Highest Award

Anugerah Pelajaran Di Raja Of Universiti Malaya

He is one of the recipients of only 2 categrories - the Bumiputra and Non-bumiputra - to receive this honour at the Tunku Chancellor Hall, University Of Malaya, tomorrow. It is the most coveted ever honour , the highest award to any student for the cohort.

Lim Chee Wei (SPM 2003 / STPM 2005)

Humbly he said, "teacher, shy la"...but the feathers in the cap are many...choreographer, dancer, performer, trainer... a first class honours in Performing Arts. His excellent resume and contributions to the community around him has earned him also RM5K, a gold medal, a certificate and an exemption from a Masters Programme from Universiti Malaya. He is given the opportunity to do his PHD right away.
You can't get just anyone to change your leaking pipes, neither can you get anyone to draw ; you may be good at figures, you have a halo over you as a doctor but dance...so you think you can dance?

So dance away, Chee Wei

Congratulations and well done...we are proud of you.

Homeschooling

Of late I have seen and heard from many parents regarding their stand for homeschooling for their children ... especially from church friends. I have also seen cases of pastors' children being homeschooled and heard their reasons for such a move.

I am not the ultimate in the affairs of the education field but this I know and have practised personally...

• I will be afraid to homeschool my own children as I may lack the skill and knowledge to see them through all the subjects offered at different stages of a child's life
• I may not be practising the right pedagogical skills in handling subjects that need practical assessment
• My children will not have a taste of the real world out there
• They will not be given the opportunities to develop leadership skills, 'follower' skills, team work, and acceptability
• How do I teach them to run on the field without opponents?
• I will not be afraid to let them be bullied, scorned, ostracised because when they survive, they will handle life's challenges more squarely
• I want them to mingle with people of all races in this multi-faceted nation and know the struggles of challenges that are put along the way not through any fault of theirs and yet triumph... the challenge of finding a solution which is the card to living and to fight on all levels
• I will hate to create a make believe world where they are protected from every angle...not having to brace through rainy days, storms and inequality.
• Though some public schools may be full of flaws and inefficient, I will remember that I am not the only one going through it
• I will rectify in minor ways through some tuition and personal coaching but I will let my children stay in the system
• Unless I want to leave this nation, my children should at least embrace the SPM exam as the final exit point
• If I want to have any consideration for any financial aid from the government / NGOS / Public Institutions, SPM will be the deciding factor

Some have informed me that the lacking skills I mentioned above can be substituted through religious organisations, public events and so forth. They also have told me that they suffer to see their children having to go through the inconsistencies of a system and might as well do their best for their children. I do understand but I still strongly believe it is fine to go through a public education system...somehow some good will still come out of it.

Unless your child is physically and mentally challenged, I think it will be good to let them go through mainstream schooling...do not put the blame on others ... the attiude has to be right. For this, I admire the parents of children who are financially challenged whereby they are forced to put the children through the main stream. They may have the last laugh when they their children become tough, highly motivated and are not afraid to storm the world.

We must not be afraid to allow our children to go through difficult moments because we have to leave them , one day.

It's only my two cents opinion.

The University of Queensland

The Medical School

You have to pardon an excited mama as she talks about the memories of her daughter's journey in her medical school in Brisbane.
Students from the International Medical School (IMU) enter the twinning medical programme in UQ as a fourth year undergraduate and some I believe receive their daily lectures at a centre away from the main campus at St. Lucia. This is the medical school parked next to Royal Brisbane Women's Hospital (RBWH) where some undergraduates undergo their clinical training. I had often wondered where it was when Grace said " The school is just next to the hospital...". Last week I had a good look at the place and took some shots for memory. To Grace, I was overdoing but I thought it would be good to share with some students who may be interested in the programme.
I kept asking Grace what happens to the local students who wanted to pursue a medical degree after a health science related degree and she confirmed that they had to begin with year 1. Wow, IMU has done a good job by striking a programme for her students to enter as a fourth year student albeit getting a medical science degree was mandatory for the programme. I was also told that the local students were upset about the arrangement as they seem to lose out in the arrangement. So, for those who are intersted in a twinning programme with Australia through IMU, this would be a fine arrrangement. A friend of Sara also informed me that IMU has obtained another partnership with ANU, Canberra based on the same arrangement.
To think that Grace nearly missed out on this programme when earlier on we forgot to sign for an overseas partner programme. Later, when I got to see the registrar to change her status, it took a big part of me to persuade and plead. But that was the past. But it was an important past cos with that change in decision, it meant she could practise in Singapore as well as in Australia.

This is a shot of RBWH and I must admit it is indeed old ... physically. Our very own Sunway Medical Centre beats it flat...the girls laughed at me when I compared. "Mum, is there a need to compare? No comparison la!"

When Grace drove into the grounds of the medical school, I looked at it with good feelings as it was the building that she received her training and teaching.

At the front , it was clearly stated of its association with UQ's Health Sciences faculty.

Just after that, a statue of the great Greek Physician, Hippocrates, portrayed UQ's connection to medicine and a calling to teach her protege with integrity and dignity.

A glimpse of the entrance to the Medical School boasts of a state of Art and steadfastness. I was glad of being given a chance to see the building although really my excitement was not well received by the girls. " Eh, Ma...this one also must take, ah?" Must...they do not understand that it's my personal journal of part of their lives...that part that is shared with me...



But of course, there was a good reason why Grace brought us there. It was the place to collect our tickets to her convocation on 22July2009.

