Homeschool Shanghai

I was searching on information on myopia some days ago and found this report on China Daily.

“Exposure to bright light for two to three hours daily helps regulate the eye’s growth, dramatically reducing the risk of myopia, an Australian Research Council study found.

Short-sightedness, traditionally a problem among the highly educated, has reached record levels in east Asia.

Growing numbers of children in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Korea and China are struggling with their vision, with up to 90 percent of Singaporeans wearing glasses by the time they leave school, he said.

“That would compare with about 20 percent of Australians. We were quite intrigued by this — that for a country that’s quite well educated we have a serious lack of myopia in Australia,” Morgan said.

A comparative study showed 30 percent of six and seven-year-old Singaporean children had already developed the condition, compared with just 1.3 percent of Australians of the same age.

The figures were similar when contrasting children of Chinese descent from both nations, allowing researchers to eliminate ethnicity as a factor.”

A full report can be found at this site: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/life/2009-01/06/content_7371171.htm#.

Blue Eagles (Lan Ying) Dojang's First Gold Medal by DW - Girls 24kg Category, Sparring

Today is the last day of the Shanghai Tae Kwon Do Invitation Tournament. This is an inter-province tournament which is Paul’s second tournament ever since last year.

Paul was in sparring competition yesterday. He lost 3 to 4 (his opponent is Red and he was Blue, so points were read from Blue to Red.) He felt rather unjustified because he felt that the judges did not count the points correctly. He had kicked on the spots so many times causing his opponent to fall thrice. The opponent had also been warned twice because he fell out of the border (Paul had no penalty throughout). Not only were Paul’s many kicks not counted properly (of one was a hit in the head and he had kicked just enough (not too hard) to send the opponent’s head to one side.) but the referee did not penalise the opponent for pushing. I had that on camera, but too bad my camera cannot be used as evidence for appeal.

For reader’s sake, a point will be awarded to the opponent should you be warned by the referee thrice, and the next point will be awarded to the opponent when the times of warning accumulated to five times. A hit on the head was worth 3 points. Coaches can appeal within 4 minutes at the end of the match should they feel that the match was misjudged, otherwise be considered as the dojang accepts the judging of the board. The dojang must pay 2000 rmb to the TKD Association. Upon successful appeal, only half of the appealing money will be refunded and the parties will be ordered for a rematch. If the appeal is unsuccessful, the money will be confiscated by the TKD Association.

My student from my English tuition class felt so unjustified for Paul after watching my video. Thank God Paul had learnt to take this defeat in his stride and is in good spirit and sportsmanship. He will work hard to try again next time, or so he said. Paul’s was not the worst case. There were quite a lot of misjudged cases yesterday. His peers LWY lost 1 to 5 even though he kicked on the spot many times. We were not the only dojang that was judged unjustly. Coaches had been appealing and rematches were held the last minute. The tournament did not end until 8pm yesterday.

Our sportsman ZYW from Paul’s dojang was too upset and went home after a terrible misjudgment. Many of his attack points were not counted and opponent was not stopped or warned of rule breaking – like attacking the sides (under the protective gear) using knees. Our belt-black sportsman SJW was injured by foul play at his first match. He carried on competing with his injuries until his third match. Many of his attack points were very clear cut but not taken into consideration. He came in 3rd in the tournament even though he clearly won the match. His coach went to appeal and the TKD Association said they forgot to tape his match!!! So our dojang was forced to accept that and TKD Association will give him a special trophy later to compensate for their mistake. The youth did not take the defeat too hard, to him he did his best, found out about his own weakness in terms of skills and gained more experience. Anyway, he was injured and tired at the end of the tournament and nearly dozed off in the car even though it was just a short distance from where he took the train home.

