This morning I learned why Arsenal Football Club is called what they are called.
Then I found this link to their Charity Ball.
The pictures show Arsène Wenger and his team wearing the pocket squares I made specially for them.
It's great to know these footballers are doing their bit to raise funds for charity.
Friday, 11 May 2012
Monday, 7 May 2012
Age of boys going into secondary school
My son goes to a school where the boys transfer to "senior school" at 13+. Theoretically. (They turn 14 in their first year of secondary school.)
Some parents transfer their boys to schools at 11+ (they turn 12 in the first year of secondary school), especially when they wish to opt out of the independent system back into the state grammar school system.
Also, the "Common Entrance Exam" at 11+ is much less stressful than the one at 13+ as the children only do three papers (I think) as against five or even seven (or something like that) at 13+.
Because I used to hang about the school premises a lot, I hear a lot of what other teachers and parents have to say. This was the real bonus of running the PTA back then.
I was convinced that transferring at 13+ was more beneficial to my son than at 11+.
First, boys would have some experience of leadership at this school before transferring.
At 13+ most of the boys would have had a chance to become a prefect, a monitor, house captain and vice-captain, or a wide array of other responsibilities (librarian, music monitor, games monitor, lunch-time monitor, etc).
They would have had several years of taking part in the House "hustings", at both asking questions at the hustings as well as standing up to say why someone should vote for them.
When they transfer to secondary school, although they lose their senior status to become the most junior at school, at least they have had a chance to learn to stand up for what they believe in.
Boys transferring at 11+ simply move to another school and often have to wait several years when they get nearer the top of the school to even get a whiff of leadership opportunities.
Most significant of all is the fact that 11+ boys are often pre-pubescent. They are often physically small. When they transfer to a school with girls at the same age who are much bigger than they are, it takes quite a bit to adjust to.
Even if they went to an all-boys school they run a higher risk of being bullied due to their being so small and young.
If the school has an ethos of supporting and mentoring the youngest boys - as some do - then they might have a great time. If the school has a culture of bullying, especially if schools are very large, then the new boys need to find protectors.
Sometimes these "protectors" are predators, members of gangs outside the school, as well as in the schools.
13+ boys often already have their voices broken, or they would have bulked out in readiness for growth spurts. Emotionally, too, they are going into a different stage of their development.
The teachers in my son's school tell me how nice it is to have the boys for an additional two years. They can see them maturing - OK, some get really annoyingly moody - but they feel that the boys gain so much confidence that they are more ready to take on the new challenges thrown at them at senior school.
At 11+ my son is still going through what I call "the silly stage".
On one hand he's trying to grapple with simultaneous equations. On the other he still chuckles with wild abandon at Spongbob Squarepants.
Some days he is very grown up, and we discuss some very serious societal matters. Most days however his mind is pre-occupied with the games he gets to play on the computer.
It has long been acknowledged that boys and girls mature at quite different speeds. I find it very difficult to understand that this in not considered when designing school systems.
Here in my London borough schools used to transfer children at 12+, an anomaly as far as the rest of the state schools are concerned.
They "corrected" this anomaly by lowering the age at which all children transfer. Just so that it would fit better around the national testing regime (called 'SATS' which I think stands for Standard Assessment Tests).
The bureaucrats overlooked completely the natural physical and emotional development of the the children. Instead they adjusted the school system so that the children could fit around a man-made bureaucracy.
Looking at the PSLE in Singapore I wonder how many boys would do much better if they took a streaming exam at 13+ instead of 12+ as they do now.
Of course there will be boys who would do extremely well even at 12+ or even 11+. These are the boys who have been drilled and trained into doing hard work by their parents: Does not matter if you are not naturally gifted in piano-playing, you will practise an hour every day and two hours for the four weeks before an exam.
Boys (and girls) who, for whatever reason, have been trained to practise will do well in exams, whatever age they sit for them.
But would a larger proportion of boys be streamed more accurately if the exam took place just one year later? When their emotions are more in sync with their growing bodies?
I don't know. But I think a later exam age would be advantageous to boys who are gifted but somewhat lazy, a bit like my own boy.
Some parents transfer their boys to schools at 11+ (they turn 12 in the first year of secondary school), especially when they wish to opt out of the independent system back into the state grammar school system.
Also, the "Common Entrance Exam" at 11+ is much less stressful than the one at 13+ as the children only do three papers (I think) as against five or even seven (or something like that) at 13+.
Because I used to hang about the school premises a lot, I hear a lot of what other teachers and parents have to say. This was the real bonus of running the PTA back then.
I was convinced that transferring at 13+ was more beneficial to my son than at 11+.
First, boys would have some experience of leadership at this school before transferring.
