Schools that forget their pupils' needs.

I have sometimes seen something very strange in Singapore. At least, it is strange for me to observe. Sometimes schools seem to forget that their pupils are human beings.

Let me explain. I am thinking of one school, in particular, in which I observed the complete absence of toilet paper in any of the student toilets. Noting that one toilet had no toilet paper, I went in search of another that did. I found none. Each toilet had a complete absence of paper of any kind.

Outside each toilet, was a toilet paper dispenser, in the form of a big paper roll. However, each roll had been entirely used up. Inside each toilet, there was no dispenser, of any kind, to be found. Thus, any student who wished to use the toilet, in that particular school, on that particular day, would have run into a problem: there was no way of going to the toilet without a serious hygience crisis.

Curious about whether this problem extended to the staff facilities, I checked: they were fully equipped with an entire roll of toilet paper. Thus, it seems that someone at the school is taking care of the staff needs, but not those of the students. This just doesn't seem right.

A school which neglects its students in their basic needs, probably neglects their needs in other ways too. It is a clear sign that the school, as an organization, are not thinking of their students' well-being.

I can only imagine the embarrassing situations that pupils at that school run into when it comes to a simple matter like going to the toilet. It is actually rather unsettling, to think of their distress.

Every school should take care of their students - starting with their basic needs. That they don't is a clear testament that not all is right in the Singaporean education system.

By the way, it is not just this one school that has shown this characteristic: others have too...it is just that in those other cases, I never thought to check on whether the staff toilets suffered in the same way - so I didn't gather full information. Either way, there was no toilet paper available for the students in some other schools, too.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.)

No signs of sibling rivalry here.

I suppose that we are fortunate in that there, as yet, appear to be no signs of sibling rivalry, among the brothers. In fact, just the opposite seems to be developing.

Yesterday, Fintan, five and Ainan, eight, went to a talk on genetics. Initially, just Ainan was meant to go - but Fintan expressed an interest, so his mother, Syahidah, brought him along too. In the end, he rather enjoyed it and seemed to gain from it.

Anyway, Fintan behaved rather sweetly throughout the talk. Whenever a question was addressed to the audience, he did something very funny: he would grab a hold of Ainan's arm and raise it into the air to make it look like Ainan wanted to answer the question. Then he would urge Ainan on: "Go on, Abang, you can answer that one!". Ainan, once put on the spot, duly answered the questions.

It was endearing to see Fintan do this from several perspectives: the first is that, not knowing the answer himself, he had the confidence in Ainan that Ainan would know. Secondly, it was warming to see how proud he was of his elder brother ("abang") that he should be able to answer such questions.

The most important thing I learnt from this is the strong evidence that the dynamic developing between the brothers is not one of sibling rivalry - but of pride in the other's achievements and abilities. It seems to me that this is a very good development, indeed, for it promises that the relationships between the brothers will be strong and supportive ones - and few things are more valuable in a life than that one's siblings should form a support network.

Fintan, interestingly, had some well-observed questions 0f his own - but that is for another post. In the meantime, I am just happy to see the brothers get on so well.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.)

The dangers of a kiasu mentality.

Somewhere, in Singapore, as I write at 10.30 pm, there is a child at work. This child is nine years old, and still has hours of homework to do. Every day, when he comes home from a full day at school, he is required, by his mother, to start upon his homework. This can take an hour or two. Once this is done, you would have thought that his efforts would be over for the day...but no, they are just beginning.

After this little boy has finished his official homework, his mother sets him more homework. This second round of parentally appointed homework tends to require more time, more effort and more thought than the work he is required to do for school. The mother calculates that he should have enough homework to keep him busy until midnight, at the least.

Some nights there is too much homework. Some nights his mother overdoes the extra homework and the little boy is unable to finish it before midnight. Does the mother then let him sleep, for school in the morning? No. He is required to work on, until he finishes, sometimes not until one or two a.m.

Once the boy awakes, at perhaps five thirty a.m., from too short a sleep, he is off to school, for another full day at school, knowing, all the while, that home will be no respite. When he returns home, an endless evening of homework awaits him.

This is a nine year old boy's life, in Singapore. It is also a true story.

Now, how do you think this endless round of academic demands and incessant home and schoolwork makes this boy feel? What is his young life like? Is it a happy one? Is he stressed? Will he grow up with fond memories of his "childhood"? Will he know what it is like to play with friends? Will he ever have any friends? How long will he be able to keep up the pace before he can no longer go on?

This last question is of particular relevance because there is something I have not yet told you about this real life young boy. He has a pacemaker. That is right: he has an electronic device inside his chest, keeping his heart going at times when it feels like stopping.