At the end of the last match yesterday, one which was so obvious to the audience who the winner was, happened a terrible misjudgment again. The sportsman was from another dojang. This time the parents shouted across the stadium at the judging panel in protest which was really unsightly and hooligan. Our dojang coaches told them that their coaches had already gone to appeal, it’s best that they not make such a scene as the TKD Association has the right to reject their appeal – it was written in the sports agreement signed by the parents and they were making a terrible impact on the youth. The parents shouted at the youth (supposedly the winner) not to leave the competition stage to as a sign of protest. The youth was stuck on the stage for a long time as he was not only upset but a bit lost too – there was no adult with him when he stood there on his own. His action could have warrant a suspension of 2 years by the TKD Association. As our dojang talked about it, we really wondered what the parents and coaches from that dojang was imparting to that youth.

In today’s match, our representative WLX was black-marked by the referee just because he was very nervous and bowed and started getting into ready position before he was ordered to do so. He was unjustly penalised 5 times! His opponent did not get any penalty even though foul play was going on. What did the opponent’s coach teach him? Anything for the sake of medals? WLX was so disgusted when he recounted the times he was kicked under the protective gear by the opponent’s knee. He did voice his objection but the judges and referee ignored him. He later overheard that apparently the referee had someone ‘up there’, but he can’t be sure. He lost the match by one point. His opponent finally got to meet a real sportsman from another dojang, GR (this black-belt guy’s famous – he’s won championship many for a few years and the youths in our dojang respect him for his good sportsmanship. A very worthy opponent and one who is not only polite, but is humble and show care for others even after the match.) This sneaky opponent tried his trick again but this time, GR (who was also an assistant coach in the other dojang) had already seen through his trick on WLX and attacked him fast, hard and with many unexpected moves. He lost to GR very badly – 2  to 12, not injured, but close to total knock-out. To WLX, it was the price of the dishonoured fight his opponent paid.

We went home after our last match was over – LYM ended our dojang’s last match with a gold medal. LYW’s opponent was overweight and fought as if it was a judo tournament, which set us wondering what the other coach was thinking. The opponent fell at least 6 times, of which at least thrice was on his own because he was physically unbalanced. He was desperate and resorted to running towards LYM, trying to knock down LYM with his full weight. LYM startled and backed away but was not quick enough, the opponent’s stunt ended up with him kneeling and clinging on to LYM at his hip, looking like some woman from Taiwanese movies clinging on to her lover’s legs begging him not to leave. It was so hilarious that we all roared in laughter – of course the opponent got a warning for that. Thank God LYM was not injured. Two out of three of our best sportsman were already badly injured by then, handling opponents who cheated, though no fractures. Our sportsmen took everything in their stride, it was a good experience nevertheless.

Attitude is very important in life. Life carries with it joy and disappointment. Things don’t really go our way all the time. But seems like not everyone look at it that way. We had seen coaches from other dojang hitting their own participants on the head (with the program sheets) and scolded them when they did not perform as expected. Some youth cried under such verbal abuse. Some parents condone to such as they view reputation above other things. There was even a case when an apparent winning competitor threw his helmet up when it was judged that his opponent won. His coach came up and made a scene. The opponent’s coach came up and argued, so it ended up with the two coaches fighting with each other and the security had to be called in! That’s very shocking and very sad. I did not see this incident as I took John to the bathroom. The youths and parents told me of the terrible incident that had shocked everyone when I returned. Sigh, how could this happen?

I’m glad the coaches of my children in the Blue Eagles Dojang (Lan Ying) believe that character development must come first, follow by physical development (to train according to each child’s growing stage so that their growth is not affected) and lastly, the skills and experience accumulation. John for one, will not participate in sparring exercise until later as the coaches feel that he needs to be a little bigger for better growth in bone structure and stature while other dojangs are already sending kids much smaller size that John into competitions.

Paul’s first half of the match on 23rd August 2009 – he’s in blue helmet

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Paul’s TKD Match 23rd Aug 2009 – 2nd half

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Paul was very upset yesterday.

