Why Private School?

My mom is 71 and she still feels bad for a decision she made more than 30 years ago... She regretted for not sending my brother to a chinese primary school. Yet my bother and sister-in-law (both can't read and write Chinese) put their girls in Chinese primary school and both my nieces do well in school. Mom is happy ...but she still feels guilty about her own decision.

All my kids shall attend 6 years of primary Chinese school, and I force my elder two to continue taking Chinese subject in secondary school. I have no regret on that but I have other headaches.

My dilemma:
1) Private vs Public school
2) National vs International syllabus

I end up putting them in a public secondary school.... and end up regretting (I listed the problems in my previous posting). So just a few months ago, I decided to switch my girl to a private school with national syllabus. My son will join her next year.

Why not international syllabus? Well...I don't have the courage to burn the bridge yet. Since they have good command of English, I feel that there is no harm to master another language...especially that is our national language (even though I can't guarantee they will stay in this country forever!? )

How does my girl cope with the new school? On the first day, she told me her class has quite a number of students from chinese primary school. Her classmates are "super friendly" and not snobbish, and her teachers are 'cool, nice, friendly, and all can teach.' I could see she already likes her new school .

She could tell the difference between the private & public school
But then she told me "there is something "NOT GOOD" about that new school". My heart sank.............

She looked at me and said, "The teachers really COME TO CLASS! They really TEACH!! And they REALLY GIVE HOMEWORK!!!

I am now convinced I have made the right move xD

Going private...

No, it’s not about my blog, but about my decision to switch my kids to private school.

When my son was in form one, my registration fee for a private school was forfeited after he insisted to join his friends in public school. At that time, I was still weighing the pros and cons of both types of schools and somehow had some worries about private school (especially about the types of friends they are going to mix with…I didn’t want them to be influenced by the very rich & spoilt kids).

But for the past 3 year, I’ve witnessed the quality of my kids’ secondary school...and got worried and disappointed (AS A PARENT & AS A TAX PAYER!!)

The form 1 classes are facing serious teacher shortage. Some subjects have no teacher at all. My daughter's math teacher never marked the student’s work. There’s no art teacher (too bad that is her favourite subject).

      My son who is in form 3 has better teachers (that’s because he is in a good class). But, not all teachers are “qualified”. His previous math teacher marked his work blindly and never spotted a single error. His science teacher explains in “rojak” language… Bahasa Malaysia + English…and he said it is confusing.

      There are many “free periods” without teachers and my kids seems to get use to it…and get lazier & unmotivated to attend school on such days. 
      
Some teachers are very stressful and full of negative remarks on students. 

I used to think that if a child is good, no matter what type of school he/she goes to, he’ll be as good. It may be true to some point (eg. academic achievement), but I’m now convinced that if there’s a much better learning environment, it will make a vast difference! 


I have seen positive changes in my daughter after she attends private school. Will share with you in my next post :-)

Romance Novels, buttons & ribbons

When I was a teenager, this little shop in my hometown was like a magnet to me. Until today, apart from sewing supplies, it still rents out Romance Novels (which was where my pocket money went to).

It has been more than 20 years and that shopkeeper still remembers me! I obtained her permission to take some photos of the shop.

The shop only has Chinese novels now. It used to rent out English novels such as Mills & Boons and Silhouette. Being a teenager, I was very engrossed in those English romance books and couldn't stop fantasizing about marrying a handsome & charming Mat Salleh.

The shopkeeper told me those who rent the Chinese romance storybooks  (RM1.50 per book) are middle aged "aunties". 

My daughter who loves needlework and sewing bought many ribbons and buttons there. I told her I'll bring her to that shop on each trip back to Muar.

What a wonderful little shop. It has helped to nurture my dreamy soul with its romance books, and inspire my daughter's creativity with its colorful ribbons and buttons.

客家土樓 Unique Hakka Architecture (Tulou)

Apart from my ancestral home, another highlight of the recent trip was the visit to Hakka Tulou (Unesco World Heritage). Below are some of the photos taken by me:

Its interior structure is built of interlocking wooden beams. Not a single nail was used.

Not sure how true it is. Our tour guide tour told us the tulou was spotted by USA spy planes many years ago. Those "rounded objects" were mistook for Missile Silos. 2 spies disguised as photo journalists went to China to investigate further. They soon found out those "missile scare"  were actually over a hundred of earthen houses!

PHOTO SOURCE: http://www.whatsonxiamen.com/travel-msg-1162.html

The following are extracted from the Wikipedia:

• A tulou is usually a large, enclosed and fortified earth building, most commonly rectangular or circular in configuration, with very thick load-bearing rammed earth walls between three and five stories high and housing up to 80 families. 

• Smaller interior buildings are often enclosed by these huge peripheral walls which can contain halls, storehouses, wells and living areas, the whole structure resembling a small fortified city.

• The fortified outer structures are formed by compacting earth, mixed with stone, bamboo, wood and other readily available materials, to form walls up to 6 feet (1.8 m) thick. Branches, strips of wood and bamboo chips are often laid in the wall as additional reinforcement. The result is a well-lit, well-ventilated, windproof and earthquake-proof building that is warm in winter and cool in summer.

• Tulous usually have only one main gate, guarded by 4–5-inch-thick (100–130 mm) wooden doors reinforced with an outer shell of iron plate. The top level of these earth buildings has gun holes for defensive purposes.

My Great Grandpa's Will

My great grandpa prepared a WILL at the age of 59 (1929), 

but he lived beyond the age of 80.

The will （分關執照）was written in his presence by another person. Not sure why the words in vertical appear in half. In total, there are 8 pages including the cover above.

