Homeschooling Journey Part 5

My wife has finally submitted the full curriculum. Yay! This calls for a celebration for the hard work and time she put in. Next, we'll need to prepare the room for home visitation once the curriculum is approved. Apparently, the requirement for this 6-year curriculum thingy only started not long ago. Application for homeschooling today has indeed become tougher than the past.

I received a call from the primary school where we had declined the vacancy. The admin staff said, "It's the first time we encounter someone declining the vacancy to go for homeschooling. So we are also not very sure what to do initially." She told us that we still needed to go down and fill up the forms. Thus, I brought J to go and take a look at the school environment. In a nutshell, he said, "I still prefer to be homeschooled." 

I mean... which child doesn't like homeschooling?

Last night, J was pretty upset with some stuff. This morning, he recounted the reason as his eyes grew teary. To protect the external party, I won't be sharing the details here.

But this makes me think that it is worth the sacrifice for homeschooling. It will not be easy peasy for parents to choose this road. But it will be beneficial for the child.

A number of people have told me this.... "It is better for the child to face the reality of this world. He eventually has to... so why would you want to take him out of this society? Just put him in."

I personally think that this perspective is not well thought out.

Will you put a baby in the streets to survive on its own, since he will still be walking in the streets one day?

Will you put someone in the battlefield without first training him to war?

Will you put a new believer in a dark environment without giving him any foundation of who God is?

I think you get the point. A child is defenceless when it comes to the internal. His heart is innocent, tender and sensitive. This is why if you bruise a child's heart early in life, he will struggle a big deal when he grows up. There are many adults today with major 'heart' (internal) issues who still behave like a child. Research in psychology will tell you that an adult with mental/emotional challenges usually faced some kind of trauma or was wounded when he was a child. Yes, God can do the supernaturally to heal, etc. 

But for many, it is too late (or rather extremely difficult) to deal with it when the child has grown up. Don't mistake academic success as true success. If we can't lead our hearts and direct the internal, it is not true success. When the heart is not built properly, no matter how high you go in the corporate world, you will fall greatly.

A child's early years of development is the time for us to build him up in foundations, especially in identity. When he is geared up, he will be ready to be sent out into the world and the society to face the battle and harsh reality. It does not mean that he won't be hurt in the process, but he has his heart better trained and values better shaped to overcome the challenges.

A child is God's gift to us. What we do with the child is about stewardship. How do we steward what God has given to us?

At the end of the day, God is not just looking at how great your ministry is or how successful you are in your work. He is going to ask, "As a father, what have you done with the child I have given you?" This is what we have to account for. #homeschooling101

A Wave Of Change ---- Election 2021

This is off fathering topic but it came when I was with J...

Recently, I played some old NDP songs with videos for J to watch so that he has a glimpse of how the little red dot has changed over the past 50 years.

As I listened to the old songs such as "We Are Singapore", I couldn't help but experienced a wave of sadness in my heart, even though I am not of the Pioneer or Merdeka generation. I can't speak for all, but I can speak from my perspective.

Singapore has lost her identity and the spirit that the first generation of leadership had. I wonder if things have to always go downhill by the second generation, in this case, the leadership. This is not uncommon among believers too.

In 2016, more than 40% of Singaporeans (who took the survey) said that they would want to migrate to other countries. More than 20% said that they were unsure. The remaining 30% said they would stay. I believe the number of those who want to migrate has increased by now.

There are many reasons but the main two reasons are as follows:

1) Wanting a transparent government (more than 70% said that)

2) High cost of living (more than 50% said that)

There is a difference between a generation who fought from the place of survival and a generation who has an inheritance without the need to fight for anything. The former identifies with their people aka Singaporeans; the latter identifies with growth. I'm not saying that either one is better. But I do think that there is a place to marry both (and if only one can be chosen due to a forced situation, people must always come first). That's servant leadership.

Alot of foreigners and PRs think that we as Singaporeans are being ungrateful. I think it's too quick to make that superficial or holier-than-thou judgment. Until we stand in the shoes of those who are struggling, we will never understand how much 'slavery' is masked in our nation. Crazy Rich Asians do not mean true wealth in our body and soul. We are far from that.

The fight is not against flesh and blood. It is against another kingdom at work through our gahmen. It is a yoke upon our people to prevent us from being the Antioch City. We are enslaved in such a subtle way that we do not even realise that we are running the rat race without purpose. 

The world looks at us and applauds. But we look within and realise that we are one of the most unhappy people in the world. It is noted that "a society’s unhappiness level is not related to how poor it is, but rather how big the gap is between the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’."

A report in 2011 reveals that Singaporeans are the least positive people in the world among 148 countries. The constant state of anxiety has put us in that place.

Another report found that non-fatal diseases for young Singaporeans from 10 to 34 years old in 2017 were largely driven by MENTAL DISORDERS. In that report, an average Singaporean spends 12.5% or more than 10 years of his life in ill-health.