At 13+ most of the boys would have had a chance to become a prefect, a monitor, house captain and vice-captain, or a wide array of other responsibilities (librarian, music monitor, games monitor, lunch-time monitor, etc).
They would have had several years of taking part in the House "hustings", at both asking questions at the hustings as well as standing up to say why someone should vote for them.
When they transfer to secondary school, although they lose their senior status to become the most junior at school, at least they have had a chance to learn to stand up for what they believe in.
Boys transferring at 11+ simply move to another school and often have to wait several years when they get nearer the top of the school to even get a whiff of leadership opportunities.
Most significant of all is the fact that 11+ boys are often pre-pubescent. They are often physically small. When they transfer to a school with girls at the same age who are much bigger than they are, it takes quite a bit to adjust to.
Even if they went to an all-boys school they run a higher risk of being bullied due to their being so small and young.
If the school has an ethos of supporting and mentoring the youngest boys - as some do - then they might have a great time. If the school has a culture of bullying, especially if schools are very large, then the new boys need to find protectors.
Sometimes these "protectors" are predators, members of gangs outside the school, as well as in the schools.
13+ boys often already have their voices broken, or they would have bulked out in readiness for growth spurts. Emotionally, too, they are going into a different stage of their development.
The teachers in my son's school tell me how nice it is to have the boys for an additional two years. They can see them maturing - OK, some get really annoyingly moody - but they feel that the boys gain so much confidence that they are more ready to take on the new challenges thrown at them at senior school.
At 11+ my son is still going through what I call "the silly stage".
On one hand he's trying to grapple with simultaneous equations. On the other he still chuckles with wild abandon at Spongbob Squarepants.
Some days he is very grown up, and we discuss some very serious societal matters. Most days however his mind is pre-occupied with the games he gets to play on the computer.
It has long been acknowledged that boys and girls mature at quite different speeds. I find it very difficult to understand that this in not considered when designing school systems.
Here in my London borough schools used to transfer children at 12+, an anomaly as far as the rest of the state schools are concerned.
They "corrected" this anomaly by lowering the age at which all children transfer. Just so that it would fit better around the national testing regime (called 'SATS' which I think stands for Standard Assessment Tests).
The bureaucrats overlooked completely the natural physical and emotional development of the the children. Instead they adjusted the school system so that the children could fit around a man-made bureaucracy.
Looking at the PSLE in Singapore I wonder how many boys would do much better if they took a streaming exam at 13+ instead of 12+ as they do now.
Of course there will be boys who would do extremely well even at 12+ or even 11+. These are the boys who have been drilled and trained into doing hard work by their parents: Does not matter if you are not naturally gifted in piano-playing, you will practise an hour every day and two hours for the four weeks before an exam.
Boys (and girls) who, for whatever reason, have been trained to practise will do well in exams, whatever age they sit for them.
But would a larger proportion of boys be streamed more accurately if the exam took place just one year later? When their emotions are more in sync with their growing bodies?
I don't know. But I think a later exam age would be advantageous to boys who are gifted but somewhat lazy, a bit like my own boy.
Sunday, 6 May 2012
"I'm not Superman"
I don't know if readers are familiar with the comedy series "Scrubs" featuring a doctor and his surgeon best friend and all kinds of weird and bizarre video sequences are inserted into their thought processes. Hilarious.
The theme song features the words "I'm not Superman".
This week I received an email with the subject: "Save me............. :-)"
I thought, "Ah! One of those "I'm on holiday and was robbed of my passport spam mails." I was so close to chucking it into SPAM when I decided to open it and found that it was NOT one of those SPAM mails.
It was from a man working in a very reputable engineering company in London whose second wedding anniversary falls tomorrow, a bank holiday. He needed a handkerchief embroidered for his lovely wife in double quick time.
I emailed, "I'm not Superman." I had packed away all the equipment that day after having started work at 7.45am or thereabout. I was tired.
But he came back again and because he was obviously desperate and a desperate romantic, I relented. Even if that meant having to download a royalty-free embroidery design from a website, checked that my design was OK by this customer, and drag out all the equipment again.
I was down to the last 200 stitches or so when something went wrong and the handkerchief was ruined. Had to start all over again. It was OK this time. The next day I had to take the order to the Post Office and post it by Special Delivery to make sure it got to the customer in time.
Conclusion: I managed to "save" a life. (Really?)
But a bigger challenge this week was to save some "face" at the Arsenal Football Club. Late last week I was asked to do an "urgent job" for them. I looked at their requirements and replied, "Would really love to do it, but can't. Not enough time. Too complex a design."
Meanwhile I actually came up with something they had not asked for and sent the design to them saying, "perhaps this might be of interest to you, for future reference".