This little boy, who lives a life of incessant homework and endless school days, and never ending academic demands, has a heart problem. The question is: did his stressful academic life cause his heart troubles? Is his parentally imposed way of life in danger of killing him? I am not privy to the cause of his heart problems and whether his stressful schooling is actually the cause - but it is clear that his daily late nights and endless study sessions cannot be helping his health. It is even possible that this rigorous "education" will lead him to an early death.

So, why is his mother doing this to her son? She says that she wants to make sure that her son "gets a good job" when he grows up. She seems to have overlooked the fact that she is greatly impairing his chances of ever living long enough to grow up in the first place, with her educational regimen.

This boy never sleeps a proper night's sleep. He never rests. He never plays. He is ever working, endlessly scribbling, never ceasing to cover pages with his jottings. He knows nothing of life, but that of the answering of workbook questions, the learning of school material, the solution of maths problems, and the like. He is ever tired, ever wishing to sleep - and on top of all this, he has a heart that could stop at any minute, were it not for a pacemaker keeping him alive.

This is a Singapore schoolboy's life. This is the result of the kiasu ("afraid to lose") attitude of the parents. It seems to me, in this case, to be no coincidence that "kills" and "kiasu" both begin with "ki...", for surely this regimen could kill this boy.

This is just one case of kiasu parenting that I have come across. No doubt Singapore is filled with variants on this tale. I rather feel it is time to set aside the kiasu mentality. It does nothing to ensure the future of Singapore and its people - but rather does much to ensure that they will suffer too much to have much of a future.

If this boy survives his childhood - which, I would have thought is far from certain - he will have had one of the most unhappy of childhoods he could have had. I very much doubt whether he will become a balanced, happy, contributing adult. It is more likely that he will spend the rest of his life (if he survives) trying to overcome the damage done to him by the childhood he endured.

The most poignant thing about all of this, perhaps, is that the mother will have convinced herself that she is showing "love" of her boy, by trying to ensure that he has the brightest possible future. Perhaps she should settle for giving him the nicest possible present. After all, this particular boy may not even live to see that future she imagines - especially if she continues to ignore his health needs, as she is.

So, if you ever feel yourself overcome with a wave of kiasu-ness, please think on this Singaporean story of a schoolboy. Do you want your kid to have this kind of childhood?

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.)

A new meaning of "pet food".

At the beginning of July, we had a new addition to the house: a little baby hamster, all of two months old. The kids gathered around to watch its every move. Tiarnan, two, in particular, was taken by it.

There was something about Tiarnan's gaze and attitude that led to a question forming in the mind of both myself and my wife.

"Tiarnan," began Syahidah, his mother, "If there was no food in the house, would you eat Speedy?" For Speedy was the hamster's name.

He looked at Speedy, and nodded. "Hmmm."

Oh dear. For him, it seemed pet food meant something else altogether.

We told him then and there that Speedy wasn't meant to be eaten, but to be played with. He listened carefully and absorbed the lesson. However, in the next few days, I caught him referring to Speedy as "chicken". Quite comically, he took to miming putting Speedy in his mouth and swallowing - but then saying to himself as he did so: "Don't eat! Don't eat!"

I don't know whether Tiarnan was teasing me or not, once he knew our attitude to Speedy becoming a fast lunch. Knowing Tiarnan, as I do, it is quite possible that he was teasing us. Then, again, it is also possible that he saw the small animal as an attractive bite to eat - since it was readily available and may have looked appetizing to his two year old mind.

Tiarnan's reaction to the first animal we have had in the house is a good reminder that the notion of a pet is not something innate in us, but something we acquire from our culture. A deeper notion is that of other creatures being food - and that is the one that Tiarnan saw immediately on sighting our cute little fur ball of a hamster.

Anyway, the hamster survived his first couple of weeks, unscathed and Tiarnan has become fond of watching him in his cage and trying to catch a hold of him (far from easy since ours is the fastest breed of hamster available).

Nevertheless, I don't think I am ever likely to forget what "pet food" initially meant for two-year old Tiarnan.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.)

The most important cargo in the world.

Yesterday, Fintan, five, came to me with a newspaper. His right forefinger jabbed at a photo that had caught his attention.

"Why are these men standing on boxes?"

"They are cargo boxes."

"There is a car inside?" He said, his eyes opening wide at this revelation.

"No. They are used to take things into the country. There can be anything inside: food, or clothes..."

"Or toys?", he added, hopefully, contemplating these pictured boxes with new found respect.

"Yes, or toys."

He was content at last. They were boxes of toys, carrying the most important cargo in the world.

I found myself smiling at his words. His world view is so appealing, in its priorities. It is relaxing, in a way, just to listen to his thoughts unfold. They follow a path called "childhood" and speak of things from a perspective I have long forgotten. To speak to him, is to take myself back to a time when toys were the most important thing in all the world.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.)