. It has certainly given them real meaning in learning and they view life more holistically. As they’re with us during formal and informal meetings, I notice they have become very adaptable and interact well with people of all ages.
You seem to spend a lot of time together as a family. What else do your girls do?
The girls are very involved in dance (ballet and contemporary) and they perform in community events, concerts, weddings, as well as in church. They have choreographed their own dance pieces ever since they were 6 and 7. They also enjoy rollerblading and skating, playing the guitar, sewing, knitting, arts and craft and cooking (especially creating our own recipes).
As a family, we’re into adventure – outdoor activities, wall climbing, biking. Since Edward runs adventure camps and sports events, the girls get involved as much as they can. Naturally, they are part of the Junior Floorball team too. Then when we went horseback riding in Australia, they came back crazy over horses – would love to pursue horseback-riding, but it is just too expensive for us here. They swim as well. Oh yes, we love to snuggle up for a good show during family movie night followed by Edward’s debriefing.
That’s really an active family you have. Doesn’t unschooling make more demands on you as a parent, then?
It is hard to say, since this is the only life we know. In many ways we think it’s easier, simply because of its practicality. The children are always with us; therefore, we can be as mobile as we need to be, which is an advantage in our vocation. Besides, since we are close to one another, bringing up our children and disciplining them is more effective. It is easier to instill our beliefs and values. We are definitely more aware of our responsibility as well as the seriousness of educating and nurturing our children, as opposed to letting others do the job that is rightfully ours as parents.
What special challenges (if any) do you face as a homeschooling family? In what way do these challenges affect your children’s homeschooling?
The usual challenge is the lack of support from relatives and friends who think we are depriving our children. It doesn’t really affect our convictions as we have come to embrace homeschooling fully as our lifestyle. Unfortunately, as our children grow up, they tend to be at the receiving end instead. The girls do love homeschooling but often find many people’s comments and questions unbearable. Nevertheless, all this negativity has deepened our children’s own convictions.
Sport is another challenge. As homeschoolers, our girls were not allowed to participate in competition in rhythmic gymnastics (run by the State Sports Academy). Although our girls loved the sport very much and excelled in it, they refused to trade homeschooling to advance in the sport as suggested by their head coach. They did it for recreation instead and eventually stopped due to the lack of skilled coaches.
Finally, the challenge of proficiency in Bahasa Malaysia. Unfortunately, this is one language they are not particularly keen in although I love the national language myself. Since English is widely spoken in Penang where we live, I constantly seek opportunities to make Bahasa fun and practical for the children although this is not always easy. Sometimes the children try conversing in the language when ordering food or shopping, but people always respond in English or Hokkien!
What values have you consciously sought to inculcate in the home as you educate the children?
It is our aim to raise our children to love God and serve His purposes. We gear them towards being responsible, resourceful and respectful persons. We want them to love life and live it loud for the Lord Jesus Christ. We encourage them to dream big and pursue their God-given passions.
What a full life your family has! What wonderful memories you’re building, which is really one of the joys that homeschooling brings. Is there anything else that’s memorable – a milestone maybe – in your homeschooling journey that you wish to share in closing?
We’ve got many! Among other things, all our girls were early readers but we would highlight our third daughter Chrisalynn’s development. She began reading simple words at about 18 months, started simple chapter books at 4, and then on to chapter books at 5 without any reading programme. We believe it’s the result of her listening to us read aloud to the older girls. Chrisalynn was always there with us whenever we were reading. And now the girls are into learning Spanish by themselves via the internet and books. They teach each other (and parents learn from them!)
2007 was very memorable as we took our sabbatical that year. It was an extraordinary year, packed with surprises as we took time to rest in God and fed our faith. The children learnt on the go as we travelled to different places locally (Langkawi, Kuala Lumpur, Cameron Highlands, Sabah) and overseas (Australia and Singapore). Their learning experiences were recorded in two volumes of travel logs, all of which have become their cherished keepsakes. These volumes are filled with stories, research, interviews, reports, book list, budget expenses, and pictures. Above all, they experienced faith in action and watched God’s promises come alive in the journey.
17 November 2009
Posted by DAVID BC TAN under: Extra-curricular Activities.
Waileng & KV Soon report on a fun camp outing for homeschoolers with Malaysia’s beloved cartoonist Dato Lat.
“When Ipoh homeschoolers Intan and Harith revealed that they could get cartoonist Dato Lat to join us at a proposed outdoor camping trip, we were naturally excited! For the record, the REAL people behind this were Intan and Harris – THEY were the ones working hard behind the scene to put everything together for us to enjoy. So a BIG THANK YOU to the both of you! RIBUAN TERIMA KASIH! ” WaiLeng & KV Soon
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CAMPING FRIGHT
Most of us were camping for the very first time. Some children expected the place to be wild and untamed (thanks to their fertile imagination!) and came prepared for a rough ride. Sorry for the disappointment. Instead we were greeted by the clean and safe grounds of a holiday resort, with cool activities like biking, kayaking, swimming, treasure hunting and amazing-racing!