St. Lucia

The main campus for undergraduates of UQ is at St. Lucia. Like any other university in the country, it houses international students of all colours. Grace told me the local students prefered QUT and Griffith while UQ has more foreign ones. I personally would go for a state universtiy cos I am old fashioned...I like old , reliable things and people.

Daddy noticed a range of micro wave ovens displayed at the student centre and many Asian students cooking instant noodles...to which when I suggested to the girls would they do that... I received the gravest ever comment on my stinge. Actually, it's not the stinge...it was rather their ability to go through difficult challenges and finding a way out and also the ability to put up with lesser things in life. I was sorely misunderstood.

This is part of the campus ground where students gather for connection and play. I remember this place quite well because it was the very place that I waited for Grace to finish her mental health paper when she first went there in 2007. I prayed almost every moment throughout the paper. My sister in Penang has been a bulwark of strength and our prayers for Grace were heard and answered throughout her medical studies. It was indeed by the grace of God that she made it. I also remembered taking 2 buses with her to St. Lucia from Chermside on a cold, chilly morning at 6am for her paper at 9am in St. Lucia. At home, it would have been peanuts to send her to her exam centre. But in Brisbane, where things were foreign and expensive, she had to rely on public transport. I wept cos I could not bear to see her having to trudge in the cold and to take so many buses before she arrived at the exam hall. The following year, I insisted that daddy went to Brisbane to help her get a second hand car to help her through the various hospital postings and to make life easier. These are the things parents do for their children and you would if you were one, I believe.

So, this is part of the story of the past for Grace's stay in Brisbane... a good place.

The New Block In Town

The much -awaited arrival.

This block exists because of the conscientious effort and the persistence of the school principal in applying for it in tandem with the blue print of the 9th Malaysian Plan. It took many years later before the ground breaking ceremony came by. Last year we finally saw it become a reality when contractors walked in to see to the final details of the building.

This new block is especially built with the intention that the form six classes be placed there to create an identity of their own. It will house the main classrooms, laboratories, staffroom, utility rooms and others. It is so timely because more classrooms are needed in the old block to cater to the increasing demands of an overflowing population.

The making of the new block...

At its initial stage of ground breaking and clearing.

The first few piles up for new structures to the building.

Not long after, the first floor was up and further action for the next floor.

A three-storey structure in the making.

Now, things are in place and the skeleton of the new building seen.

Very soon, the form six students especially the new intake will get a taste of the new building.

Look, isn't it impressive?

See the little walkway joining the new building to the old !



And...we did not forget about the new basketball court replacing the old one taken down for the new structure. Very thoughful of the school.

It is every responsible administrator's duty to see to the best possible in a school. When effort was put in to apply for the new building we did not know then whether it would become a reality. But the insistence to ask for the benefit of the students was uppermost in our minds...anything so long as the school inherits whatever the best can be. But many do not understand the hard work and pain we had to go through each day to see that things are in order.
It is indeed a wonder that the administrators and the staff are still in one piece standing tall fighting to educate and teach children. Everyday, teachers coach, pacify, reprimand to mould characters ready to face the brunt from parties who sometimes do not choose to stand on the same side of the fence. It is heartbreaking and extremely stressful when we spend hours and days to iron out discipline issues and worst still when we are misunderstood. The bottom line is the child be taught what is right and wrong and both the school and the involved parties are actually sitting on the same side except many times not practised.

This new block says a thousand words...all for the students whom we love dearly...may many find this new building a blessing and a centre for excellence.

"The Little Singapore"

Subang Jaya is "the little Singapore".

The Malaysians did it again! Yes. It's a great feeling that Malaysia is the cradle of many top scorers all over the world. Perhaps it's the way the children have been nurtured and led especially so in this township called Subang Jaya.

The child of an engineer and a teacher, Haw Sue Hern I believe received her primary education in SJKC Lick Hung, Subang Jaya before being hand-picked by the Asean Scholarship Selection team to continue her secondary years there. I am especially thrilled cos she is the daughter of none other than a teacher from SMK Seafield...our very own Pn Chan ! Congratulations Pn Chan for having nurtured an exemplary child, whom I believe Singapore will call back.

Having said that, I can't help but notice the other girl, Cheong Jia Ee, whom I believe must also have been the protegee of Lick Hung , emerging closely behind Sue Hern and bringing much joy to Malaysia.

Singapore's two top scorers in O-levels and all from our homeland...Malaysia, O tanah air ku...and Subang Jaya!

These days the schools in Subang Jaya have been so hard pressed to do well that someone mentioned that Subang Jaya has turned into a "little Singapore". Parents have gone berserk and frenzied making sure that their children land up in the 'right' school, right stream, right class, right teachers, and ...right tuition! There is also ranking for tuition teachers ! Am I glad I am out of the boiling pot...but I cannot help but remember that I was just as guilty...once upon a time.

Parents go to great lengths to ensure a bright future for their children...but I do not know whether the younger generation view it this way.

Another pertinent question is ; does a child need to be excellent academically? This is an opinion of a parent I spoke to recently:

Me : So, your son is enrolled in a private college?

Parent : Yea.

Me : Science? Arts?

Parent : Science...double Maths...

Me : Oh. Quite a combination.What if he does not achieve that "TER"?No top University?

Parent : Then a lesser one will do.

Me : I like your outlook... rare...not kiasu.

Parent : Aya. don't want to study so hard also never mind la...I have seen many underachievers making it work too...

Me : Hmm...yup...I have seen it too.

Parent : The education part is so that the child grows up to be more refined...

Me : Yup...after all the daddy is so 'full' ya?

Parent : No...it's not that. I mean live a life la.

Two sides of a coin. Know your child. Help your child live a life. That's what life is all about?