The differences

Education..education..education. Whenever me and hubby try to actually talk about education, it will never ending with happy face. We had so much differences ever since we first married and when we not even had kids yet. Every time we touch this topic, hubby will say that I am sensitive whenever we talk about this topic and I think probably lots of other people also think that I might have strong opinion on education like I know them all.



Suddenly, I just realise...I am just difference than lots of others. And of course usually our opinion and the way we thinking is a reflection from where we come from, our background and importantly what we been experience before. Experience is the strongest link with how we think, feel and put our voice and opinion.



So, I sit and sum up:



Hubby education background is just simple like any other common people. He didn't go to kindergarten. He start off with year one or so called standard one in Malaysia and finish primary school at standard 6 and went to secondary school from form 1 as we call in Malaysia and finish at form 5 age 17+. Than went to Uni, done his diploma of mechanical engineering, and than work and done his diploma of education and start teaching in Polytechnic and married and came to England and get his degree and master degree.



So, in a way his primary and secondary education is just straight forward like most people. He only experience one type of Education during primary and secondary which is government public day school.



How about me:



I went to kindergarten. Kind off English type of nursery. We read fairy tales, draw Cinderella and snow white and teacher do speak English. Than I went to the best of Primary school where we live and I was in the best class which is A class since standard one until six. Never actually work hard but I was in school from 7.30 am to 1.30pm. Than back home for lunch time and off to quran reading from 2/2.30pm until 5.30pm. than usually off to tuition from 7pm to 9pm. That's what I have for 6 years.



Than in secondary my parents send me off to private Islamic school belong to ex Malaysian Prime minister Abdullah Badawi grandfather in Penang. I was thirteen at that time. This school teach only arabic and Islamic studied using arabic as a first language. There's no canteen or cafe and I stay in boarding and had to cook by my self using old fuel cooker style. The boarding building is lovely with 2 people in each room with complete bed, wardrobe and study table for each person. Big nice kitchen for everybody with kitchen cabinet and nearby shop where we can buy some meat, vegetable and other dry things. So, look back I start to shop and cook at the age of 13 without any adult help. Lots of people that study there age 15 above and few my age. Class is mix according to when we start, not by age. So, I had classmate age 15, 17 and etc. I stay there for around 6 months. I do learn a lots of things there and sometimes weekend nearly whole building where we stay was empty as lots of people stay nearby go home and as I was quiet far from home, I am not normally go home every weekend.



From there my parents than take me out and send me to government public girl only school. Still it was far from home, so I stay in boarding. And as lots of other boarding school, I had experience bullying style when you first get into the boarding and is among the younger group in the school.



So, that was two different experience in one year. One in private only Islamic study school, no academic and the other one is government public school with tight schedule and rules without any islamic studies except basic. Which means we learn Islamic studies but no arabic, deep into hadith and etc.



Around 4 months there, I than been moved to another private school not far from my house, about 20 minutes drive but still I stay in boarding. This school got both Islamic studies and academic. Islamic studies contain fikh, tauhid, islamic history, hadith, 3 subject of arabic language including writing, reading, grammar and comprehension. Also we had range of other academic subject of maths, malay language, science, geography, history, economy, English. Because over there there are foundation year, mean I will be backward one year than my other cousin and friends that I know. As there are change in curriculum at that time, me and couple of friends there decided to take exam one year than we should be with school privately, so we can take it same as our friends who do not have to go through foundation in other school.



My parents got me a distance learning for the exam I wanted to take. At the same time, I still continue my study with the school and stay boarding. After nearly 1 1/2 year, and time for my private exam is near, I pull my self from school and attended private tuition for couple of months and still go to school as well at the same time. I quit from school before exam and take exam and pass with quiet flying colour. I was 15 at that time and this is when my parents decided for me to just stay home and take another important exam, o level. I don't actually like to stay home and get distance learning as I love company. My parents didn't actually bother about exam, but willing to provide any distance learning as money is not a problem for us.