Guess what? They came back and said, how about this instead. I said, "No, still too difficult, and not enough time. I'll send a prototype in two weeks' time."
In the end, instead of 25 hankies I agreed to do six. I made a prototype and sent a photograph. They loved it, please make six like that, and please could you do five more with another design?
Again I struggled with the design, mainly finding the font required. Fortunately I have my graphic designer to call upon for advice. (She did my business logo for which I paid her a handsome sum of money.) It took me a lot of time to clean up the logo given to me and experimented with different fonts, layouts, etc.
Eventually I got the six and five hankies done and put them in the post yesterday. Relieved.
No more custom hankies for a fortnight, I told myself. I must write up those conference papers.
Then a French actress emailed: Could you please do three of these and deliver by next week? I had to email to say, sorry, not this time, and hope she has taken it well.
Being able to help two out of three people is not so bad, I guess.
Still, not quite Superman yet, but glad to know that I can provide a unique service.
Happy wedding anniversary to JT and I hope the First Team at Arsenal are able to enjoy that annual charity ball, and raise lots of money for their charity.
The theme song features the words "I'm not Superman".
This week I received an email with the subject: "Save me............. :-)"
I thought, "Ah! One of those "I'm on holiday and was robbed of my passport spam mails." I was so close to chucking it into SPAM when I decided to open it and found that it was NOT one of those SPAM mails.
It was from a man working in a very reputable engineering company in London whose second wedding anniversary falls tomorrow, a bank holiday. He needed a handkerchief embroidered for his lovely wife in double quick time.
I emailed, "I'm not Superman." I had packed away all the equipment that day after having started work at 7.45am or thereabout. I was tired.
But he came back again and because he was obviously desperate and a desperate romantic, I relented. Even if that meant having to download a royalty-free embroidery design from a website, checked that my design was OK by this customer, and drag out all the equipment again.
I was down to the last 200 stitches or so when something went wrong and the handkerchief was ruined. Had to start all over again. It was OK this time. The next day I had to take the order to the Post Office and post it by Special Delivery to make sure it got to the customer in time.
Conclusion: I managed to "save" a life. (Really?)
But a bigger challenge this week was to save some "face" at the Arsenal Football Club. Late last week I was asked to do an "urgent job" for them. I looked at their requirements and replied, "Would really love to do it, but can't. Not enough time. Too complex a design."
Meanwhile I actually came up with something they had not asked for and sent the design to them saying, "perhaps this might be of interest to you, for future reference".
Guess what? They came back and said, how about this instead. I said, "No, still too difficult, and not enough time. I'll send a prototype in two weeks' time."
In the end, instead of 25 hankies I agreed to do six. I made a prototype and sent a photograph. They loved it, please make six like that, and please could you do five more with another design?
Again I struggled with the design, mainly finding the font required. Fortunately I have my graphic designer to call upon for advice. (She did my business logo for which I paid her a handsome sum of money.) It took me a lot of time to clean up the logo given to me and experimented with different fonts, layouts, etc.
Eventually I got the six and five hankies done and put them in the post yesterday. Relieved.
No more custom hankies for a fortnight, I told myself. I must write up those conference papers.
Then a French actress emailed: Could you please do three of these and deliver by next week? I had to email to say, sorry, not this time, and hope she has taken it well.
Being able to help two out of three people is not so bad, I guess.
Still, not quite Superman yet, but glad to know that I can provide a unique service.
Happy wedding anniversary to JT and I hope the First Team at Arsenal are able to enjoy that annual charity ball, and raise lots of money for their charity.
Saturday, 24 March 2012
Have I wasted my education?
This week was a strange week.
I had to deal with bullying at school.
My application for a research grant was rejected. I was not one of the 17% of applicants deemed good enough.
My son ran his school cross-country.
This morning we were told - as if we did not already know - Nursery workers so illiterate they struggle to read stories aloud.
It was not a difficult choice for me to remain at home. I was short-listed for a post-doctoral fellowship when my son was a few weeks old. On my way to the interview I knew that wasn't what I really wanted to do.
Over the next few years I had looked at nurseries and childminders to see if I could have my son away for a day or two every week so I could return to writing and publishing and then academic work.
But it became clear to me that while nursery staff and childminders could keep my child safe, they are not going to give him the type of intellectual stimuli that he deserves.
Why would I leave my precious son - child of a late marriage - to the care of people who are much less educated than I am?
Then my husband's long illness, my son's 'special education needs' and a successful home-run business meant the return to academia did not happen, till now.
Bullying at school. In our household we tend to "reason together". So my son cannot understand why one classmate keeps hitting him.
It's always done when no one is looking.
My son reported that the bully said he thinks "it is funny" to hit, presumably to see how my son and others react to the hitting.