We woke up real early. Mom, Paul, John and I reached the Minhang Sports Stadium before 8am. Paul was going for Tae Kwon Do Tournament – something he worked hard for the entire summer and had his vacation burnt. He’s on pattern competition.

The tournament started at 9am and we waited a long time for Paul’s turn. Being cute and popular in the dojang, John was happily sitting with the youths who were also on competition who offered him a pack of chips.

We were so excited when it was Paul’s turn. He went in there confidently, bowed to the judges and did his part – the 6th Pattern. He was stopped half way, only to be told that it was the 8th Pattern that he was supposed to do. Paul was puzzled. We found out later that although Paul registered for the 6th Pattern, he was put on the 8th Pattern – one that he was not trained to do. The coach tried to ask if Paul could do the 6th Pattern (the competition for 6th Pattern was just over) and was rejected.

Paul cried and coaches apologised for making such a mistake. But I believe it was not the fault of the dojang, but the Shanghai Tae Kwon Do Association. They have a track record of making a mess out of things, no matter how organised the documents is given to them. For the competition last year, they were not prepared for the opening of the competition and rehearsals were carried out in front of all the spectators, thus delaying the opening time. To make matters worse, the opening was a sloppy job done. This time, the child sportsmen had to have their TKD sportsman pass made. Guess what? The kids had their nationalities all mixed up too, even though documents were submitted as requested. Paul’s nationality was Chinese, so are his Chinese team-mates”. LWY’s nationality became Spanish, HYM’s became American (and they tinted his eyes blue in the picture), WLX’s became Taiwanese (and he exclaimed, ‘Since when is Taiwan a country? Fancy making such mistake in our own country’). Oh boy!

I think I understand why the coaches of Paul’s dojang took it as their mistake instead. For them, it is better that they bear the responsibility than to offend someone higher up by blowing the matter up. The team is new, and chances are the dojang will be blacklisted if the coaches insisted that the association make the mistake.

Mom was disappointed that she did not get to see Paul compete. Paul was crying non-stop as we made our way back. He felt that his chance of competing was taken away from him unjustly. I had to explain to him that in life, you don’t get your way all the time. Life is unfair. We’ll just have to accept it, forgive and move on, it’s not as if it’s something of moral conflict or of a life and death issue which we must fight and stand for. It’s a matter of giving up our own rights for the benefit of others. His team mates will be blacklisted should he press the issue. I consoled him with an ice-cream (an offer which Paul couldn’t resist and John rode on happily) and the boys really enjoyed the ice-creams together back home. He was encouraged to give his best shot at the coming sparring competition. Paul napped after lunch and caught up with his sleep as he did not get enough sleep the past weeks due to early reporting hours at the dojang.

Paul’s sparring competition will be on tomorrow. Let’s pray that everything goes well.

It’s been another busy summer (since when it hasn’t?)

My students had increased the number of English classes over the summer holidays, so I was practically teaching everyday until recently. One of them dropped out because she had to report to her new boarding school and so will no longer come for class. Another had to go tour for a week before the school reopens, good timing, since I have to cancel class to take Paul for Tae Kwon Do tournament. One of my students, CF, went to Beijing for the 2009 Chinese Youth English Skill Competition and came back with the distinction prize (top the first prize) – a trophy and a certificate.

CF and her trophy from the 2009 CYES Competition

Paul is going for Tae Kwon Do tournament so he was on intensive training everyday, and having to control his weight. Poor kid, he’s not overweight according to BMI, but he has to keep his weight within the category for the tournament. He has not passed any weight checks so far because my mom and White (my domestic helper) refuse to decrease his amount of food, for fear that he’ll grow hungry. Old folks and very traditional Chinese believes that a child should eat as much as he can. I had to explain to both of them and put my foot down to reduce Paul’s meal intake, otherwise Paul will be forced to eat (in tears).

