Keeping up with the news can be both time-consuming but at the same time, life & knowledge enriching.
Reading the news, watching news on the television was not my interest when I was younger. I used to fall asleep when the news was on and miraculously, i will wake up when the news was over.
However, when I went overseas to pursue my degree, keeping oneself up to date with the current affairs was inevitable. One had to keep up with whatever was happening back home, happening in the current country (wherever you are), and also keeping up with whatever was happening in the world.
One had to learn how to be street-smart, be self-reliance, be more confident, and lastly, learn how to be independence.
Independence is something that cannot really be taught, but something that one learns from within.
Coming back to the news....in the past week, Amy Chua's memoir on bringing up her daughters created a semi-backlash, a furor, and of course, many questions on how the Asians raise up their children.
The Straits Times published an article today about 'We are not all Tiger Mums'.
It was a very interesting read with quite a number of views given by other mums.
Is it right to label some mothers as "Tiger Mums"?
There are some people who will and will not agree, depending on which continent you are living in.
As a parent, do we want our children to do well in schools, do well in life, namely their career? Of course, WE DO. I may not be in the capacity of a parent, but judging from the phone calls that parents has made to me, and vice verse, and from the parents' visit to this just on Friday, parents DEFINITELY WANT their child to do well.
As a teacher, how do we ensure that our students will do well under our charge? Should we use the mentality of a "Tiger Mum" to teach them? Or should we do so as a capacity of a teacher.
Yes, the role of a teacher cannot really be define clearly. We are a role model to them, we guide them, we nurture them, we scold them when they have done something, we encourage them, we mold them, we advise them, we 'fix' them and of course, we TEACH them.
We need to learn, We need to grow with the times, We need to move on, We need to be BOTH critical and creative and definitely, We need to REFLECT.
An introspective piece, holding many questions for us, educators.
ReplyDeleteThe demand and expectations are definitely on us, sometimes even handed completely aver to us.
Whether it is fair or not, that is the current reality of the present society where we witness many families with parents who are unable to carry out their roles.
This makes our work doubly challenging, but always worthwhile, and makes our work even more acutely crucial for the future of our children and ourselves.
Good to read your perception on issues that have impact on our work. This gives you broad understanding of our work. Beyond this understanding, you will lead well with an equally strategic action or solution or philosophy that can direct or guide your team's work.