Why exactly we were outdoors that warm spring morning for our eighth-grade science lesson escapes me now but my only thought was not to fall into the murky water. After months of winter and snow, it was a treat to be outside the confines of the dreary classrooms. The blinding sunshine, hum of dragonflies, gentle spring breeze and wending through the tall grass filled all my senses. It was a glorious day to be alive! Chris Tague, my lanky classmate with the sleepy eyelids and soft stutter, bagged a GIGANTIC bullfrog which we brought triumphantly back to the classroom in a huge glass jar. My most memorable science lesson took place almost thirty years ago.
Fastforward into the new millennium....a slim science teacher clad in her characteristically white tudung held sway over her rambunctious class of fifteen-year-olds as they dashed around the foyer of our gargantuan school premises learning the different compartments of the heart.
Similarly, on several scorching afternoons, knots of students would caper around the school in the quest to discover Maths, then Science then English. These trails became an annual staple in our early years as a school...the forerunners of this week's experiential learning activities.
I did not fall into the pond that lovely spring morning, but I did fall in love with nature (not the bullfrog!).
In Kent Ridge Secondary School in the 2000's, Mdm Fahizah's students may not have scored distinctions in their science examinations, but they were able to distinguish their left ventricle from the right auricle.
I believe the students who dashed about madly around school on those hot afternoons learnt more than a thing or two about Maths, Science and English.
How do I know?
I did not have a convincing reply to the constant flow of enquiries by students who came before or after those events, "Why doesn't our level have a Maths/Science/EL trail, Ms Heng?"
This special week in Kent Ridge is a smorgasbord of experience for our students and yes, us too.
Eat heartily, drink deeply and be very merry.
Have an unforgettable week. I know our students will.
Note: The above email I wrote to the staff of Kent Ridge Secondary School in 2010 for our experiential week programme. In this email, I make reference to an outdoor science lesson we had in eighth grade at Lakeland Christian Academy, in Warsaw, Indiana.
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Mr Wester thought he was being witty when he saw us three siblings waiting patiently outside the school buildings that bright winter's morning with sunlight bouncing off the knee-deep snow that blanketed the ground. "Just Henging around, eh?" he smirked as he padded past us in his trendy brown leather jacket. It was c-c-cold and the school buildings were not yet opened. Dad had just dropped us off on his way to graduate school. My elder brother, my twin and I smiled and exchanged glances. It would be only a matter of time before my brother would grab a handful of snow, and a snowball would sail our way.... Family ties.
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| Me, preparing a snowball for launch. NB: Fresh snow cannot be packed! |
The extended Heng family regularly gathered for potlucks when my paternal grandmother was still alive. When one cousin after another made plans to go abroad for undergraduate studies, it was yet another excuse for a family gathering at grandma's. Dad, being the sentimental one with the bright ideas would come up with a light programme which focused on hymn-singing and taking our turn to bless the one leaving the nest. Believe you me, there was grumbling from me when one has to help lug thirty hymnals the size of a dictionary. In our cousin's den where we would trade gossip and the latest happenings whilst the uncles and aunts mingled outside, we would be reluctant to relinquish the threads of private conversation and catching up for the more structured gathering in the living room.
However, years on, we value those times of hymn-singing and meaningful exchanges meant to bid Godspeed to the one setting off into the wide blue yonder. My father was wise. He was right. A more focused family event was superior to a night of casual chit-chat. The fledgling who was about to leave the security of the nest beyond our shores needed to hear words of wisdom from the family elders, uncles and aunts and words of blessing from cousins. These would stay with them and buoy them through the initial months of homesickness and when they were faced with challenges.
In a similar vein, the KR family could well benefit from the structured gatherings we have had over the past few days and whenever we meet in a more formal setting. Yes, we need times of just "Henging" around but we need these times of gatherings as an "extended" family so that we can draw strength from one another and have the courage to face the days ahead.
A what's app message just appeared on my iPhone screen, an offer to buy breakfast. If these little gestures of care and concern aren't what family members do for one another, I don't know what is...
KR is a second home to many of us. May we be like family to you.
Rambut Putih
Snowball target
Hymnbook porter
Friendly email bomber
Note: The above email was written to the Kent Ridge Staff before Staff Learning and Training .
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| Lakeland Christian Academy teachers could act! Homecoming skit by the staff 1984. From left: (on ground) Mrs Janet Finitzer, Mr Fritz Wester, Mr Eric Smith, Mrs Leslie Meeder and Miss Linda Horton |
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The Barrel of a Pen
When we lived in the United States when I was a teenager, we had bought a secondhand car which had quite a few problems. During the summer months, we would drive hundreds of miles across almost all the 48 states of continental US visiting my parents' friends and relatives. Once I remember there was a problem with the coolant (liquid that keeps parts of the engine cool by being circulated) tube and we were in the middle of nowhere as is the case when one traverses a country of such magnitude. Dad had spent sometime under the hood of the car trying to figure out a solution to the problem. Finally, Dad pulled out the ballpoint pen he always carried in his breastpocket, removed the barrel of the pen and replaced the coolant tubing with the plastic barrel. Thank God the solution worked till we reached the next town where we could find a car repair shop. If that barrel of a pen had not been used, the car engine would have overheated and the car would have broken down. That would have been disastrous on our cross-country trip.
I don't know much about cars but I do know that Dad had to apply many unconventional solutions to making that stationwagon work whilst we owned it and used it. Back in Singapore, it would not have been an issue as a car repair shop with reliable mechanics was always a phonecall and a short drive away. Thousands of miles from home and living in a country where we had few friends and not a lot of savings, the cost of maintaining a cranky car was a constant worry.
What is the point of my tale?
When the situation called for change and problem-solving skills, Dad knew that calling a mechanic was not feasible. There were no handphones. We knew no mechanics. He had to think fast. The entire family was relying on him. We were often on the shoulder of the inter-state (highways that join one state to another) in the middle of nowhere.
How are we coping with the winds of change in our line of work?
Do we need to look for new solutions?
The current education landscape may be something completely different from what we initially signed up for.
My knowledge of cars has not expanded beyond the rudimentary but my appreciation for problem-solving gets better with time, thanks to Dad who models it to this day.
Now where did I put my pen?
Note: The above email was written to the Kent Ridge Staff before Staff Training.
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| Mum and Dad in the deep of winter with the blue Buick station wagon which we packed for our annual Spring, Summer and Winter vacation cross-country trips to visit dad and mum's friends, relatives and former classmates all over the United States of America! |
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