My younger brother translated a few important portions into English for family members who don't read Chinese. (No regret for sending my kids to Chinese primary school)

My brother intentionally kept the "original Chinese feel" , without rephrasing it to sound too "English".  And I intentionally not showing the original Will in Chinese clearly as I feel that those details are considered private.

However, I would surely love to share here some wise words from my great grandpa - the man I never met, but respect a lot.

"In the future, you brothers, having own family and career, shall manage accordingly, shall not compete (against each other),  more so shall be hardworking day and night, fulfil the responsibility to manage inheritance/success, bring honour to the ancestors and bring abundance to the descendants, so as not to fail the wishes of our ancestor. 

A few pages detailed how the the ancestral home, land & company dividends/shares should be split and managed.   

He also gave instruction on future expansion.
"...Once the extended building is completed, one shall declare the actual cost of construction, shall not declare more than actual expenses (建築費用簿數，不得以少報多）, shall follow your conscience, shall not go against my words （憑良心勿違背余言）..."

 

"...If during construction outsiders come to interrupt or interfere, you four brothers shall unite, supporting each other in defence, protecting the property right and complete the construction ..."


The last page below was personally written by my Great Grandpa.

"My children consist of you four brothers and your seven sisters. Going through forty over years of industrious nurturing, it is fairly satisfying to have brought you all up. You brothers shall be thrifty, (embrace) simplicity and build career (汝兄弟更宜檢樸立業) by following my will /advice."

                                                 

To me, what my Great Grandpa left for his descendants was not only that ancestral home or other physical assets, but more importantly, it was his legacy of Hardwork, Honesty & Integrity.

尋根之旅 Ancestral Home & Food

A few more photos of my ancestral home...

Big compound

There is a staircase leading to the balcony that offers a scenic view.

A view from the balcony...my ancestral house is facing 

a mountain 太平山 & a river. 

Good Feng Shui indeed :-)

These's a couplet on both sides of the main door saying:

門對天平如鏡照

水流東甲自南來

Intricate wood carving. 

The meaningful words on the mirror in the main hall:

书田菽栗多真味， 心地芝兰有异香

The first part is about the benefit of reading, and the second part is about noble character.

My brother told me 芝兰 is iris / orchid that symbolizes noble character / true friendship.

I'm sure it was my great grandpa's wish that all his descendants possess such good habit and character!

A corner of the interior. That house was badly flooded many years ago.

Curious to have a look at the pigsty.

My dad standing in front of the Chinese New Year couplet written by my cousin's son whom has won many calligraphy awards. Did I mention my great grandpa wrote good calligraphy...and my dad has beautiful handwriting too?

The dining area.

Getting ready for a feast. Red is the favorite color for Chinese family. Feeling like CNY reunion :-)

Yummy Hakka delicacies that included Soon Ban 笋粄, Ngiong Tew Fu 釀豆腐, Meatball Soup, Foo Chook腐皮, Lou Su Ban 老鼠粄 etc. There're also chicken, very fresh mushroom & vegetable.

Besides Chinese tea, we're served with the very tasty homemade wine - Niang Jiu 娘酒. 

I turned lobster red after a few cups...but i just couldn't resist it! What to do... I'm a Hakka Mui 客家妹！

The delicious Lou Su Ban 老鼠粄

Very clean underground water.

Bidding farewell. 

One thing for sure, this is a fruitful & meaningful trip that we shall always remember...

无论黄昏时树的影子有多长，

它总是和树根连在一起。

－ 印度诗人泰戈尔 

I can't seem to find the above in English (by Rabindranath Tagore). 

So I loosely translate it. 

"At sunset, no matter how long the shadow of tree stretches, 

it'll always link to the root / begin at the root"

尋根 Finding Root (A trip to China) Part 1

During the recent school holidays, my family had a private tour to China. It was such a meaningful trip, with family members of 3 generations ( my dad & his 2 brothers plus spouses, my cousin sister & son, my brothers' families, me and my youngest daughter).

We reached 廈門 Xiamen on 26 May.


My cousin & sister-in-law share the same birth date. We wanted to get 2 sets of candles but was told by the shopkeeper that it was common to use 12 candles in China regardless of age.


Celebrating birthdays far away from home, but with close family members.

Day 2 we visited 鼓浪嶼 Gu Lang Yu 。I like the Piano Musuem the most. It has an impressive collection of antique pianos. Back in the hotel that evening, my dad and uncles told us stories of our grandpa. It was such an unforgettable night!


Day 3 was the main highlight of the trip. We were accompanied by relatives in China to visit our ancestral home in 大埔 (Da Pu). That house was built about 80 years ago for my great grandfather by my grandfather and his brothers who worked in Malaya at that time.

A road which was built much later (1992). It was named after one of my grand uncles.

Another road which was built in 2002. It was named after another of my grand uncle and his son. That grand uncle lived for more than a century and contributed heavily to the development of his homeland.

I could see how happy the 3 brothers were! (It was the first trip for my dad and his eldest brother)

Entering our ancestral's home...It was claimed to be the most beautiful house in that area many yeas ago. The words on the right hand side shows the middle name of 4 generations （初，開，育，秀）. My great grandpa's name is 陳初軔。

A photo with our China relatives (my cousin and his mother).

Stepping into the main hall.

I was so excited to see my great grandparents' photos in the main hall. Those were similar to photos in my childhood home. My great grandparents left China and were reunited with his children in Malaya. He passed away in the foreign land.

Savouring some authentic fruits.

The kids had a great time chasing after the chicks. What do you expect? There's no ipad to entertain them.

It was fun for the kids...but not so fun for the poor little chick.

WE HAD A GREAT TIME!!!

I wonder what the kids' great great grandpa is going to say if he were still there... 

開枝散葉。I'm sure it would be the greatest day of his life :-)

p/s: more photos in my next post!