May-Ie Tan was my first kindergarten teacher when I was 3 and a half years old living in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Realizing that Ms. Tan is still a teacher at the same school, it was a real pleasure getting in touch with her. We began talking about how our lives and catching up. As I don't remember much of my time in her classroom, she told me about the things we did and how the school has changed. Ms. Tan is an American Chinese who married a Malaysian Chinese, which is the reason she moved to Malaysia 20 odd years ago. She mentioned that she adapted to the environment quickly and found teaching in an international school rewarding and enlightening. This week I brought up the topic of poverty and inquired about how she views the impact of poverty in Malaysia on education, whether it be at her particular school or others. She mentioned that in many of the rural areas and slums of Malaysia, it is difficult for children to have access to a proper education because of their limited resources. Crimes in the city often arise from poverty, which have lead to many kidnappings of children outside school gates. It is a problem that is difficult to eradicate but there are organizations that aim to limit the poverty and crime. At this moment, with the typhoon disaster in the Philippines, many efforts are targeted towards helping them.
Carmel O'Brien is a first grade teacher in an international school in Singapore. She is originally from Australia and moved to Singapore a few years ago. With Singapore being such a diverse country with many expatriates and nationalities living together, the large city was not much different to Melbourne. However, moving to a different country is an endeavour that can be daunting and it does take a while to adjust to the new environment, especially to the humidity in Singapore. There is not much visible poverty in Singapore but one will see a beggar here or there, yet it hardly seems that any children are affected. Even with lower income families, the adults ensure that they work overtime or take on more in order to provide their children with the best education possible.
I look forward to learning more from Ms. Tan and Ms. O'Brien and am grateful for being able to be in contact with people from various parts of the world, giving me new insights to education and day-to-day life in different places.
Nicole,
ReplyDeleteIt is awesome that the person you found to speak with was one was of your former teachers. That has to be an amazing experience for you. It appears that the situation is pretty horrible in Malaysia. I could not imagine sending my child to school and worrying about them possibly getting kidnapped? Do you know if they kidnap them to make them slaves or if there is some type of trafficking involved? Good luck with your journey of learning more about poverty and education in Malaysia.
Hi Cheryl. Most of the kidnappings are in exchange for ransoms and the children usually end up back with their families. However, I am sure for those who are unable to pay the ransoms, they may never see their children again.
DeleteNicole, I think it's great that you have been able to make contacts with people you know. I found it interesting that you do not see much poverty in Singapore, but that fact that the parents are willing to do what it takes to make sure their children are being provided for definitely shows what a difference priorities can make. Do you know if there is anything being done about the kidnapping of children in Malaysia? I can't wait to hear more about your conversations with these two people.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure to what extent help is being provided with regards to the kidnappings but I know that the police help parents with arranging the exchanges and try to get the children back as safely as possible. Safety measures are constantly being increased surrounding schools in order to try to prevent kidnappings.
DeleteThat is really awesome that you were able to contact your former teacher! I would have been so excited. In reference to their issues with poverty, the crimes are different from what we experience in the US. However, crimes are being committed in both places due to poverty. I look forward to reading more of your posts!
ReplyDeleteGetting in touch with her again was very exciting. It is something that we need to reflect on as a society in order to help people so that they do not feel that their last resort has to be to commit crimes.
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