Thursday is Malay Speaking Day...

Today is Malay Speaking Day...it is something we have instituted as part of making my firstborn speak proper Malay! My BH's (read: Better Half) idea...Good one dear...We don't want our girls growing up SPAY-KING ENGLISH well only but not their mother tongue...But our problem is not so much that they don't speak Malay well but they tend to mix and match the languages they speak...,"Nanti Kakak go and bathe OK?"...is a common occurrence...And goodness me, the younger one even ends her sentences with the Singaporean trademark of "lah"s!!! A true blue Singaporean indeed! That is why I always believe that parents must be ROLE MODELS in everything we do...not just when we are in front of the kids...but EVERYTIME, EVERYWHERE...no ifs, no buts...

We shared the 'Thursday is Malay Speak Day' bit with my firstborn's teachers at today's Parents-Teachers Meeting and they were amused! Incidentally, Shahira received a glowing report from her teacher...she would be the one reminding her friends to speak English (!), she is mature for her age - she knows conflict resolution (!), she's eager to share her stories with friends, especially her trip down under (!) and when she's not around, the whole class knows!

Before the sharing session with the teachers, we were treated to a 45 minutes sharing by the Principal on Learning and Mathematical Concepts. It was a very useful and eye-opening session. I think as parents we have good intentions for our children. But more often than not what we attempt to teach them has no underlying concepts or at least none that we have in mind or that we are aware of...Take for an example something as simple as sorting...it is one of the basic concepts of math but when we do it at home and tell them to keep their things sorted or to help us sort the clothes, we don't really have these concepts in mind at the back of our head. It will be good to keep them in mind so we are aware of what we are teaching our kids...

Another sharing session carried out after the Principal's was one by the Vice-Principal at the classroom. In short, she shared the concept of 'scaffolding' - something not alien to teachers reading this - and 'learning by appropriation' - something I picked up in my Child Development module. In short, it's where we teach children without them realising it. We are the experts, guiding them to certain concepts we want them to grasp...

Which brings me to my last point...PM LEE in his Teachers' Day Rally speech today said that, "...education is not just the most precious gift, but also the most critical investment and most effective success strategy for a changing world...". And I truly believe that EDUCATION is the MOST PRECIOUS gift that we as parents can give to our children...Not just from teachers to them but also...especially so, from us to our children...And not just for our children but also for ourselves...EDUCATION is the one that makes the difference...So Shahira and Alisha, when you girls can read and understand this, know that Ibu & Ayah will do all we can to nurture, guide and raise both of you to be the best that you can be, to be wonderful Muslims, to be kind souls, to be good human beings...INSYALLAH...