SCHOOL'S MISSION

I once saw a website of a School. The School was located at a beautiful place near the hills. It was run by a religious organisation.

I checked out the vacancies. They wanted teachers who are dedicated to their profession and committed to their religion. The teachers should be willing to lead a simple life since the School provides only a low salary with basic accommodation.

I then checked the student fee. I was surprised to see that it was really exorbitant. They charge such a high fee from the students but they are not willing to pay their teachers a reasonable wage. It looked like they were only interested in making a good profit.

SPEAKING AND LISTENING

I once read a book which had a chapter on conversation. During a conversation we either speak or listen. It says listening is more powerful than speaking. When we speak we are saying something that we already know and we are giving out information that is available with us. We are also allowing others to collect information about us. When we listen we may learn about things that we did not know and we can also collect information about other people. So it is better to speak less and listen more during a conversation. When we let others speak more we can get to know their views and opinions. We may also improve our knowledge. When we speak less others will get little from us.

HOMEWORK

I don’t remember getting any homework when I was a student at school. A geography teacher once gave us some work to do at home but he did not refer to it as homework. He said it was an assignment. The only other ‘homework’ I did was for Technical Drawing. It was actually class work but since the drawings took a lot of time to complete we could not finish it in class and had to continue with it at home. After returning home from school I would usually have some snacks and then I would be watching Television. Weekends were spent playing games. I studied at home only a few days before an examination.
Later on, when I spent many years in the teaching profession I never gave any homework to the students. I felt that all students do not have the same interests. I preferred that students spent more time on subjects that interests them instead of forcing them to spend time on subjects that do not interest them.
I have seen other teachers give homework to students. For young children homework usually becomes extra work for parents who end up helping their children. I think homework should not be allowed for children below ten years of age. I have seen some older students who do not do their own homework. Such students usually copy the homework done by other students.

WE ARE NOT HAPPY WITH YOUR WORK

I was teaching Physics at a Private School in India long ago. The School attached more importance to English, Maths and Science. Teachers who taught these subjects were paid better. Some teachers leave at the end of the academic year. So at the beginning of the next year they would recruit a few new teachers to take their place. One year they could not get a teacher for the local language. The post had a lower pay scale. A few days after the School reopened a suitable teacher was found but she was not willing to accept the lower pay scale. She insisted on being paid a better salary. Since they had no other option they hired her. She did a good job and everything went well.

A few months later a man came to the School looking for work. He was a local language teacher. The School management found him to be suitable and asked him whether he was willing to work for the lower pay scale that the post offered. He agreed. They asked him to report for duty a few days later.

Now they had to remove the lady who insisted on being paid a better salary. They could not tell her that they found someone who was willing to do the job at a lower salary. So they told her ‘We are not happy with your work. We have received many complaints about you. Students find it difficult to understand you.’ She was made to resign and the new man took her place.

STREETLIGHT

There was a boy who lived in a village in South India. His parents were poor. They could not afford to send him to a good school. He studied at a government school which provided education for poor children. Such schools usually have very little facilities.

There was no electricity in his house. At night his parents would light lamps to avoid being in the dark. The boy was preparing for the final examination. He found it difficult to study at night with the light provided by the lamps. So every night he would go out with his books and sit under a nearby streetlight to study.

After the exams, when the results were declared he was the top student in the state. People were surprised that a boy who studied under a streetlight had done so well. Many people came forward to help him. They promised to pay for his further studies. 

True Story

CHILDREN WALK TO SCHOOL, CHILDREN RUN HOME

I once saw an advertisement in a magazine. It had two pictures. One picture showed young children walking to school. None of them looked happy. The other picture showed young children going home after school. They were all running and looked so happy. The caption read ‘Children walk to school, Children run home.’

I never hated school when I was young but I never liked it either. I was always looking forward to the holidays which were more enjoyable. It was only when I was about twelve that I started to enjoy going to school. It was not because the learning process suddenly became fun. It was because I had some friends then who I wanted to meet and have fun with. By then, I was also aware of the need for an education.

There is a need to make the learning process more fun for young children so that they can enjoy going to school.

