Unschooling spirit

1. JV said she was pretending herself like a train....humming 'choo choo' while she was walking down the stair case of Jing Si Tang. But she stopped humming it and stopped moving her hands like the locomotive trains when there were people coming up from the downstairs. 2. Curry was hot. JV took a piece of ice and tried to ease that spicy feeling. As the ice cube didnt melt soon, she placed her fish meat on top of the ice cube and pretended that she was 'driving' a ice-cube boat....letting the ice-cube boat to move around her bowl. 3. JV refused to let her bolster covered with the new cover i made her for her birthday. Reason: she wanted to learn those words like 'hippopotamus','butterfly', etc which were printed on the inner cover. 'I have learned the word "hippopotamus". But i have not yet spelled "butterfly",'She said. Now that left me dumb founded......how could i resist her learning? That's how she learnt....always learnt from anything and everything around her. No wonder she didnt use much time to adapt to learning of Ejaan when she entered Std 1....though she only started to learn them when she entered primary school. Unschooling spirit seemed to have rooted in her. That's how imaginative she can be.....

给孩子的尊重

看到了过去的学生的部落格那么写着自己，“我想老师也搞不懂我在念的是什么科系，但是她就只问了我一个问题，这科是你想要念的吗？那是我突然之间冒出了莫名感动。老师，你的这一道问题可以看到你对学生的关心是不一样的。因为其他老师通常都会问，你这科念完后可以…什么又什么的…？” 。 我有莫名的伤感。难道真的没有别的老师可以往孩子的心灵上建绿洲吗？我多么希望我不是那个唯一给孩子那份尊重的老师，要不然学校就会更快变成沙漠了。 久别了，学校！然而，教育的工作，我想我还是在耕耘着。http://jackgohstep.blogspot.com/2012/01/blog-post_29.html. For awhile, i wept and wept. knowing the fact that little acts and stories can touch a life. as what Rudolf Steiner had mentioned, "it is not what you teach that matters, it is who you really are that matters." 在庙会，遇到了旧时的学生。当年，成绩平平，但学习态度很好的，都上了大学，见到老师也会问候一番。这孩子，当年，终是在吃了东西来教务处会问‘蠢蠢’的数学问题，能够为他解答，是我的幸福，他的热诚深深让我感动。当年，也有几个成绩平平的孩子，都上了大学，还有一个拿着master in biology---他的最爱，他说他的数学很懒，我说我的数学也不见得好，我记得的是他不放弃的精神。还有一个孩子，在pasar malam 见到时，已经是某公司的automobile engineer，还在进修着master,当年是成绩放牛班的一分子，他说经常借故’旷课’，但是我没有印象，只记得他是个很有礼貌的孩子。回顾这些孩子，让他们‘成功’的，都是因为他们有着谦卑的礼仪，愿意向老师长辈请教的学习态度

Hari Interaksi Ibu Bapa

Hari Interaksi Ibu Bapa: A day that i really looked forward to understand a child better, to uplift a child's spirit, to share with parents on why we should encourage a child more, to educate on the importance of learning and not the marks alone. A mother happily said today she learnt something. A father looked up with hope and joy. Many 13 yrs old went back with hope. These are the backlog Remove class.....which i believe one day they will persevere and enter university. 家长交流日-一直是我期待的日子，让我可以和家长分享学习的态度--不以成绩为导，以愉快学习为先锋，可以让孩子看到未来他们是可以的。一个妈妈说今天她学了很多。还有一个爸爸看来充满了希望因为他大概知道怎么去引发孩子的学习而不是只看孩子的成绩因为他的女儿是运动健将。这群放牛班的预备班孩子似乎都对前途有了希望。。。。因为我相信他们。感恩让我在孩子的身上看到了《爱》。

Teaching "The Earth, the Moon and the Sun" - inspired by Waldorf

Inspired by Waldorf way of teaching. I led the students to go through this session with my fresh from the oven wet-on-wet painting and also simple form drawing. Painting was done the night before....within 1 hour. Fairly done form drawing was done 15 mins before the lesson....i still have much improvement to go. To be fair to the students who were taking Science in English. All the lessons were conducted in English. I spoke with slow pace and they were able to follow. When they dont understand words like "Wheat". I explained, "It grows only in the US and China, not in M'sia." I drew it out on the board too. And they can understand well. Give them time and they will be able to follow. I dont use Chinese to teach.....this is unfair to them and underestimate their ability to learn. With this, i conclude, if Waldorf education cant be a philosophy to you, at least it can be a way of living. If not, it can be a methodology that works well and is able to compliment the current teacher center approach in the classroom environment.

