Teach the Children
Just before the CNY period, 3 incidents happened in my life that gave me food for thought. It is often that we hear people saying, 'teach the young'. But what exactly should we teach our young? I type all this from the perspective of both a child, as well as an adult. The first incident was my watching of a video. It was sent to me by a friend who knows my interest in the subject, and it is a presentation given by Mr Jamie Lerner, who developed Curitiba in Brazil according to his town planning ideals. (wikipedia Curitiba to find out more). Admist quite a few themes, one strong theme in his speech was to 'Teach the Children to Recycle" and then the children will teach their parents. It is a scheme implemented in the schols in Curitiba years ago which has been met with astounding succes today as far as recycling rates are concerned. The interview can be seen on http://www.ted.com/ So yes, I think we should teach children in schools to recycle, to cope with climate change and other environmental problems, we need a fundamental mindset change in our consumerist attitudes and the school and recycling is the perfect place to start.
The second incident was onboard a train returning from Bath (where I spent last Saturday with Yun Ching & his girlfriend Li Hsien in) to Cardiff. We were seated next to a family of 4, with 2 young kids. They were playing a game making use of dominoes. Basically, a simple game which is difficult to describe. But fundamentally, it was an eye-opener seeing the process. There was a time when the young son decided to go against the rules and insisted on his way. The father was firm, "If you go against the rules, then there is no fun for everyone else and we might as well stop playing, precious.' When the son eventually decided to give in and play accordingly, the parents applauded his decision. In the end, the son was the last in the game and complained that he was the loser. The father explained '' You did very well precious, and it was really tough luck! But I didnt win too, nor did sis, only Mummy won.' Thereafter, a part of the game, he asked his children what was 4+4. And it took quite a while before his daughter could answer 8. But he patiently waited, and praised her when she got the answer. It was then did I realise that the children actually still could not count very well even as they were playing the game. But the game, was a very good way of exposing them to numbers. But more than that, the constant encouragement, the firmness in tone, but also the lesson in morals on display was quite amazing and heartwarming. It requires time, objectivity on morals but also emotional encouragement. Quite a difficult combination.
The third incident, which is probably the most personal as I am not an observer but a participant involves me re-gaining contact with a couple of Thai friends I first knew in 2000. In 2000, as part of RI's Interact Club, we went to Thailand for a CIP. A very special part of the project involved us conducting an English Camp with a village primary school, the special part being that this would be done in collaboration with a City Secondary School. So, what happened was that we first went to the city school, Sathit and met up with the students there and had an orientation/ice-breaking camp before going to the village together the next 2 days to conduct the camp. After the trip, we exchanged contacts with both the village children and also the city children. However, I soon lost contact with them as they did not have emails then, and I stopped replying to the snail mails. In late 2007 however, I decided that it would be very sad if I did not make an attempt to re-establish contact, me being the sentimental and nostalgic person that I am. So, I sent a couple of cards to their old addresses. And lo and behold, I soon received replies, now on email. The kids have all grown up, all of those I am in contact with now are in Chiang Mai University, a couple are doctors, pharmacists. And there is also a vet studying in Chulalongkorn. And this includes a village child. I was really happy that they were doing so well, and also delighted that we are in contact again. We chat online like we have been good friends forever, but if you think about it, we only knew each other for 3 days, before losing contact for 6-7 years? While there could be lots of emotional stories I could tell you from this experience, I think the point I wish to make here would be somewhat more objective.
Many Singaporeans students also go on Overseas Community Involvement Projects these days, but I am not sure how many keep in contact with their foreign friends after the project is over. I remember clearly that in 2000, after I returned from Thailand, I wanted to make sure that I kept in contact. But still, I failed to do so, yet it was always at the back of my head, and that is why today I have re-established contact. But what lessons does this give us? I think more than anything else, it is a true lesson on humility and empathy. When many of us go on CIPs, we have a sense of sympathy, and when we return, we always bring back stories of how we learnt more from the locals and their way of life and friendliness. (any of you who have gone on such trips will definitely have the same stories) However, unless you keep in contact, and realise that after 6-7 years, the very same people who you first went to teach English, are now also in the Univesity as you are, and learning Medicine, Law etc, then does the real humility strike you. And that is the first lesson in empathy. Different ways of life, different cultural and social and economic backgrounds and lead to similar success stories. That is why I think the structure of my Thailand CIP was good, because it gave us an opportunity to meet both city and village students, and the city students were as unfamiliar with the village students as us. To fostering greater understanding and relationships with our South-east Asian neighbours, I think it is crucial that our students are exposed on such trips, rather then the usual we can help them build a school, or teach them english etcetc. It is crucial to recognise that under an increasingly globalising world today, when people are given similar opportunites, they can and will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with you, and your friendships will be built on true equality and respect without a single tinge of "colonialistic pitÿ". Empathy starts when you realise that your beliefs, and your way of life are simply your personal choices that you make in your personal surroundings and that everyone has the right to their own as well.