Campsite was at the lakeside – a perfect spot except for the noticeably dark and threatening clouds that descended upon us not long after the tents which were strenuously and meticulously set-up by each family. Great job everyone! The storm clouds played hide-and-seek with us. One moment they were hovering menacingly above us, and the next moment, the strong winds blew our tents away. Rain fell by the buckets! But luckily we had the ever efficient and helpful camping guides to do the tough job of shifting the tents for us. THANK YOU CAMPING GUIDES!
We were fortunate to be placed right next to a huge indoor tennis arena equipped with lighting and most importantly, clean toilets. Perfect venue for unplanned performances by our kids’ which ranged from flying demonstration (of the super hero kind), to rap-singing (can’t really tell which was which), and a yoga demonstration (of the spine-bending kind!).
The kids played a game called Tie the Mummy; each team was given a toilet roll with which they turned a teammate into a scary mummy! It was great fun especially when some kids came all dressed in scary/funny/strange Halloween costumse! (A Batman was seen throwing tennis balls with his Wacky Monster dad!). All hell broke loose when Uncle KV (who hosted the evening show) announced that it was time to play the game that everyone was waiting for: TAG!
And so all creatures great or small, ghosts and humans (and in-betweens) ran helter-skelter around the courts. Everyone had a helluva fun on this halloween night! Another note of thanks to Intan & Harris for providing the party smacks and food gifts in the form of chocolates, biscuits and lots of peanut/raisin cocktails! YUMMY!
The sleepy heads were the first to crawl into their tents to call it a day – first prize goes to the Chan family! For the rest of the night owls, the night was still young! A trophy for Uncle Soon for successfully starting the campfire for the eager kids to barbecue their preciously delicious marshmallows! Seeing it done in books is never the same as doing it yourself!
The more adventurous adults moved their tents outside for a more authentic experience of camping under the star-lit skies. Only thing was, there weren’t any stars that night. But who cared? It was still real camping under the night skies compared to the less adventurous who chose to stay indoors under a concrete ceiling! For the adventurous it must have been an experience to remember for a long time to come, I’m sure. I can only imagine it for I was one of the indoor campers!
ART WITH LAT
Everyone woke up with great excitement – Dato Lat was coming! What a thrill to meet the famed cartoonist Dato Lat, who came unescorted, to give an interesting slide presentation of his childhood. One could see that every child and every adult in the room was rapt in attention, listening to his amusing childhood stories of “naughty adventures”.
He spoke lovingly about his home and life, playing various games with his friends in the kampung. It was a nostalgic stroll even though not many could attest to having lived in a kampung before! But who amongst us hadn’t read Lat’s books? Now our kids get to experience the genius of a humble kampung boy who made it big with his enormous talents.
Dato Lat touched every single kid that day, including those of us who are kids at heart, with his sketches of hope and joy, of possibilities and dreams come true. In fact, he did more than that, as he went down to the level of the children, to sit with them, viewing their sketches and giving them his invaluable advice and encouragement, and personally imprinting on them his trademark Lat signature. His rapport with the children was excellent! And a young lad from Penang came all the way here, to present Dato Lat with a special haiku! Lat was visibly touched!
After going from table to table autograph signing and posing for photos, Dato Lat had a short sketching session with the children. He made sketches of the children on the spot! This created a lot of enthusiasm and excitement amongst the children who were delighted to see their faces on paper! One could tell that Dato Lat was having a good time too! A group photo with Dato Lat was a perfect ending to a perfect event!
We hope those who came had a memorable weekend with us. It was a relatively stress-free event for us and we have Intan and Harris to thank for doing all the hard work for us. We definitely look forward to more future events here in idyllic Batu Gajah! Parents got to network and exchange experiences on homeschooling, and the kids got a chance to make new friends. What more can we ask for?
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Waileng & KV Soon lead Malaysian Home Educators Network (MALHEN). You can visit their blog Learning Beyond Schooling or see more photos on their Facebook.
11 November 2009
Posted by DAVID BC TAN under: Homeschooler Profile.
18-year old Rachel Spoelman has been called an actress, a writer, a college student, a Malaysian, an American, a genius, a sister, a char koay teow lover, a Milo addict, a geek, a purple-haired backwards guitar playing cowgirl, and an inside-out banana. Perhaps she is all of these things, perhaps she is none of them – that is for you to decide. 18-year old Rachel is presently in her second year of studies at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA. She is taking an Asian Studies Major. In this essay, Rachel tells us why she’s glad to be homeschooled
I WAS A HOMESCHOOLED CHILD. When my mom and dad first told their family and friends that they had decided to homeschool their kids, the relatives all thought that Mom and Dad were crazy. They came up with many objections. They said that Mom couldn’t do it, and that even if she could teach me the elementary school subjects, that she, without a college degree, would never be able to handle teaching me when I reached high school age. They said that she was making a terrible decision for her child, that because of being kept at home and being homeschooled, that I would never develop socially, that my social skills would always be far behind those of my peers. They said that I would lack the opportunity to participate in the sports and extracurricular activities and service that I would have if I went to a private Christian school. They said that I would never be able to go to college if I didn’t have a ‘real’ transcript from a ‘real’ school. They said that successful homeschooling couldn’t be done.