善因的种子

摇晃后，昨晚，吃过了八分饱的晚餐，我们与孩子一起唱着这首《誠心祈三願》祈愿，老大还跟随哼着Metta Chanting。我们都有心惊的一刻，更何况活在地震区域的众生们。孩子后来把积蓄拿出来，要救灾苦难的人（虽然后来都平安），然而一颗善心就在此时萌起。善心的萌起，既是善因的种子。我想，从今要教育孩子会更容易了。感恩我在这片土地，虽然马来西亚并不完美。阿弥陀佛！：）

Metta - a remedy for noisy kids. :)

Early in the morning, JV and JE were heard quarreling to each other.
Quietly, i sat into meditation posture, pulled my blanky and started to meditate.
Quarreling still heard....
I began to send metta to myself, then to the little room, and radiate that to the whole of SP town, Kedah state, Malaysia, and mother earth.

Funny though, unintentionally i was hearing less of quarrels and later happy chat among the kids.

Metta meditation always do the wonders!
Seemingly, as i was talking to LC about my ex-boss, her current boss yesterday, I mentioned to her that Metta will always worked and we should radiate more mettas to these 'difficult' people instead of complaints. The more complaints that we are going to pour in, the more we are going to fall prey to hatred and thus not getting what we want.

Let the child be a constant reminder for myself to practise Metta.

弘一大师. 夢

看着弘一大师传。弘公的才华，太让人钦佩，他的戒行也太让人感动了。他的每一首歌，都让我有种想哭的感觉--亲切，深入，充满感情，认真。


哀游子茕茕其无依兮，在天之涯。
惟长夜漫漫而独寐兮，时恍惚以魂驰。
萝偃卧摇篮以啼笑兮，似婴儿时。
母食我甘酪兴粉饵兮，父衣我以彩衣。
月落乌啼，梦影依稀，往事知不知？
汩半生哀乐之长逝兮，感亲之恩其永垂。

哀游子怆怆而自怜兮，吊形影悲。
惟长夜漫漫而独寐兮，时恍惚以魂驰。
梦挥泪出门辞父母兮，叹生别离。
父语我眠食宜珍重兮，母语我以早归.

童言童语

柔帆,"妈咪为什么人死了就看不到？"
我,"因为人死了就没有眼识了。”
柔帆,"什么是眼识？"
我，“等你大了，就知道了。”
柔帆,"我知道，因为你不会解释嘛。”
^.^

mummy先吃

在雨中。我放了JE去上一堂extra music class,就到街上去买东西，处理一些事等。JV跟着。
天空依旧下着雨。上下车都有点麻烦了。
逗了半个槟岛，好累，也好饿。
在老鼠岛看到了那档闻名的曼煎糕档口。在车上要了2片。
热烘烘的送上来。
JV说Mummy先吃，因为你饿了。
--- 很多人都说孩子一定只想着自己的嘴巴和肚子。
我想，我家的是有点例外吧。不是孩子承载太多责任或什么，而是如果从小如果有累积多点福报和善缘，为什么不呢？
难道，要等着孩子已经变成大个人了，才来下功夫教他吗？
当然，每每孩子显现懂事的一面时，其实，我想到的不是我俩的努力。我想，这来自先生的父母的良好教养，也来自我爸爸妈妈的耐心教育，更来自幼儿园和学校老师的付出，还有身边朋友的叔叔阿姨的身教，当然更不能忘记的这是来自古人圣贤的思想传承。当然若非是身为人身，怎么可能展现这人性的一面？身为人身，能力行人的良好行为，是一分极大的福报。
感恩！

谢谢Daddy Mummy

孩子都常常会这么说：
“谢谢Daddy 带我来genting玩。”
“谢谢Mummy煮饭给我吃。”
“谢谢婆婆煮菜给我吃。”
夫复何求？