GENGHIS KHAN

I remember studying about Genghis Khan in primary school history. He was the founder of the Mongol Empire. He invaded and conquered most of Central Asia and China. His invasions often resulted in the whole scale massacre of the civilian population. Men, women and children were killed. Kingdoms would surrender to him without a fight, knowing that any resistance would be dealt with brutally. I liked him so much at that time. I thought that he was such a great person.

Today, when I look back, I cannot understand how I could have liked such a cruel person. Maybe young boys are attracted to violent conquerors. 

ABC ANALYSIS

Long ago, I did a course in Materials Management. While studying Inventory Control, I had to learn about ABC Analysis. Materials are classified into three categories A, B and C. The most valuable are classified as A. Those that are less valuable are classified as B and the least valuable as C.

The A group materials are tightly controlled so that there is no pilfering and only sufficient amount is held in stock to avoid money being locked up as stock. There is less control for B group materials and least control for C group materials. Some loss due to pilfering can be tolerated for C group materials and the expense involved in control can be reduced for this category.

I think ABC Analysis is useful in daily life too. We keep expensive jewelry in a safe place. We focus on important issues and deal with them effectively. Less important issues do not receive the same attention. A salesman works hard to get a big order. He does not put as much effort on a small order. We are more careful in selecting when we purchase something expensive and may look for reviews. It is not necessary when we buy something cheap.

UPPER THOMSON SECONDARY SCHOOL 1969-70

Class Photo Sec.1  (1969)

There were so many extra-curricular activities in secondary school. I was a librarian and had a special badge for being one. Twice a week, I had library duty and had to issue books or just be at the entrance. I joined the Judo club and gymnastics club. I wanted to be like the ninjas in the samurai programs on TV. The clubs functioned on Saturdays. For Judo class, we had to carry the mats and lay it before beginning. After the class, we had to again carry it back. For the first few months we only learnt how to break fall. Then we started learning the throws. Mr.Phang was in charge of Judo. We also played a lot of badminton during the weekends at school.

During the recess, after having food and drinks at the tuck-shop we would just walk around till the bell rang. Sometimes we used to look at the cars in the parking area. Some teachers had nice cars. There was one sports car which attracted us.

1969 was the toughest school year for me. Technical Education was introduced and I had to go to Thomson Technical Secondary School twice a week in the afternoon for metalwork and basic electricity classes. I could return home only in the evening on those two days. I bought do-it-yourself kits and assembled an electric motor and an electric bell. Technical drawing class was held at Upper Thomson Secondary School but I had trouble keeping my drawing neat and the teacher would get irritated and sometimes pinch me. The same teacher was teaching basic electricity. I was doing well in that class and he liked me during that class. I realized then that he was only interested in our performance. There was Educational TV (ETV) and we only had to go to the TV room and watch TV during that period. We made a photo album during the art class.

I was the only student taking Malay in my class, so for secondary two they put me in another class where there were other students studying Malay. It was difficult not being with my old friends but soon I made new friends.One of my classmates in Malay class died while playing hide and seek. He was living in a flat and was hiding somewhere and slipped and fell from the seventh floor. It was a sad day. A minute of silence was observed during the assembly in his memory.  New buildings were constructed and metalwork and basic electricity classes were held at Upper Thomson Secondary School in 1970. So life became easier.

BEST TEACHER

A teacher should have a good knowledge of the subject he teaches, good communication skills to transfer the knowledge to the students and a good character to earn the respect of the students. Teachers may use different methods of teaching which may also depend on the subject. Some teachers are kind, friendly or funny but may not teach well.

The best teacher I had was Mr. Jacob, a mathematics lecturer at Fatima Mata National College, Kollam. He taught me for two years (1974 – 76) during the pre – degree course. He made a tough subject easy by clearly explaining each step involved in solving a problem and getting us to do it along with him. He would then give us problems to solve on our own.

Mr. Jacob had a stern face and would not smile even once during the two years he taught us. There were about eighty students in the class. He would stare at any student who made even the slightest noise till there was total silence. There was pin drop silence during his classes. He never had to raise his voice. When asking questions, he would point a finger at a student and raise the finger. The student is expected to stand up and give the answer. If you see him outside the class, he would totally ignore you.

When the results were announced after the final examinations, most of the students got very high marks for mathematics. After the course, when he was no longer teaching us, he would smile briefly when we wished him.