I had no help or motivation from others. I don't have computer at that time at home even we have it before when my father office is at home and I used with computer since age of 7/8. But, as office move and we move, I don't have access with computer, only sometimes at my cousin house. I love motivation book. I made my own spider web for my learning without realise about the learning style. I stick lots of my spiderweb style info on the wall. My room fill with data for my study. I had my target achievement stick on the wall as well. I learn to story on my own. Buy revision book, past paper and go though books on my own. Got feedback from my tutor if I send them assignment. Otherwise I am on my own. Distance learning I take usually for people who actually taken the exam for second time.



I went to register the exam with my own will and without any help from any adult. Just all the things I do for my study and exam and the whole of my homeschool process is on me. Alhamdulillah I pass my exam with quiet good consider I did waste lots of time. I should continue with diploma but wanted to go through another exam for sixth form. And get married before the exam and did take the exam though! I did work in nursery for a while before married.



So, that is my education journey and look back I've been to public school, private boarding school, public boarding school with full islamic studies and both islamic and academic studies. May be I didn't experience University environment, but I did go through some Uni level studies with open University couple of years back and did various other courses.

I am also was a stay home mum with one and than two and than three kids. Than start working part time with three kids, and than work full time worth three kids and than four kids. And now stay home mum and homeschooling with four kids. I think experience say it all.

This is why sometimes or maybe most for the time, when people talk about their experience and give their opinion, I can easily interrupt but do have my own strong opinion mostly if the person just like hubby, going to straight and one line journey during education. Not me. Talking about school, been there. Talking about private school, been there. Boarding school, been there, private and public. Islamic only school, been there. Mix education style of islamic and academic, been there. Homeschooling and taking 2 big exam as a homeschooler, been there. Stay home mum with one, two and three kids, been there. Work part time and full time with three and than four kids, been there. Stay home mum with four kids and home educate, been there and still there.

And of course one of the big difference between me and hubby as I am the eldest who had to look up my other sibling, noticing any problem occur around family and hubby being the number five, in the middle out of ten, of course experience less responsibility taken. Probably been given too much at some point in a way as his gap with his younger brother is 4 years, while I had four other brother and sister although the gap between me and the one younger than me is 6 years because I had one brother died after 7 days born.

For me experience is better tale than books or theory. We can simply talk about what we think and give opinion from what we read and see or observe, but experience it all our self can give a big impact towards how we think and how we see things.

After sit and reflect upon my own education journey, I suddenly see why I got so much differences from others. While most people either go through straight forward journey either school or homeschool, or mix half and half, I went though a lots of corners along the way and lots of stop by and transit which teach me a lots and change the way I am thinking and the way I see what education is and why there are things I am worried and other not and others worried and I am not.

Education for me is one big picture with lots of corner, hurdle, gates and rewards. The most important rewards is experience. And what am I thinking? I am thinking if we had a chance this year to go back for holiday to Malaysia, I will send PS and MS for probably two or three weeks into private boarding school where they will have to wash their own clothes using their bare hand. Only to give them some experience and I believe that short time will teach them a lots and change the way they think and they way they see things. I do feel pretty happy that I am be able to give my kids experience similar to what I had. Probably will also send AS and S to private day school when we go back for one or two weeks. They all had been to school here. Although AS might not be fully in school, but he had been in private nursery when I used to work for more than a year from 8am to 6pm. I want my kids to explore and experience a different type of education system which will give them whole lots of other important experience.

Hubby said that all other people in jamaat whose went with him to Bosnia, says that they shock look hubby was clothes with hand and dry it by twisting the clothes tightly. They said to hubby, they cannot do that. They all need to find laundry to wash their clothes. I bought hubby a tiny bottle of washing liquid for clothes. All other people were born and brought up in UK.

I was thinking about his story and than said, " How about our kids?".

Our kids never wash clothes by hand. PS did wash her own bag and shoes but not clothes. I am not wanted to take one day to teach kids how to wash clothes by hand. I know it's like not important as we going all techno geek this days and we 'might' not needed to learn this? I think it's a no no for me. I think I will need to list down important things on how we do things before without all this technology. I was homeschool without any computer. With limited books and no tutor or help from adult. I manage to pass through 2 big exam, SRP (not PMR) and SPM. It make big different in my life, not the exam but the journey along the way. Experience make a big difference, just think before you give a birth naturally and after you give the birth. Even doctor who learn about this, tell different things before the experience and after.