Profiles of past students of St Patricks, Kulim

Those of you who have been peeking into this blog might want to identify yourself by posting your profiles under the following headings:
Name.
Age
Year you started school at St Pats,
Year you finished.
Subsequent studies undertaken
Profession
Members of your family


Your impression of your old school

Achievement

Hopes for the future.

etc.

Please send the info to me as part of an email and I will do my best to publish it in the blog.

Photos are most welcome.

Hopefully this will keep us in touch.

An idea of what schools can do

My interest in education takes me through some of the schools to find what the children are learning. This is one example of what is taking place in one of the schools in Sydney. I am not suggesting that we imitate whatever is done in schools in other places but it is good to see what imagination can do. We have to be more imaginative and explore the wider world for our own good. Learning need not be confined to just the three Rs.What we need most are leaders with imagination in the field of education to make the country bloom.

'WHEN you are already learning Sanskrit, Latin, Spanish and putting on a Shakespearean production each year, the national literacy and numeracy tests might seem like a cinch to children at John Colet School.

Gilbert Mane, the headmaster of the independent school in Belrose, which came sixth overall in a ranking of NSW primary schools based on results from NAPLAN tests, said the students also studied philosophy and meditation.'

Extract from the Sydney Morning Herald

Quotable Quote

IMAGINATION IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN KNOWLEDGE
KNOWLEDGE IS LIMITED,
IMAGINATION ENCIRCLES THE WORLD.

Albert Einstein

How good is our education system

Almost all countries have some mission statements on Education. The article following is an intent put out by The US President, Barack Obama on the outcome of his educational policy.
I have chosen to put this statement on the blog because it so happens that education is my calling.
Australia has also made big strides in its education programme through the introduction of early childhood education and the implementation of the teaching of languages in schools to name just two areas.
What I am driving at is the importance of education in the preparation of our young for the tasks ahead in all areas of life. It is not enough to just say 'copy the Chinese or the Jews to show improvement' as one politician put it. It involves a lot of energy put in by the students guided by well trained educators.
What is the quality of the programmes that help to prepare our children for higher education not just in the main cities but also throughout the nation. Do we have well trained teachers in the various fields, do we have proper facilities to help with the acquisition of knowledge such as science and language labs especially in the primary and lower secondary areas of the country?
Do we leave out subjects, for example languages, simply because the children have difficulty in coping with their learning?
How often has the government done its homework to improve its education policy?
Something to think about for the purpose of nation building.

Where do we stand

Ihaveb The Current Situation

At this defining moment in our history, preparing our children to compete in the global economy is one of the most urgent challenges we face. We need to stop paying lip service to public education, and start holding communities, administrators, teachers, parents and students accountable. We will prepare the next generation for success in college and the workforce, ensuring that American children lead the world once again in creativity and achievement.

The SolutionImprove K-12 schooling:

• We will recruit an army of new teachers and develop innovative ways to reward teachers who are doing a great job, and we will reform No Child Left Behind so that we are supporting schools that need improvement, rather than punishing them.

• Expand access to higher education:

  After graduating high school, all Americans should be prepared to attend at least one year of job training or higher education to better equip our workforce for the 21st century economy. We will continue to make higher education more affordable by expanding Pell Grants and initiating new tax credits to make sure any young person who works hard and desires a college education can access it.

• Make sure our children are prepared for kindergarten:

  One of the most critical times to influence learning in a child's life is the period before he or she reaches kindergarten. We will invest in early childhood education, by dramatically expanding Head Start and other programs to ensure that all of our young children are ready to enter kindergarten.

Counter

The counter on your left was introduced last week. It's starting date was 19th September 2009. Don't be surprised if the number indicated is low. It should increase as more and more people take peeps at the blog from now on.

You are never late to continue sending your articles.

Bill

Negotiation begins................

Dear Ron,

Your suggestion to include a visit to Kulim for our of group of 'geriatric tourists' is a great idea! I am sure that a tour to our old schools will bring back
wonderful memories (and tears). It will be hilarious when we all front up in the same T shirts!! Perhaps lets get some publicity - let the local papers know about our visit. Then Kulim will really have woken up and remember this return of her 'children' for long time!!

The Kulim Club is possibly an appropriate venue for our lunch - I am sure Cheah Kok Poh would be able to arrange that.

Kind regards.



On Wed Aug 5 1:55 , Ron Heng sent:

Teddy,

I like the t-shirt idea. I will talk to Aaron this week-end. We get the t-shirts printed in Malaysia. It is cheaper and in any case the t-shirts in Aus are mostly made in China.
We are going to smell if we wear the same t-shirt for 3 days. We can give each one 1 t-shirt as part of the function cost but make extra t-shirts available for sale. We can take orders when we get responses of intent to attend to ensure that we get printed the right quantity and sizes.

What do you think of the idea of organising a lunch in Kulim?. We can hire a bus to take us there from Penang for the lunch and include a quick tour of Kulim. Perhaps we can organise with the headmasters of St Pat, St Anne and SBS for a quick tour of the schools. Just imagine all these oldies turning up in Kulim and the schools all dressed in the same t-shirts. Kulim will remember us for a long long time.

Talk again soon,
Ron