I wonder if this bully has ever been smacked. He spent much of his young life in a day nursery as both his parents worked.
He now spends most of his time at school collecting "red points" and detention.
But his mother insists that if he really did bully my son, surely the teachers would have told her. Perhaps it is my son who is over-sensitive. Perhaps my son is the one who has to learn to handle teasing. Implicitly I am the over-protective mother.
Her boy clearly does not understand that hitting people and taunting them with unkind and untrue remarks cause hurt.
Now that he's been told to stay away from my son he's taken to attacking another boy.
Is there something in spending time in a nursery that causes a child to turn to aggression?
Not getting my research grant was a big disappointment. I could put it down to not returning to academia much earlier.
But looking at the total context of my family life, I think it is still the right choice to have stayed home to nurture my son.
What good is it for me to be a professor by now if the headmaster keeps calling me in to school to report my son's bad behaviour?
Better known for his academic and musical prowess and clearly not a natural sportsman he did very well in his cross-country (beating the bully and another athlete by a very long way).
My son is happy, except when this bully messes him up. Now that he is older he is better able to cope with his bullying. One day, I'm afraid, he might hit the bully.
That would only be construed as self-defence, I think.
He can't wait to go to the next school so that he does not have to see this bully again.
I had to deal with bullying at school.
My application for a research grant was rejected. I was not one of the 17% of applicants deemed good enough.
My son ran his school cross-country.
This morning we were told - as if we did not already know - Nursery workers so illiterate they struggle to read stories aloud.
It was not a difficult choice for me to remain at home. I was short-listed for a post-doctoral fellowship when my son was a few weeks old. On my way to the interview I knew that wasn't what I really wanted to do.
Over the next few years I had looked at nurseries and childminders to see if I could have my son away for a day or two every week so I could return to writing and publishing and then academic work.
But it became clear to me that while nursery staff and childminders could keep my child safe, they are not going to give him the type of intellectual stimuli that he deserves.
Why would I leave my precious son - child of a late marriage - to the care of people who are much less educated than I am?
Then my husband's long illness, my son's 'special education needs' and a successful home-run business meant the return to academia did not happen, till now.
Bullying at school. In our household we tend to "reason together". So my son cannot understand why one classmate keeps hitting him.
It's always done when no one is looking.
My son reported that the bully said he thinks "it is funny" to hit, presumably to see how my son and others react to the hitting.
I wonder if this bully has ever been smacked. He spent much of his young life in a day nursery as both his parents worked.
He now spends most of his time at school collecting "red points" and detention.
But his mother insists that if he really did bully my son, surely the teachers would have told her. Perhaps it is my son who is over-sensitive. Perhaps my son is the one who has to learn to handle teasing. Implicitly I am the over-protective mother.
Her boy clearly does not understand that hitting people and taunting them with unkind and untrue remarks cause hurt.
Now that he's been told to stay away from my son he's taken to attacking another boy.
Is there something in spending time in a nursery that causes a child to turn to aggression?
Not getting my research grant was a big disappointment. I could put it down to not returning to academia much earlier.
But looking at the total context of my family life, I think it is still the right choice to have stayed home to nurture my son.
What good is it for me to be a professor by now if the headmaster keeps calling me in to school to report my son's bad behaviour?
Better known for his academic and musical prowess and clearly not a natural sportsman he did very well in his cross-country (beating the bully and another athlete by a very long way).
My son is happy, except when this bully messes him up. Now that he is older he is better able to cope with his bullying. One day, I'm afraid, he might hit the bully.
That would only be construed as self-defence, I think.
He can't wait to go to the next school so that he does not have to see this bully again.
Sunday, 18 March 2012
Hijacking International Women's Day
This was the letter I sent to Straits Times Forum last Monday:
===
I see it is becoming “cool” to celebrate International Women’s Day.
The UN theme for International Women’s Day 2012 is “Empower Rural Women – End Hunger and Poverty”. In Singapore I see advertisements admonishing readers to “come pamper yourself”.
In the Forum pages I see men and women still seem unhappy or unsure about giving their live-in maids a weekly day off.
My question then is, “What have we done on IWD to empower the maids in our households, the local and foreign women in Singapore suffering violence and indignity, and women and children around the world suffering violence, hunger and poverty?”
What was the last thing we did to help improve the life of one woman – sister, neighbour, friend – near us?
Celebrate IWD by all means but please do not hijack it for commercial gains.
===
I noticed from Facebook posts that businesses have jumped on the IWD bandwagon.
To put it mildly, I was incensed.
After sending this letter I checked some of her posts again and realized that an IWD event was actually run by Medicorp. Is that why they refused to publish my very concise letter?
