Just another Junction

It has been a busy and stressful month. Lots of important things need to be done while juggling many equally important decisions to made. At the same time, I am also excited by the many major things happening soon.

I'm coming to another junction in life. Faced with many uncertainty and tough decisions. There are many roads lie ahead of me; some I prefer to travel, some I love to travel, some I hope I could travel while some I might have to travel.

Despite all these mixed feelings, I thank God for the re-assurance that He is there with me. The sermon on Sunday was about the pleasures and pains of leadership, drawing from the example of Joseph. I am reminded of the importance of God's presence in whatever circumstances. It has been a comfort to know that when God's presence is with us, things will eventually fall into place and success will be with us, even though our surroundings and the process might not be as we expected.

The quiet time with God for the past 2 days had also been encouraging, looking at the life of Daniel, who has also found much success in life through God's providence and guidance. Daniel reminded me of the perseverance and steadfastly standing firm on God's principles when things around us were not smooth-sailing.

Well, this junction is just another junction in life. The process is important but let me be reminded that the goal is even more important. For all I know, God is still there with me and nothing better could I ask for, just as describe by the chorus of the song "Still".

When the oceans rise and thunders roar,
I will soar with You above the storm,
Father, You are King over the flood,
I will be still and know You are God.
Still, by Hillsong

Home Schooling - An alternative for schooling?

I first heard about home schooling about 5 years ago. Someone related to me began home schooling and I have the privilege to tutor him for a few months.

Home schooling is ideally the alternative schooling whereby a parent (usually the mother) will stays at home and tutor the child. The materials used were usually sourced from United States and some from Australia. The advantage of home schooling is that the pace of learning can be catered specially for the child and he or she could also benefit from the close supervision and interaction of the parent.

After listening to a talk on home schooling last week in the Sociology of Education class, I began to see some flaws in the home schooling scenario in Malaysia. In Malaysia, many of these home schoolers actually attend Home School Centre. These centres provide tutorship for the students and ideal study environment. It was also said that these centres also provide the necessary social interaction for home schoolers. However, this method of home schooling has defeated a very important fundamentals of home schooling, whereby parents are suppose to be the main tutor and guidance for the child's education. By sending the child to a home school centre does not make much difference in sending him or her to a conventional school and the role of parents as tutor has again been taken over by another so-called teacher in the centre.

Another part of me that could not agree with home schooling is the importance of schools. I have personally benefited from the rich experiences I gained in school, particularly my secondary education. The school has not only provided me with the necessary knowledge, but more importantly, has presented me a wonderful education to be a scholar, sportsman and gentleman. Once in a while, I do actually wonder whether will I be the same person if not for the 7-formative years in secondary school.

There could still be more arguments raised regarding home schooling, be it the pros or cons. I guess what is more important is how education can transform a person into a better person. Failing to do so, education has failed, regardless of the mean of schooling.