The second incident was onboard a train returning from Bath (where I spent last Saturday with Yun Ching & his girlfriend Li Hsien in) to Cardiff. We were seated next to a family of 4, with 2 young kids. They were playing a game making use of dominoes. Basically, a simple game which is difficult to describe. But fundamentally, it was an eye-opener seeing the process. There was a time when the young son decided to go against the rules and insisted on his way. The father was firm, "If you go against the rules, then there is no fun for everyone else and we might as well stop playing, precious.' When the son eventually decided to give in and play accordingly, the parents applauded his decision. In the end, the son was the last in the game and complained that he was the loser. The father explained '' You did very well precious, and it was really tough luck! But I didnt win too, nor did sis, only Mummy won.' Thereafter, a part of the game, he asked his children what was 4+4. And it took quite a while before his daughter could answer 8. But he patiently waited, and praised her when she got the answer. It was then did I realise that the children actually still could not count very well even as they were playing the game. But the game, was a very good way of exposing them to numbers. But more than that, the constant encouragement, the firmness in tone, but also the lesson in morals on display was quite amazing and heartwarming. It requires time, objectivity on morals but also emotional encouragement. Quite a difficult combination.
The third incident, which is probably the most personal as I am not an observer but a participant involves me re-gaining contact with a couple of Thai friends I first knew in 2000. In 2000, as part of RI's Interact Club, we went to Thailand for a CIP. A very special part of the project involved us conducting an English Camp with a village primary school, the special part being that this would be done in collaboration with a City Secondary School. So, what happened was that we first went to the city school, Sathit and met up with the students there and had an orientation/ice-breaking camp before going to the village together the next 2 days to conduct the camp. After the trip, we exchanged contacts with both the village children and also the city children. However, I soon lost contact with them as they did not have emails then, and I stopped replying to the snail mails. In late 2007 however, I decided that it would be very sad if I did not make an attempt to re-establish contact, me being the sentimental and nostalgic person that I am. So, I sent a couple of cards to their old addresses. And lo and behold, I soon received replies, now on email. The kids have all grown up, all of those I am in contact with now are in Chiang Mai University, a couple are doctors, pharmacists. And there is also a vet studying in Chulalongkorn. And this includes a village child. I was really happy that they were doing so well, and also delighted that we are in contact again. We chat online like we have been good friends forever, but if you think about it, we only knew each other for 3 days, before losing contact for 6-7 years? While there could be lots of emotional stories I could tell you from this experience, I think the point I wish to make here would be somewhat more objective.
Many Singaporeans students also go on Overseas Community Involvement Projects these days, but I am not sure how many keep in contact with their foreign friends after the project is over. I remember clearly that in 2000, after I returned from Thailand, I wanted to make sure that I kept in contact. But still, I failed to do so, yet it was always at the back of my head, and that is why today I have re-established contact. But what lessons does this give us? I think more than anything else, it is a true lesson on humility and empathy. When many of us go on CIPs, we have a sense of sympathy, and when we return, we always bring back stories of how we learnt more from the locals and their way of life and friendliness. (any of you who have gone on such trips will definitely have the same stories) However, unless you keep in contact, and realise that after 6-7 years, the very same people who you first went to teach English, are now also in the Univesity as you are, and learning Medicine, Law etc, then does the real humility strike you. And that is the first lesson in empathy. Different ways of life, different cultural and social and economic backgrounds and lead to similar success stories. That is why I think the structure of my Thailand CIP was good, because it gave us an opportunity to meet both city and village students, and the city students were as unfamiliar with the village students as us. To fostering greater understanding and relationships with our South-east Asian neighbours, I think it is crucial that our students are exposed on such trips, rather then the usual we can help them build a school, or teach them english etcetc. It is crucial to recognise that under an increasingly globalising world today, when people are given similar opportunites, they can and will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with you, and your friendships will be built on true equality and respect without a single tinge of "colonialistic pitÿ". Empathy starts when you realise that your beliefs, and your way of life are simply your personal choices that you make in your personal surroundings and that everyone has the right to their own as well.
posted by xiangZ @ 11:27 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home