The eclipse could not be seen in Shanghai, it rained just minutes before the eclipse began, so the sun was hidden. The sky turned dark though for a few minutes and it as dark as night. The street lamps were on.

The sky turned dark as the eclipse began.

As dark as night.

The sky brightened again as the eclipse was slowly over.

The video below is an explanation by Chinese scientist. The video is live from Sichuan, China, followed by the one seen at Anhui, China. I apologise if you do not understand Chinese, there is no subtitle for this one.

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Eclipse on July 2009, China

The kids were very excited. However, TV program transmission at our side was affected and there was no signal. Paul was smart enough to turn on the radio when we could not watch it live on TV. Although there was interference, we could still hear the eclipse progress report from the radio.

Over the years in China, I have learnt to shop on the internet. Taobao works as an escrow service here and is very popular among the Chinese. You have a Chinese bank account here and you must activate internet banking. Registration with Taobao will require scanned document for verification of identity, in this case, my passport.

I often shop there as many cheap and good products can be found easily and prices can be compared. Besides, delivery cost is only about 5 to 10 RMB, and that’s lesser than the initial cost of a cab. Of course, internet shopping has its risk. Thank God I have many pleasant experience with the people I bought from – I make sure I pick the ones with good reputations and good sales track record. Other online shops in Shanghai have payment upon delivery instead.

Last week, I bought 20 pairs of polarised glasses to view the coming eclipse from an online shop in Shanghai. I paid on Taobao a little too fast – I forgot that I had to check if the goods will come to me on time. I asked the sales person whose status was offline. You see, it works like msn, where the person will be able see the message once they log in. It happened that the sales person was appearing offline, leaving me a message that goods will only be delivered on the 19th. I asked the person where are they located (they didn’t mention that and I was a little concerned) – this is very important, as places beyond Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Shanghai, it will take a few days instead of just one day – the polarised glasses would be useless if they reach me after 9am on 22nd July, the hour of the eclipse. I waited for a day or so, but no reply. So I left a message, telling the sales person I wanted a refund and will proceed with the refund application – the sales person has to cancel the order so that I can get back my money. And so, I bought the polarised glasses from somewhere else instead.

Unfortunately, the shop owner (or whoever was at their side of the computer) cancelled my application this morning and sent out the goods! I applied for refund again and the sales person called me while I was teaching in Sunday school today. I did not answer the call until my class was over and we had our misunderstand ironed out in a polite manner. It happened that the shop was understaffed and orders were coming in too quickly (everyone’s getting ready to view the eclipse, the polarised shades are selling like hotcakes,) so my cancellation was not handled properly. I promised the owner that I will not acknowledge the goods when it comes but get the delivery man to send it back to him. Thank God my money was quickly refunded this afternoon. It was a pleasant experience although no purchase was made; not for the money – it was not much anyway (though I have budget for everything,) but the service attitude of the sales person was reasonably good. Here in China, people get defensive very quickly and arguments get heated up in an unbelievable speed, things often get ugly when that happens. I am glad that it didn’t turn out this way.

I’ve kept the sales person’s contact number, since he was kind and polite. They sell binoculars and professional celestial telescopes for less than 450 SGD (approximately 2000 RMB.) If anyone is interested in getting one of these telescopes, contact me and I’ll give you the number to call – better call and check out the goods personally since they are short-handed. These are professional ones and not toys. I’ve lost my telescope quite some time ago – now it one was ‘a better toy’, bought more than 10 years back from Toys ‘R’ Us at 70 SGD. I may consider getting one in the future – it’ll be great for the children to learn and see the stars as God created them, rather than just tiny dots in the sky.

We are contemplating on catching the eclipse on video on 22nd July, don’t know how it’ll turn out. If it works out well, I’ll put it up here.