We are known to show the best for what is on the exterior and hide the mess for what is on the interior. Show-and-tell is probably one of our strongest 'gifts'. I was in the military sector for 6 years. And my family has those in civil service for more than few decades combined together. Ask us how we know. 

After an extended period of reign, people will always be a reflection of their leaders. Why are Singaporeans like that (singlish)? Just look up and you have the answer.

Disclaimer: Granted. We still have the power of choice not to succumb to the ways of majority. But it is not as easy for everyone because not everyone starts from the same-level playing field.

In the Scriptures, we are clearly commanded to submit to authorities. Some mistook submission as blind obedience. Of course, rebellion is witchcraft and that's a totally different story altogether. While it is necessary that we (as believers) honour our leaders in the nation of Singapore, it does not mean that we cannot challenge (or question) the thoughts and ways through proper means. 

Election is one proper platform that is created for such purpose. We must not think that all in the opposition parties are bad. Neither should we think that all in the ruling party are good. To perceive it in either one way or the another is being naive. There are good and bad ones in any party but that's not the point. The point is... who is FOR Singapore?

If those in either parties are FOR Singapore, then we must welcome BOTH. It is never 'either or'. It is both!

I have heard people using United States as a warning against democracy. Again, that's making an assumption without considering that Singapore is not United States and will never be the same because of cultural differences and so many other factors. Just take a look at Taiwan ---- they are different from United States. Why don't we compare with the good stuff in Taiwan and progressively move towards democracy? The point here is not about comparison. Don't point to one country that is bad but overlook the other that is good.

I'm sensing a wave of change coming... for the good of our nation. Leadership is appointed by God, but it doesn't mean that God cannot replace leadership. We have been praying one-sided prayers instead of asking God to take the reign. (Disclaimer: I'm not saying that the party is changing.)

There are a few things that PSP Mr Tan said that are obvious and we cannot deny them.

The 79-year old former PAP MP said, "I believe the processes of good governance have gone astray. I worry because I see the foundations of good governance eroding."

Some said that we need to question the motives of Mr Tan, since he was probably upset with the policy that disempowered him to go for Presidential Election. But I think that as believers, we need to let God judge the motives. We are only called to judge the fruit. In the same way, it doesn't mean that those in the ruling party always have pure motives. We don't know and we don't need to know.

We must not confuse the ruling party with Singapore. Neither should we assume that opposition parties are opposing Singapore. Singapore does not belong to any political party. Besides, I'm not for any party except for the heavenly one. Joke aside. We should be supporting anyone who is FOR Singapore, particularly for our people. Because everybody wins when the goal is all about One People, One Nation, One Singapore.

In the words of our Finance minister who said that "Singapore's tax system must remain progressive", our political system and leadership should also remain progressive. Majulah Singapura!

Homeschooling Journey Part 4

Homeschooling Journey Part 4

Today is supposed to be J’s P1 Admin Day in one of the top schools. It boasts to have one of the best academic foundations in the country. While it is purely by the grace of God that we got a vacancy in Phase 2C without doing anything (except being kinda forced to apply for P1), we dropped the whole idea of following our traditional education system.

Wifey is about 80% done with the preparation of a 6-year homeschooling curriculum which is required to be submitted to the CE department for approval. We are thankful that the officer seems to be pleased with what she has shown him thus far.

One of the main strong reasons for homeschooling is to impart the culture and values we want to see in our son. Academic is important but it is never the priority in our eyes as his parents. I have personally seen many young people who are great in academic results but don’t know what basic respect is. The way they talk to their parents and elders require some slapping (no violence intended 😂)

The value of respect has been greatly lost in the new generation. Teachers are no longer respected by the children because the children did not learn respect from home. 

With the stress of life and the high cost of living in our nation, we have many parents who give presents but are not actively present. The gift of Presence supersedes any gift or present. It is definitely not easy to live in SG in today’s context but there are still deliberate choices we can make. Our priority, therefore, is our responsibility. We decide by what we choose to honour and what we choose to sacrifice. 

When I look from eternity’s perspective, I understood why we are never told to build up treasures/riches on earth. Because we cannot bring these to the other world. 

The reality is this... what we do now has an impact on eternity. Therefore, we need to choose wisely.

There are wide road and narrow path. The latter is never easy because nobody likes to be uncomfortable. As for me and my household, we will align to the culture above and not the culture beneath.

J is coming to 7 years old in less than 3 months. I’m proud that he doesn’t know how to use an iPhone/iPad, except a little scrolling and a little typing because of being exposed by his pre-school teachers. Most people may think that this is not good, because he doesn’t know technology, which is a must in this modern society. But we have a very different perspective.

We rather that he builds on social intelligence and grows in communication. Foundations are vital. Technological skills can be trained later in life. The new generation today doesn’t know how to communicate actively. We must not blame it on the new gen or the society. We need to take responsibility for what we did not cultivate as parents.

Homeschooling may be going against the usual flow. But it is worth a different flow. #homeschoolingjourney101