The local Women's Society where I was (voluntary) Secretary on the Management Committee for several years run annual IWD events. Yes, we do offer "pampering sessions", but these were offered for the mental and physical well-being of women who are often in such dire circumstances.
We screen films and host photographic exhibitions that celebrate the lives of women, and champion especially the cause of women facing domestic violence (from both male and female partners, yes). We organize events to encourage women entrepreneurs and highlight the achievements of young women within our local community.
But we have never tried to make money by saying, "Come pamper yourself." Full stop.
Come have an expensive dinner, it's International Women's Day.
Come buy a pair of expensive shoes, it's International Women's Day.
Come spend the day in our wonderful lovely spa, it's International Women's Day.
Because you are worth it, and all that.
If Singaporeans - men and women - really care for women, then start caring for the women you know right next to you. Do something not only on IWD but every day to empower the woman - young, old, able, disabled, married, single - in your midst.
Is how I feel. Please share my rant.
===
I see it is becoming “cool” to celebrate International Women’s Day.
The UN theme for International Women’s Day 2012 is “Empower Rural Women – End Hunger and Poverty”. In Singapore I see advertisements admonishing readers to “come pamper yourself”.
In the Forum pages I see men and women still seem unhappy or unsure about giving their live-in maids a weekly day off.
My question then is, “What have we done on IWD to empower the maids in our households, the local and foreign women in Singapore suffering violence and indignity, and women and children around the world suffering violence, hunger and poverty?”
What was the last thing we did to help improve the life of one woman – sister, neighbour, friend – near us?
Celebrate IWD by all means but please do not hijack it for commercial gains.
===
I noticed from Facebook posts that businesses have jumped on the IWD bandwagon.
To put it mildly, I was incensed.
After sending this letter I checked some of her posts again and realized that an IWD event was actually run by Medicorp. Is that why they refused to publish my very concise letter?
The local Women's Society where I was (voluntary) Secretary on the Management Committee for several years run annual IWD events. Yes, we do offer "pampering sessions", but these were offered for the mental and physical well-being of women who are often in such dire circumstances.
We screen films and host photographic exhibitions that celebrate the lives of women, and champion especially the cause of women facing domestic violence (from both male and female partners, yes). We organize events to encourage women entrepreneurs and highlight the achievements of young women within our local community.
But we have never tried to make money by saying, "Come pamper yourself." Full stop.
Come have an expensive dinner, it's International Women's Day.
Come buy a pair of expensive shoes, it's International Women's Day.
Come spend the day in our wonderful lovely spa, it's International Women's Day.
Because you are worth it, and all that.
If Singaporeans - men and women - really care for women, then start caring for the women you know right next to you. Do something not only on IWD but every day to empower the woman - young, old, able, disabled, married, single - in your midst.
Is how I feel. Please share my rant.
Thursday, 23 February 2012
Let’s not forget: it takes two, and please have a rest
I had not intended to blog ab out Mr Yaw Shin Leong. But even before this became news, I had been mulling over the question of how a marriage could stay intact.
As I hear more sob stories from my clients at the Citizens Advice Bureau of partnerships (not necessarily marriages) gone wrong, I was asking myself, “How do I keep my own marriage intact?”
My husband comes from a family where there are many broken marriages, including his brother’s. For this reason he was not keen to marry.
He also came to the conclusion that in every marriage breakdown there is always fault with both parties. It takes two to form a partnership, and it takes two for the partnership to break down.
Whenever we discuss the breakdowns of friends’ partnerships, even of friends very dear to him, his comment is always, “It takes two.”
I have been conscious therefore of my own part in this marriage, too.
I look at Mr Yaw and the wonderful things that he has done for the public with such energy. I wonder how much his partner understood his aspirat ions and how much support he was given. Was he ever reminded to “slow down”, have a break, recharge?
Did Mr Yaw also support his partner in what ever career pat h that she was pursuing?
There is always a danger when the dynamics within a partnership change. My husband has always been the worker ant. He calls me the “tai-tai” and I run the family and a business from home.
(He may be the breadwinner, but I am the bread maker! Bread making is a delicious hobby.)
Dynamics change when one or both partners make career moves, take on new hobbies, children are born, start school, leave home, fall ill, etc.
My husband is now semi-retired. I, on the other hand, am trying to forge an academic career (again) given my imminent redundancy as a full-time mother.
He was always very sensitive to my needs while I was a housebound mother, always checking to see that I was still happy to remain at home, always telling me to treat myself to something nice because being at home is boring. (I’ve declined all offers of Jimmy Choo, Manolo Blahnik and more recently Christian Louboutin, etc.)
I realized that I, too, must remember to be sensitive to his needs as a husband who might be spending more time at home than I do for the first time in our marriage.
His words keep ringing in my head: it takes two.
