Yes, it is this time of the year where our children is having a big break from school....!
Since Jason just sat for his 'O' level exams., and he has studied so hard for it..... he wants to just relax and play.....
We talked about his working during the holidays but since he did not show that much interest, I decided not to push him into it.
So far, he has been on 3 short trips...
- Visited his grandparents in Penang, Malaysia
- Flew to Vietnam with his classmates, a reward that they won for being the Best Class for 2 consecutive years
- Took a coach to Ipoh, Malaysia to attend the last day dinner of a Leadership seminar through his school too
Other than that, he has been playing basketball, street soccer and watching movies with his friends....
He also continue doing some athletics training with his school and won the 4oom individual run yesterday at a friendly meet.
Well, I would say he is almost out every other day ...... so we are ok with it as long as he keeps us well informed of his activities and friends that he is hanging out with.
We have also booked a chalet and BBQ pit for him at Downtown East on the eve of New Year as he wanted to celebrate it with his friends...
We also bought him a Xbox 360 with 2 games, FIFA 10 and HALO 3, so that he can stay home more often and also invite a few friends over too. So this is his early Xmas present too!
Yes, no enrichment class, tuition, etc......... This is one holiday that he is as free as a bird...
He would have taken up drum lessons too but it only starts in Jan 2010.
Well, I think he deserves this break before he goes into JC or Poly depending on his results and his interest that he wants to pursue.
So parents, remember to take a break yourself too......
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year....
David
Monday, December 21, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
Mandarin & PSLE
There is some debate on how Mandarin has been taught in primary schools and the proposed changes to be made, to keep up with today's needs.
Parents have also written to the Press and commended the new proposal + sharing their problems their kids were facing that led them to uproot their family to overseas so that the kids can avoid learning Mandarin.
Similarly, for having to take PSLE exams too.
Jason has 2 primary school classmates that have taken that move; one went to Perth and the other to Geelong in Australia. Both are doing well and really enjoying the education system there.
Jason was also having difficulty with his Mandarin and was not motivated to learn it. Initially, he even said that he was not Chinese too....... so why learned Mandarin when he speaks English daily....?
So what did I do?
Well, before I share with you my experience, I want to state that those family who have chosen to emigrate or migrate, have their reasons and I am not saying that they are wrong.
Sometimes there is no perfect or right answer but it is a choice or decision that you choose.
As you know, I did my 'A' level and degree in Melbourne and I have a brother and a sister living there too. So it should not be too difficult for us to migrate there too.
But we feel that Singapore is a great place to have an education and a safe place too, It is tough, no doubt but my wife and I feel that it is better to try to overcome the problem instead of uprooting the family to another foreign place to start all over again.
Some of the things that we did to help Jason in his Mandarin were ....
- tuition, of course!
- we watch TV8 Chinese series
- we tried to converse in Mandarin as much as possible though not very successful at times
- etc....
It was a family effort and since my wife is bilingual, she also read with Jason in the evenings too.
You know, I actually improved my Mandarin too as I was a Malaysian so Mandarin was not compulsory and not my 2nd language.
Jason passed his Mandarin exam. for 'O' level in Jun 09 and we are so happy for him.
However, he still does not like learning the language and does not realise the importance of it, with China progressing and opening up these days.
Well, one step at a time......
Happy parenting......
David
Parents have also written to the Press and commended the new proposal + sharing their problems their kids were facing that led them to uproot their family to overseas so that the kids can avoid learning Mandarin.
Similarly, for having to take PSLE exams too.
Jason has 2 primary school classmates that have taken that move; one went to Perth and the other to Geelong in Australia. Both are doing well and really enjoying the education system there.
Jason was also having difficulty with his Mandarin and was not motivated to learn it. Initially, he even said that he was not Chinese too....... so why learned Mandarin when he speaks English daily....?
So what did I do?
Well, before I share with you my experience, I want to state that those family who have chosen to emigrate or migrate, have their reasons and I am not saying that they are wrong.
Sometimes there is no perfect or right answer but it is a choice or decision that you choose.
As you know, I did my 'A' level and degree in Melbourne and I have a brother and a sister living there too. So it should not be too difficult for us to migrate there too.
But we feel that Singapore is a great place to have an education and a safe place too, It is tough, no doubt but my wife and I feel that it is better to try to overcome the problem instead of uprooting the family to another foreign place to start all over again.
Some of the things that we did to help Jason in his Mandarin were ....
- tuition, of course!
- we watch TV8 Chinese series
- we tried to converse in Mandarin as much as possible though not very successful at times
- etc....
It was a family effort and since my wife is bilingual, she also read with Jason in the evenings too.
You know, I actually improved my Mandarin too as I was a Malaysian so Mandarin was not compulsory and not my 2nd language.
Jason passed his Mandarin exam. for 'O' level in Jun 09 and we are so happy for him.
However, he still does not like learning the language and does not realise the importance of it, with China progressing and opening up these days.
Well, one step at a time......
Happy parenting......
David
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