SCHOLARSHIP TESTS

There are several organizations that conduct scholarship tests in India. If they charge a fee for it, there is something fishy. They may call it Application fee, Registration fee, Test fee etc. A genuine scholarship test should not require a fee.

Organizations that conduct these tests contact school authorities and try to get the maximum number of students to appear for the test. To spread the net wide they admit students from standard IV to standard XII for the test. Some of them advertise in the newspapers. Some are even able to get information regarding their test to appear as news in the media. Maybe they pay more. They may claim to have test centers throughout the country. But once the fee is received they may cancel some centers. This will reduce their expenditure. They inform the candidates that due to unavoidable circumstances the chosen center is not available and that the candidate will have to appear for the test at a far off center. They are not really interested whether or not the candidate appears for the test.

Suppose a fee of Rs.100/- is charged for the test. In a country like India with a large population they can get about 100,000 candidates to apply for the test. So the total amount they receive will be Rs.100, 00,000/-

They may need about Rs.500, 000/- for their expenses which includes test paper preparation and correction, hiring examiners and invigilators, renting examination halls etc. Once the results are announced they may spend another Rs.500, 000/- as scholarship for the students who did well. So their total expenditure will be about Rs.10, 00,000/- and the balance amount of Rs.90, 00,000/- will be their profit.

Usually they invite a Minister or some high government official as chief guest for the scholarship distribution ceremony. After distributing the scholarship the chief guest will give a speech congratulating the winners and praising the organizers for being so generous.  

BALESTIER HILL TECHNICAL SCHOOL 1971-72

After two years of secondary education at Upper Thompson, I joined Balestier Hill Technical School  in 1971.Had to spend more time on the bus now, since it was far from home. Technical subjects were more interesting. Awareness of the world increased with teenage. Interest developed in music and movies. The Beatles broke up and George Harrison had a big hit with ‘My Sweet Lord’. We started skipping classes and going for movies.

Jurong Bird Park - with friends from Balestier Hill Technical School - 1972

Women’s liberation movement was going on and our class teacher, a lady, decides to change the seating arrangement. She made the boys sit in front and the girls at the back. Next day, the boys decide not to allow it and returned to their old places. She gets angry but accepts it.

Jurong Bird Park - with friends from Balestier Hill Technical School - 1972

British armed forces pull out of Singapore and Father becomes redundant. Parents decide to move to India. On 14/3/1972, we leave for India on steamship S.S. Rajula.


UPDATE: I found some old pictures of Balestier Hill Secondary School - 1972. They are shown below.

NEE SOON PRIMARY SCHOOL 1963-68

Miss Sim was my first teacher. A very kind person. A slight tap on the knuckles with a ruler was the only punishment. I think she made sure it did not hurt us. During the end of the first year in school, each student sew a design on a piece of thick cloth which was then attached to a folding stool. We each took home a small stool. Mr. N.K.Samy (Maths Teacher) was the class teacher for primary 4 to 6. He and Mr. Robert Lee (Science Teacher) were the most popular teachers. There were so many games that we played. Football, badminton,hide and seek, rounders, hantam bola, kuthi kuthi, marbles, top and satay were some of the popular games.Some boys caught a blue and black colored small spider and brought it to school in a small box. A leaf was placed in the box to make the spider feel at home, since these spiders live on plants.The spiders were made to fight and we watched with much interest. They were called fighting spiders. During the windy season, the shops sold kites. We bought a few paper kites but since they tore easily, we started making our own kites with plastic sheets. All the students looked forward to the sports day. There were four houses blue, green, yellow and red. Students were given coupons on the previous day and they were used get free cakes and cool drinks on sports day. The teachers in charge of the boy scouts Mr. Alan Kok, Mr. Chan and Mr. Isaac Chong made our lives at school so enjoyable. We had camp fires, treasure hunts, job week, hiking, picnic at Seletar Island etc. Mr. Chan was the kindest man I have met. Once he found me using a catapult to hit birds and asked me about it. He did not like it that I could hurt a bird. Years later, whenever he saw us he would stop his car and give us a lift. We wrote our first composition in primary 4 and each student had to produce his own work.We got packets of sweets for doing well in the spelling test.Each class had a small library at the back and during our free time we would read the books and look at the beautiful pictures. My favorite was ‘Swiss Family Robinson'.There was an excursion to Mount Faber, Van Cleef Aquarium, Haw Par Villa etc. During the end of each year, when teachers were busy making the report books, we were engaged in some projects, making models or toys. Coconut shells were polished and made into coin boxes. Models of object were made with paper. We each made a robot during the last year. A cigarette can was the body. Bottle caps with a wire through them, made up the hands and legs. Two pieces of wood were the feet and a ball was the head of the robot which was then painted silver. There was an exhibition showing the best of the students work. At the end of each year prizes were given to three students from each class who performed well in their studies. Once while witnessing the prize ceremony, I was surprised to hear my name being called out. I was given a prize for showing the most improvement. One day, while at school, I felt a sharp pain in my toe. I could not understand the reason and I started pressing my canvas shoes at the spot. The pain lasted for some time. When I returned home after school and removed my shoes, I found a large dead spider inside my shoe. After that day, I always look inside my shoe before wearing them. There were two instances of students being caned publicly, both for playing truant. One student went fishing for a few days. A special assembly was called and the headmaster announced the reason to all the students and then proceeded to give him three strokes on his behind. The amplifier was turned to full volume for the caning. In another case, a student went to work as a caddy. He was asked to stand in front of the class and the headmaster arrived and told us the reason before caning him. During the last year, I climbed the ladder attached to the school water tank. Miss Sim, primary one teacher, spotted me and scolded me. I could not understand why. She was so kind. Did she change now? Only later did I realize, she did not want me to fall off and hurt myself. For the first few years at school, we looked forward to the holidays but during the last few years we just hated the holidays. School had become so enjoyable.