I learned an important lesson when I became a full-time Christian worker. Jennifer told me: “You are not indispensab le. Always make time to rest.”
Take time to have a life. Christian ministry (like politics?) is 24/7 if you let it.
But as Jennifer pointed out: even Jesus rested. He went to quiet places to commune with his Fat her. He avoided the crowds. This is the same message I pass on to all friends going into full-time ministry.
All of us, whether ministers of religion, ministers of educat ion (teachers), ministers of law (politicians, lawyers. policemen), ministers of medicine (doctors, nurses), ministers of care (mothers, maids, etc) all need time off to recharge our physical, spiritual and mental bat teries.
Those of us in a personal partnership need to ensure and encourage our partners to take necessary breaks, and be there to support him/her. If we are the busy/busier partner, we also must take heed and take time off to recharge.
We owe it to our partners to be ab le to give them our full, total and undivided at tention on a regular basis. We are, in that sense, indispensable, or should make ourselves indispensable to our spouses.
Breakdowns do not happen out of nothing if that relat ionship (ie a firm commitment) was there in the first place. (I grant that some marriages are marriages of convenience.)
Relat ionships start breaking down when partners stop communing, in word, in deed and in the flesh.
In word: The Bible teaches “Never let the sun set on your anger.” Let us make sure we talk and clear any “bad” air before retreat ing to bed.
In deed: My husband makes me a mug of tea in the morning before he goes to work. I make him coffee when he comes home from work. Each mug is lovingly made and each is grat efully received and acknowledged. (This probab ly does not happen in households with maids.)
In the flesh: The words of the marriage vow “with my body I thee worship” is very powerful imagery. Married Christian people do not “own” their bodies, according to the teachings of the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 7 (emphasis is mine):
3 The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife. 5 Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Sat an will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
Jesus taught, “Love your neighbour as yourself”. So love your spouse, your closest neighbour, as yourself, your own body.
This is a timely episode to remind all of us in a relat ionship to not take our partner for granted. I think those who feel ab le should also pray for healing for the marriages we know that have broken down.
I pray, too, that there is room for forgiveness.
Let him/her who is without sin cast the first stone.
Tuesday, 31 January 2012
Finnish schools
After my previous post I read Mr Yee Jenn Jong in a post about the Finnish school education system.
I must confess that I had not taken too much notice of Finnish schools in the PISA ratings. Some might argue that it is the ratings and league tables that have played a big part in dumbing down the British education system. Just read today's news Thousands of 'dead end' courses axed from school tables.
However I can see why someone could become very enthusiastic about a system where children are not labelled and the dropout rate is low/zero and everyone sings from the same song sheet (which I would hazard a guess is led by the tune, "Don't Worry, Be-e Happy").
I like Finland a lot. I had spent many hours at Helsinki airport en route to somewhere (can't remember where). And then I spent time in Helsinki with a co-worker en route to Latvia. I stood outside the University of Helsinki for a long time, got chatted up by new immigrants, etc, and acquired the taste for smoked mackerel (eaten with boiled potatoes and some peas).
My Finnish hostess spoke fluent English. She also speaks Finnish, Swedish and Estonian. I enjoyed staying in her tiny studio apartment, available for rent to singles at reasonable prices.
(Like I've said before, if we want our singles to mingle, what better way than to let them live in tiny homes with shared leisure and laundry facilities?)
The public transport in Helsinki was also excellent.
I like Finland. I might go work there myself.
So I nosed around a bit more to learn about the Finnish education system. This is what I discovered:
The current system was started some 40 years ago and the government mandated that all teachers must have at least a masters' degree. There was, effectively, a paradigm shift in thinking and policy.
Children only start school at age seven. Before this, most children are in government provided childcare.
Come the age for pre-school, or kindergarten, children do what the originator (Friedrich Fröbel) of kindergartens (children's gardens) intended this transition period between home and school to be: for children to be "nourished" like plants in the garden (note, not "hothoused" as in a greenhouse).
Instead of times tables children learn self-reflection and social behaviour (which I imagine to mean being gracious, being courteous, respecting teachers, being able to empathize, etc). They learn to behave before they are taught to read.
Class sizes are often about 20 or fewer. If pupils are too difficult to teach (eg if they have special needs), then the class could have a second teacher, and a third adult as an assistant teacher. That is three adults to 20 children. [Why do I suspect that the children are actually taught in "sets" in class?]
The children take no national exams but are graded by the teachers who are trusted to do a professional job.
Teachers are a highly regarded profession in Finland where only the best and brightest are recruited. (I have not discovered where they recruit their doctors and lawyers from.)
Finns are polyglots. They speak Finnish and Swedish (one as mother tongue, the other as "other domestic language", the latter of which has to be spoken to a very high level of competence). Many speak English and another Germanic, Nordic or Baltic language.
