Speech by Ms. Claire Chiang, Guest-of-Honour, Nan Hua Primary School P6 Graduation
Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2007 @ 3pm
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am pleased to be here in this important graduation event.
I have been a teacher/researcher for 18 years in Hong Kong University and National University of Singapore. I believe teaching is a noble calling.
Although our educational spending per student in Singapore is less than countries like America and Australia , Singapore is up-held as one of the top best performing countries on educational standards, alongside Canada , Finland , Japan and South Korea .
We recruit primary school teachers from the top 30% of graduates, and design special schemes to help the bottom 20% of students that lag behind. Our government is on the right direction in framing the education architecture and we should be proud that we have a strong education foundation. As parents we should support the schools.
My older son, Ren Hua, now 25, graduated from Wharton Business School , and is working in New York . He was from Nan Hue Primary before he went to Hwa Chong Secondary and Junior College.
My daughter Ren Yung, now 22, is in her third year in London School of Economics studying sociology. She too was a Nan Hua Primary graduate before she went on to Raffles Girls' Secondary and RJ.
And my 13 years old graduated from Nan Hua Primary last year, is now in ACS International, blossoming in a direction quite different from the other 2 older siblings. He had published a small book on poetry and prose.
I was a Nan Hua primary school student for three years before I changed to Raffles Girls' Primary School, followed by the National Junior College . So you can imagine, my family shared very lively debates between Rafflesians, Hwa Chongs and ACSians – but what bind us is the solid Nan Hua Primary School Foundation values, grounded on a commitment to personal responsibility.
Zhong, Xiao, Ren, Ai, Li, Yi, Lien, Chi, these eight important values are highly regarded in China , Korea and Japan as well; in fact they are the foundation values of a harmonious society.
I must share this story bit about my mother's creative ambition for me. In the 50s when educational policies were still hazy, we were allowed to enrol in two schools. So I went to Raffles Girls Primary in the morning and Nan Hua Primary in the afternoon. I always left Raffles 20 minutes earlier than dismiss time – and late for Nan Hua by 20 minutes. The teacher in Raffles was Ms Govindasamy who had passed on, the second one is Ms Wong Oi Chan whom I still visit during Chinese New Year till today.
Why did they do this? They were touched by my mother's ambition for me, and believed I could do it. Under mother's watchful eyes and my teachers' caring support, I never failed in delivering my school work to both schools, in time. I was grateful that my teacher and mother both acted in an extra-ordinary fashion. And I am deeply grateful to my mother for pushing me, as my Chinese language facility is very useful now for our business expansion in China .
To commemorate my mother's commitment to education, I set up a Wong Yoke Lan Award. My family also set up a Chiang Kair Tong Scholarship Fund in Evergreen Secondary School to commemorate my father ‘s hard effort in trying to pass his accountancy examination till he was 60 – and despite failing consecutively year after year, he never gave up trying.
The first wisdom lesson I learnt from my parents and teachers was "Life does not owe you anything, it is your responsibility to make things happen".
Growing up in the 1950's with 5 older brothers in a two-room apartment, early on I learned to take life as is and build from there.
My family had just enough to provide an education for all my five older brothers and me; this frugality forced my parents to budget every detail in daily living and to impose our first duty in life -- to study hard and make our own living. They see education as the best gift for life – with it, you get an employment, and you stand on your own, men or women. The same message was etched in my school years by my teachers; getting the PSLE, the O and the A Levels and university degrees became badges of family honour and personal achievement.
This fundamental value commitment to education and a good employment must be our shared focus as parents, teachers and the community. For the graduates today, I hope you continue to be committed to long life learning.
It is not enough to just study and pass exams. I hope you will take part in many activities as you move on to secondary school.
I have had the opportunity in my school days to participate in many school activities. I danced for Nan Hua School at Primary One, made my first public appearance at City Hall National Day Concert at 6, followed by many more concerts organised with the People's Association, then earned my first 25 dollars with a dance performance at the then Singapore Broadcasting Corporation by joining Nan Hua Secondary dance group. I took part in all youth Festival preparations including sports like softball, hockey, netball, and long distance running. Those were tremendous development activities for confidence building.
Today I am impressed by the various enrichment programs schools offer. Overseas trips, internship and job shadow programs all help to expose our students to different working environment and cultures. This is education in a larger sense, and parents must not feel this is taking time away from “academic” focus.
When you look for a job in future, although your paper qualification is important, your employer is also very keen on your extra-curricular activities. Because leadership is not a paper credit, the more projects you do, the more you learn, adapt and lead effectively.
AS TEACHERS
Too often, the success equation is defined in terms of year end grades. What we forget is the daily 8 hours our kids spent in schools, a significant amount of time that gives the teacher an opportunity to influence, by educating the kid, and not merely teaching a lesson.