But my Mom did not let everything they said stop her from doing what she felt was right for her family. She started teaching me the alphabet when I was three years old, and has never looked back.
Thirteen years later, we have found that they were wrong. I have now graduated from my homeschool high school. I have been accepted to college, I have served at my church, teaching children’s and youth classes, helping with VBS, and visiting elderly people in nursing homes for as long as I can remember. My Mom laughs when she remembers those people who told her I would have no friends if she didn’t send me to school; she thinks I spend far too much time having fun with my friends. What is more, some of those close friends are my younger siblings. That’s right, my Mom has had six younger children than me, and is homeschooling each one of them, so that all of us kids can stay together everyday and not be separated like we would be if we were sent to school. We have grown up all going to school together in the schoolroom in our house, and we have loved it.
I am so thankful for the decision my Mom and Dad made all those thirteen years ago. Sometimes people may say all kinds of things of discouraging things about the decisions you make or things you do in life, but I’ve learned that those ‘people; might not know everything there is to know. After all, they all said Mom couldn’t do it, that she couldn’t homeschool her kids, but today I am so glad that my mom did not listen to what they said!
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This essay was originally published in The Random Writings of Rachel, and is reproduced with the kind permission of the author. To buy a copy of Rachel’s first self-published book, please email rdeen_phillips(at)yahoo.com
5 November 2009
Posted by DAVID BC TAN under: Announcement.
ART & CRAFT FAIR @ HARTAMAS SHOPPING CENTRE,
KUALA LUMPUR
Sunday 8 November, 10am ~ 5pm
Sorme of our homeschoolers are participating in the Art & Craft Fair. View demos and buy creative handicraft such as this hand-stitched teddy. Go to our NOTICES (November) page for details.
3 November 2009
Posted by DAVID BC TAN under: Education; Values.
It is interesting to note that while there is much talk about education being a necessary preparation for the labour market, no one in his right mind would suggest it’s the primary purpose of all education.
Take a look at what I picked up online:
“The purpose of education is to make the world a better place. Education then is about making good citizens, helping our young people to fulfill their potential and to make a meaningful contribution to our society.”
“It is my belief that it is the purpose of education to cultivate and facilitate the growth of children who will become human beings who are able to reason at high levels, to do what is right for themselves and their communities by putting their thoughts into action, and to have the ability to feel an appreciation for the arts and one another, as well as the beauty in the world around them.”
That last quote is a lot like what Socrates would say. Perhaps you might dismiss the dead philosopher as, erm, old school. But he would never approve of learning for knowledge’s sake, and certainly never as a means for material gain. Knowledge should be pursued because it teaches you how to live, promotes virtue and happiness, and leads to a moral life. Socrates’ disciple Plato learnt well; he echoed his master’s words by saying that the purpose of education was for beauty and goodness.
Regardless of how you feel about such noble aspirations, it doesn’t take long before someone comes along to burst your bubble. Get real, man. In this dog eat dog world, it’s every man for himself. Don’t you know the one with the most toys wins?
Don’t cynics just love saying this to your face?
Yet I find it intriguing that ethics and morality remain unquestionably the starting point for all education.
It’s not hard to see why R.C. Sproul Jr said in his thoughtful book ‘When You Rise Up’ that all ‘education is inherently religious‘. He quotes Robert Louis Dabney:
True education is, in one sense, a spiritual process. It is the nurture of the soul. Education is the nurture of a spirit that is rational and moral, in which conscience is the regulative and imperative faculty. The proper purpose of conscience, even in this world, is moral.
But God is the only Lord of the conscience; this soul is his miniature likeness. His will is the source of its obligations. Likeness to him is its perfection, and religion is the science of the soul’s relations to God. Let these statements be placed together, and the theological and educational processes appear so related they cannot be separated.
It is for this reason that the common sense of mankind has always invoked the guidance of the minister of religion in the education of youth……….Every line of true knowledge must find its completeness as it converges on God, just as every beam of daylight leads the eye to the sun.
In my previous post, I argued that the question of what you want your child to be comes before your education choice, whether homeschool or conventional school. Figure this out, and then decide what’s the best route to get there. Sproul also quotes the poet Milton who wrote: “The end of learning is to repair the ruins of our first parents by regaining to know God aright, and out of that knowledge, to love Him, to imitate Him, to be like Him.”
I happen to be in Milton’s corner here. I like the way he has articulated well a model for education that works for my family. And so we have embraced homeschool because we believe it offers our children the best opportunity to nurture soul and spirit holistically. By doing so, we believe they are better placed to love God, to imitate Him, and make a positive difference in our world.
What about you? What’s the reason for your education choice?