The Finnish population stands at about 5.4 million with a school population of about 600,000. There are 10 universities, 7 specialized universities and 27 universities of applied sciences (polytechnics). Because everyone is well educated, no one looks down their noses at someone else.
You might be a house painter (or painter/decorator as they would say in Britain), but at least you are a numerate, literate painter/decorator who have post-secondary education and we respect you.
Well, we aspired to "a Swiss standard of living" some years ago. Maybe at the next election we can aim towards "a Finnish standard of education".
However the Finnish education system is not just/only about teachers and schools. One has to take the whole package -- it's my famous anthropological 'holistic approach', or 'joined-up thinking again -- starting with maternity leave.
Stress-free pregnancy with no fear of losing one's job. Affordable and high quality childcare when one is ready to return to work. Subsidized health provision. Employment legislation which is family-friendly (I imagine). A wide choice of universities and polytechnics catering to the natural talents and skills of all individuals. And no mention of the foreign domestic worker, mate.
But how do you legislate against parents being "kiasu"? You cannot.
How do you stop people from looking down at people who are not similarly qualified and have to do ostensibly "dirty jobs"?
The Finnish people appear at one level to be more homogenous than Singaporeans. But dig a little deeper and you'd find that there are distinct ethnic differences. However a school system that requires the study of national languages and cultural knowledge has ironed out these differences, even amongst the new arrivals.
You want to live in Finland, you speak Finnish (or Swedish).
Singaporeans used to have a national language. It was called Bahasa Kebangsaan. I learned it till I was in secondary two. I used to be able to hold simple conversations in BK. And that is why our parade commands are ke-kiri pusing and all that.
Would the Finnish system translate into Singapore?
Why, we could not even cope with ONE national language, let alone two. English is ostensibily the main business language and yet Singapore-born Singaporeans cannot even speak the English language properly, how can they expect us to speak two like the Finnish?
So can we ever be like the Finns? Yes, we can. We only have to think "Singapore River".
We used to be able to smell Singapore River before we came anywhere near it on a bus and saw the copper green (or was it chocolate brown?) water filled with detritus of every description.
In 1977 Mr Lee Kuan Yew said, "Clean it up!" By about 1988-9 the river was transformed. I played with the NUS Orchestra on a barge at its re-opening ceremony, complete with fireworks and all that.
It took political will, adminstrative gumption, and not a little bullying (uhm cajoling), as lots of people had to be moved from their sources of livelihood from either side of the river, lock, stock and barrel to other locations. (Were these folk merely relocated or were they also dis-located? Discuss.)
People shift? Business shift? Education shift? Paradigm shift? All of the above.
Singapore River took more than ten years. The Finnish education system started changing 40 years ago. Where do we start?
Class numbers? Three teachers to a class of 20?
Teaching children (and parents) to behave before they start to read and write?
No more exams?
Reverse the foreign domestic worker culture?
Incidentally the Finns pay up to 30% in income tax, another 16% to 21% local tax (depending on where you live) and a church tax. The tax on investment income (earnings from capital income, stocks and shares, etc is 28%).
They also say there is not a vast gap in household incomes.
Ah! I guess this is where us Singaporeans come unstuck.
=====
I asked my son whether he would like to be taught in a class of 20 where children of mixed abilities learn together. I can't describe the look of horror on his face. But that is just my son. Ignore him.
=====
Are Finnish schools the best in the world?
Several Lessons to Be Learned from the Finnish School System
I must confess that I had not taken too much notice of Finnish schools in the PISA ratings. Some might argue that it is the ratings and league tables that have played a big part in dumbing down the British education system. Just read today's news Thousands of 'dead end' courses axed from school tables.
However I can see why someone could become very enthusiastic about a system where children are not labelled and the dropout rate is low/zero and everyone sings from the same song sheet (which I would hazard a guess is led by the tune, "Don't Worry, Be-e Happy").
I like Finland a lot. I had spent many hours at Helsinki airport en route to somewhere (can't remember where). And then I spent time in Helsinki with a co-worker en route to Latvia. I stood outside the University of Helsinki for a long time, got chatted up by new immigrants, etc, and acquired the taste for smoked mackerel (eaten with boiled potatoes and some peas).
My Finnish hostess spoke fluent English. She also speaks Finnish, Swedish and Estonian. I enjoyed staying in her tiny studio apartment, available for rent to singles at reasonable prices.
(Like I've said before, if we want our singles to mingle, what better way than to let them live in tiny homes with shared leisure and laundry facilities?)
The public transport in Helsinki was also excellent.
I like Finland. I might go work there myself.