On behalf of my three children, I thank all teachers in Nan Hua who in one way or the other touched their lives. And I invite all the students to give your teachers and principal a huge applause.
And to all parents, life does not stop with one examination failure. How do we support our children, and the schools?
AS PARENTS
For thirty years, my husband and I are partners at work, and at home. In the last 25 years we were very involved with numerous community and government appointed responsibilities.
How do we make time for ourselves and the family?
We plan, schedule, and prioritise. We have a year planner for business travels, family and community responsibilities. These commitments build up a daily checklist of deliverables. One step at a time and when I see my diary being ticked off every day, I know I have in the long run delivered the numerous "bits" of living - personal bits, marriage and family bits and community bits.
On my personal development journey, I wanted a University degree so that I could be financially independent; I chose to stay at home for two years to become a full-time mother for my first child (ask me anything from breastfeeding to making baby food, cooking and sewing, I do them all); I quit being a stay at home mum and went back to the University to teach part time when I had my daughter; then I quit teaching after 18 years to become a full time businesswoman, and for 20 years I did community work and served two terms in Parliament, while raising my third child.
When a child sees the parents being busy with life activities and always bringing to the dinner table creative ideas and imaginative stories, this joy shared during the daily family meals and holiday trips becomes the FAMILY VALUES that incrementally shape our kids' attitudes towards school, work, marriage and family.
These foundation values erect a sturdy architecture for life for our kids. My “family in bits” – a bit in NEW YORK , another bit in London , the two bits, my husband and myself all over in our business travels, and the tiny bit in Singapore – is now connected by a FAMILY BLOG, where we post our plans and thoughts. Though oceans apart, we live and share as family on cyberspace!
I congratulate myself as being a successful parent when none of my three children is into drugs, smoking, drinking, or fraud. They lead a normal honest living, are motivated by what they do, and believe in family values.
Indeed, parents must be the heroes and heroines for our children. By being strong parents, with steadfast and consistent values, we are there for their children as role models and home teachers. We should be prepared to say “no” when it is necessary, and in saying no, explain why so, and point a different way. We should provide a safe home so that our children are armed with security to tackle the world outside. And hopefully they will learn to say “NO” to temptations, or even to us parents and teachers, in a clear-headed reasonable way.
I think all the parents here have worked very hard to bring you up, may I invite all the students here to give your parents a huge applause. Remember, you cannot just talk about values; you have to express them in actions. You have to demonstrate your love to your parents, and your commitment to the eight values that Nan Hua has taught you by what you do, and not merely by what you say.
SPIRIT OF HUMOUR
One last wisdom driver in life is Humour. Teachers may not be aware of this, but a poor report card can lead to whipping by a parent. What we need is for teachers to exercise some sensitivity and work with the parents on a study improvement schedule. Using laughter to ward off an annoying situation can serve as an uplifting trick. Feeling supported is what a child needs.
Let me cite another anecdote with my son, who was 6 years old at the time. We were driving on a long stretch of road to Santa Fe , and my husband made a wrong turn which took us on a longer route. It was getting dark and we were hungry, annoyed at missing the first turn. It was our little son sitting quietly at the back of the car who said to us "well, better late than lost, mama!" I was inspired by this insight in seeing the best of a situation, appreciating a cup half full, not half empty.
This is the same son who came back one day from school with a Chinese test score of 52, feeling no embarrassment at all, instead he exclaimed with indignance at my scolding "Well, mama I passed. It is an improvement from the last score of 49! You must appreciate the effort!" What can I say? He passed with an A grade at PSLE.
CONCLUSION
The journey of raising children is a tough commitment.
In preparing for a recent talk to COMPASS, on Being There for Our kids, I asked my 13 year old Ren Chun who was doing his homework beside me, what does “BEING THERE” meant for him, with reference to parents and teachers.
This is what he said , “it means parents(teachers) allowing their kids to grow their own way, with guidance when needed, and giving them the assurance that if they have problems or they met with failure, parents (teachers) are always there to reassure them and pick them up, without belittling and pressurising them. Allow your kids to discover the light of success on their own, and with guiding hands, encourage them to strive towards higher goals. In short, parents (teachers) should draw the pathways, and let the kids explore the paths themselves.” He said this in one breathe, I am not even editing it. I looked at this growing son one head taller than me, and thought how much can I , must I, should I and when do I let go ?
As a parent, I will not let go, but I must un-learn, and re-learn how to reach out, how to embrace, not too tightly and how to be the strong hands behind them that will pick them up when they fall.
I congratulate all the primary School graduates for having done well in the last six years. As you step out to the next stage, hold fast to the values that Nan Hua had taught you, as they will be the compass that guides you. For today, in celebrating this significant milestone, don't Worry, Just Enjoy!
Thank you All!