Mr.Alan Kok, Mr.Issac Chong & Mr.Chan with some boy scouts.

SHOLAI SCHOOL

When Mr. Brian Jenkins, Principal, Sholai School, Kodaikanal, invited me to visit Sholai School, I could not refuse. I had read about the school and wanted to see it, since it is a school unlike any other. This school is not connected to the Grid and uses renewable energy.















The campus is 100 acres. There is a river passing through the land and the flow of water is used to run a hydro electric generator. The energy is stored in cells. There is a bridge across the river built by students.














Biogas is used for cooking. Solar cells and Solar Water Heaters tap the energy from the Sun. There are animals and vegetable farms. Students help in farming and other work. The food is vegetarian and most of it is grown on the campus.















In the hostel room, I noticed that there are glass panes in the roof to allow the light in.















Mr. Jenkins was earlier at Brockwood Park School in the UK, which was founded by Jiddu Krishnamurti. He had met Krishnamurti and was influenced by him.
















In the afternoon, I visited Elephant Valley, where Mr. Jenkins is using the land for organic agriculture. I traveled with him in his 1920 Austin car, which he had brought from the UK at great cost. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me.

















After a late lunch at the school with Mr. Jenkins, it was time to say goodbye and leave for Kodaikanal City. Sholai School left a deep impression on me with its alternative way.

TUITION

“My son is a genius.” I thought he did not know the meaning of the word “genius” and looked at him curiously. He explained that his son got 95 percent marks in Arabic, a subject he started studying a few months back, after arriving in Africa. I said ‘he must be really smart, does he have anybody to help him?’ It was then that I came to know that he had a private tutor for Arabic. It was the same person, who teaches him in class, makes the question paper and corrects the answer scripts. Obviously, he can coach a student based on the question paper he has made and also manipulate the results. He continued, “Not only did he get 95 percent, he has the highest marks for Arabic in the class.” The other students were studying Arabic for years. This parent really thought his son was a “genius” and did not realize that the high tuition fee he gave was behind the results.

In another incident, a boy had a private tutor for English. Soon afterwards, the boy started showing remarkable improvement in his results. This particular tutor was not teaching at the boy’s school, but he happened to be a good friend of the English teacher at the boy’s school. He found out what questions were likely to appear for the exam and coached the boy accordingly. Also, he would ask the English teacher at the boy’s school to manipulate the results and agreed to do likewise for him, if need be. The parent was very happy with the results but after sometime there was a disagreement about the tuition fee and the boy stopped the tuition. Immediately, his marks started falling, since the teacher at his school was asked to fix him for not being co-operative about the fee.

Though, in many cases tuition does help a student, it is not always what it seems.