So I nosed around a bit more to learn about the Finnish education system. This is what I discovered:
The current system was started some 40 years ago and the government mandated that all teachers must have at least a masters' degree. There was, effectively, a paradigm shift in thinking and policy.
Children only start school at age seven. Before this, most children are in government provided childcare.
Come the age for pre-school, or kindergarten, children do what the originator (Friedrich Fröbel) of kindergartens (children's gardens) intended this transition period between home and school to be: for children to be "nourished" like plants in the garden (note, not "hothoused" as in a greenhouse).
Instead of times tables children learn self-reflection and social behaviour (which I imagine to mean being gracious, being courteous, respecting teachers, being able to empathize, etc). They learn to behave before they are taught to read.
Class sizes are often about 20 or fewer. If pupils are too difficult to teach (eg if they have special needs), then the class could have a second teacher, and a third adult as an assistant teacher. That is three adults to 20 children. [Why do I suspect that the children are actually taught in "sets" in class?]
The children take no national exams but are graded by the teachers who are trusted to do a professional job.
Teachers are a highly regarded profession in Finland where only the best and brightest are recruited. (I have not discovered where they recruit their doctors and lawyers from.)
Finns are polyglots. They speak Finnish and Swedish (one as mother tongue, the other as "other domestic language", the latter of which has to be spoken to a very high level of competence). Many speak English and another Germanic, Nordic or Baltic language.
The Finnish population stands at about 5.4 million with a school population of about 600,000. There are 10 universities, 7 specialized universities and 27 universities of applied sciences (polytechnics). Because everyone is well educated, no one looks down their noses at someone else.
You might be a house painter (or painter/decorator as they would say in Britain), but at least you are a numerate, literate painter/decorator who have post-secondary education and we respect you.
Well, we aspired to "a Swiss standard of living" some years ago. Maybe at the next election we can aim towards "a Finnish standard of education".
However the Finnish education system is not just/only about teachers and schools. One has to take the whole package -- it's my famous anthropological 'holistic approach', or 'joined-up thinking again -- starting with maternity leave.
Stress-free pregnancy with no fear of losing one's job. Affordable and high quality childcare when one is ready to return to work. Subsidized health provision. Employment legislation which is family-friendly (I imagine). A wide choice of universities and polytechnics catering to the natural talents and skills of all individuals. And no mention of the foreign domestic worker, mate.
But how do you legislate against parents being "kiasu"? You cannot.
How do you stop people from looking down at people who are not similarly qualified and have to do ostensibly "dirty jobs"?
The Finnish people appear at one level to be more homogenous than Singaporeans. But dig a little deeper and you'd find that there are distinct ethnic differences. However a school system that requires the study of national languages and cultural knowledge has ironed out these differences, even amongst the new arrivals.
You want to live in Finland, you speak Finnish (or Swedish).
Singaporeans used to have a national language. It was called Bahasa Kebangsaan. I learned it till I was in secondary two. I used to be able to hold simple conversations in BK. And that is why our parade commands are ke-kiri pusing and all that.
Would the Finnish system translate into Singapore?
Why, we could not even cope with ONE national language, let alone two. English is ostensibily the main business language and yet Singapore-born Singaporeans cannot even speak the English language properly, how can they expect us to speak two like the Finnish?
So can we ever be like the Finns? Yes, we can. We only have to think "Singapore River".
We used to be able to smell Singapore River before we came anywhere near it on a bus and saw the copper green (or was it chocolate brown?) water filled with detritus of every description.
In 1977 Mr Lee Kuan Yew said, "Clean it up!" By about 1988-9 the river was transformed. I played with the NUS Orchestra on a barge at its re-opening ceremony, complete with fireworks and all that.
It took political will, adminstrative gumption, and not a little bullying (uhm cajoling), as lots of people had to be moved from their sources of livelihood from either side of the river, lock, stock and barrel to other locations. (Were these folk merely relocated or were they also dis-located? Discuss.)
People shift? Business shift? Education shift? Paradigm shift? All of the above.
Singapore River took more than ten years. The Finnish education system started changing 40 years ago. Where do we start?
Class numbers? Three teachers to a class of 20?
Teaching children (and parents) to behave before they start to read and write?
No more exams?
Reverse the foreign domestic worker culture?
Incidentally the Finns pay up to 30% in income tax, another 16% to 21% local tax (depending on where you live) and a church tax. The tax on investment income (earnings from capital income, stocks and shares, etc is 28%).
They also say there is not a vast gap in household incomes.
Ah! I guess this is where us Singaporeans come unstuck.
=====
I asked my son whether he would like to be taught in a class of 20 where children of mixed abilities learn together. I can't describe the look of horror on his face. But that is just my son. Ignore him.
=====
Are Finnish schools the best in the world?
Several Lessons to Be Learned from the Finnish School System
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