12/02/2008

A home song 8

My beloved homeland I was only fifteen when I bade her goodbye Stepping out into the night, misty in my eyes But before the tears would flow, The sky opened up, and my head went low I will miss her, whenever I’m not here Spring was refreshing, with the smell of new Summer mesmerizing, with flowers of varied hues Then autumn, a little sadness of a year going by And winter came, glistening snow and wintry chills I still miss her, every moment of the year Sprawling fields of tulips and daffodils Snow capped mountains and low lying hills Mysterious forests and haunting tales Flowing rivers steeped with medieval adventures I still miss her, no place can hold so dear Cottages, castles and chapels filled my eyes Faces painted by the weather and climes of time They brought along, songs and wines, all so fine I feasted everyday, everywhere, losing myself in time I still miss her, my beloved homeland, the land I left behind Chorus I can hear her crying, ringing in my ears I can feel her heartbeat, thumping through my soul I can feel the tenderness of her warm embrace How I long to be in her arms, intoxicated in her loving graceI was only fifteen when I bade her goodbye Stepping out into the night, misty in my eyes But before the tears would flow, The sky opened up, and my head went low I will miss her, whenever I’m not here Spring was refreshing, with the smell of new Summer mesmerizing, with flowers of varied hues Then autumn, a little sadness of a year going by And winter came, glistening snow and wintry chills I still miss her, every moment of the year Sprawling fields of tulips and daffodils Snow capped mountains and low lying hills Mysterious forests and haunting tales Flowing rivers steeped with medieval adventures I still miss her, no place can hold so dear Cottages, castles and chapels filled my eyes Faces painted by the weather and climes of time They brought along, songs and wines, all so fine I feasted everyday, everywhere, losing myself in time I still miss her, my beloved homeland, the land I left behind Chorus I can hear her crying, ringing in my ears I can feel her heartbeat, thumping through my soul I can feel the tenderness of her warm embrace How I long to be in her arms, intoxicated in her loving grace The above is copyrighted by redbean

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Please support journalist Ms Jane Ng from Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) who wrote about the issues surronding neighbourhood and popular schools and students. What is this obssession about top, popular, premier, superior and branded schools? Schools are places for learning of knowledge, not places for comparing who is better and who is worse. Schools are not places for comparing who has higher marks and who has lower marks. It is time someone point out the silliness of all these unneccesary and self-inflicted comparisons. Many of our pioneers do not go to school, do not have worldly knowledge, do not even speak English, and do not live in comfort like ourselves. By our standards today, they are nowhere near the top, but, a big BUT, is that without their hard work, many of us will not be here today. I think, we will be probably be tapping rubber from rubber trees under the hot, scorching sun, instead of working and typing away in air-conditioned offices. Always be mindful of the use of certain terms and the effect it has on other less fortunate members of our society. Just because some make it to certain schools is no reason to make others feel small. Likewise, others should not feel small or envious or jealous just because some make it to certain schools. Schools are just a building with four walls for the purpose of learning of knowledge. Every school is the same; four walls. I heard there is this school only three walls.

Anonymous said...

maybe, should pass a law to ban compare this and compare that, then got peace, good for the kids

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

hi anonymous,

the school system is a very sensitive issue and involves many complex issues. but the main culprit is not anyone else but the parents. the schools here are all good schools and any child that gets into the express stream is a good student. even the normal stream schools are good schools as their focus is to bring out the best of each student according to his ability.

a school is only as good as the students and the teachers.

but academic excellence is not a guarantee to success in life. in every profession there are successful people.

i suggest we approach this topic by talking about it rather than taking sides. there is no clear cut right or wrong here.

when my children were in school, i only told them to do their best and accept whatever grades they got. if they got to good schools, good. if they got to not so good schools, good. they should grow according to their own ability.

branding has its pros and cons. but good students must be allowed to progress at their own rate as well and not be dragged down by the slower ones.

putting aside the branding, our education system actually caters for all the different abilities of the students, the fast and the slow and the not so slow.

just a little thought on my part.

Anonymous said...

This was written

Our M admitted to the American
"America is a talent-driven country, Singapore is a examination-driven country"

Singapore believe examinations results is a surety for success in life. They drive the whole nation looking for scholars.

Hints : Some of the top civil servant made it there because the number diminshed over years. Those can tahan (ie yes-man type ) made it but were medicore. So success in our system here include being able to be YES-Man type.

The logic of an examination-driven country is to nuture obedience to the State.ie you must also be the YES Minister type.. that will guarantee success.

Those cannot tahan the system already left and went overseas long ago. for is a more talent based economy.

Well they say we need more babies to be born here. We educated them when they were young and then when they grow up, they go overseas study and LEFT the country...

In turn SIN made up the numbers by attracting alot of developing country citizens.

You see exams prepare yopur kids for overseas education to a Talent based economy. So so bad after all.... if you follow the logic and think of them when they grow older. They are ready to go overseas for good. Any worse?

Anonymous said...

the truth is, there is no such thing as a 'stupid' or a 'smart' child. this labelling has no basis. each child has her or his learning rate. there is no basis for comparing the learning rate between two childs as each has his or her unique circumstances. learning itself should be a reward. there should not be any reward for doing well. hoever, there should be money help for those who really need it. the poorer financial background the child is from, the more money help he or she needs, to help him or her level up, at least at an education level. our society should stop promoting elitism, instead promote healthy learning of knowledge. treat all learners alike. stop the practise of the past, where the media always print a photo of 'top' students standing together with their toothy grin. eeeeee...... so old fashioned. think of more creative ways of highlighting active learners. highlight learners from all schools and all types of people. it is actually good for the long term of our society to help many people level up in terms of education.

>You see exams prepare yopur kids for overseas education to a Talent based >economy. So so bad after all.... if you follow the logic and think of them >when they grow older. They are ready to go overseas for good. Any worse?

exams need to be perceived in the correct perspective. some students so hate the subjects they studied for that they throw away everything they learnt after the exam. what a waste. there goes our 'albert estein' into the rubbish bins. exams should be perceived as a way of verifying knowledge learnt. low marks do not mean the learner is 'stupid', it just means that he or she has a certain level of knowledge verified, and if she or he put in the neccessory effort, she or he can increase the knowledge learnt in his or her brain. same for high marks. and there are many ways of learning.

learning is a joy.

Anonymous said...

there is a need to align the middle and ground levels with the leading level of our society, so that everyone at all levels are able to enjoy the fruits of our progress.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

the minds of many singaporeans, a good student is one that has 4A* for PSLE, got into a top secondary school and got 10 A1s then followed up with 4A adn two Dist for special papers in a top JC. And the cream is a President or overseas scholarhip to an Ivy League university.

any student falls short of this is no good. and all parents aspire for their wards to take this road. so the pains and angst will come with it.

Anonymous said...

By ratio and percentage, this scenario of having all kids attaining president scholar status is unattainable. There is never a level playing field, not in school and NOT in adult-life /working life. The early you train your kid to this reality the better. This situation is Universal not just in Singapore. In Korea & Japan & China, all kids fight for a place in University.

Which explain what was said, train the kids here. When they grow up, they can go to the talent-based economy. Which means you have taken your best out of the State system and enjoyed the world. In return the State paid penalty for being so arrogant. So you didnt lose anything. It was the State's lose for having such rigid system.

Tell M that Sin schools are too competitive, they will tell you in Shanghai, they stream the kids when they are still very young.. Hey SIN schools system is still best, just get him/her to enjoy the learning experience.

Chua Chin Leng aka redbean said...

to be fair, i think we have one of the best system available. it is a wide buffett spread and the children can make their own choices. if they want to join the rat race and join the hot houses, it is their choice.

they can go to the neighbourhood schools and take it easier.

and parents must know the potential of their children. not everyone can become a president scholar. 4 a year in a cohort of 40k. wish those who got it well.

every child should find his own pace in life. there is no failure in school but in life. there is no pressure from the system but from the parents.

parents should treasure their children as they are and enjoy them rather than punish them by pushing them too hard. i never do that to my children. at your own pace, your own target, tembak!