Paul loves basketball. He’s been either bouncing the ball in the house (breaking one of my landlord’s vases in the process) or spending his pocket money on the basketball shooting game in the nearby shopping mall’s amusement park (game arcade). I’ve been contemplating for a long while whether to get a basketball hoop for Paul. I had nearly enlisted both boys in the basketball summer camp – it is impossible now as Paul has to report to his dojang everyday for the coming tournament.

Michael and I discuss about it and finally decided to get one that’s portable and adjustable – from junior (2.6m) to NBA standard height (3.05m). The person from the sports company came on Monday and installed it in the yard. As it is a portable one, it’s very much cheaper. We went to buy a standard size basketball for the boys in the late afternoon as they had been using one that’s kid’s size. I found out that Spalding basketballs cost from about 70 yuan to close to 200 yuan, just because it’s ‘the’ NBA ball! I decided to buy a China brand ball instead, that only cost me 25 yuan (about 7 SGD).

A thunderstorm came last evening and blown down the basketball stand as we had yet fill the base with water/ sand. Thank God it was not damaged, except a slanted hoop. John and I went out to straighten the hoop while Paul had his piano lessons. We left it on the floor and waited until this morning. The weather seemed good and Michael filled the base with water, adding some bricks on top of that. He’s playing with the boys and my neighbours’ children now at the yard. As the weather seemed unstable, I may have to consider tying it against the hedge in the evening.

The children were very excited, including my neighbours’ kids. I found that Paul can shoot very well at a distance, having a scoring accuracy of about 90%. He can’t dribble and shoot well. He needs training. As I am blogging now, Michael has just come in to tell me that the China basketball has just burst. I suspect it’s either something sharp was in the yard, or the ball was really of bad quality. Looks like I should go check out the yard. If it’s not the problem with the yard, maybe I should consider buying a Spalding.

Coach Cheng from the Blue Eagles Dojang had informed the parents of the meeting that was held last evening at 7pm a few weeks ago. This was the first parent’s meeting called by the coach and the call to form a Blue Eagle PTA was sent out.

There were many parents who came to attend the meeting with some not being able to make it. It was delayed as many parents rushed down from work. The meeting lasted for about one and a half hour. It was good to see that so many Chinese parents are concern over their children’s physical well-being, not just academic performance.

Coach Chen briefed the parents on child safety as most parents are working and children are left at home, some with their grandparents, so without. We were also told the common physical stress on the children during summer, like heat strokes, cold etc. and how to help the children cope with the weather and replenishment of lost energy, water and nutrients… and of course, the diet of young sportsmen. This is especially necessary for children who would be going through daily intensive training in preparation for the coming tournament in August. I told Michael about the requirement on food. He laughed and said that food requirements of sportsman can be tough, especially when coach discourages fried food, lots of candies and of course, fast food – which are among kid’s common favourite.

Parents are encouraged to set time-table for their children, so that they can balance between training, study (holiday homework from schools and lots of revision) and play during the summer period. The coach insisted that the children do not neglect their studies as they step up their training at the same time – the Blue Eagle kids are to push for the spirit of excellence. However, parents are not to be overly concern over the their Gup (TKD Belt System) and physique as long as the children are healthy and are trained according to their bodies’ growing stage.

The coach took me by surprise yesterday, encouraging the parents to let the children join a church or Red Cross Association! He encouraged the parents to look into the children’s character building. From what I understand, the coach is open to Christianity but not yet a believer. Kids in Blue Eagle will go through regular character assessment too so that the dojang can work hand-in-hand with parents for the upbringing of the kids and counselling will be made available should there be a need.

There are also several courses going on besides the intensive training. Parents are encouraged to enlist as volunteers for tournaments besides being there to support the candidates from the dojang. Training will be provided for parents who are interested to serve in the judging panel.

Blue Eagle Dojang has been working on their website and computerised student record system for months now. I hope it will be ready soon, so at least I can check my kids’ progress online. The dojang is still waiting for reply from Singapore TKD Association regarding an inter-city friendly match. The coach was confident that the Blue Eagle kids will do well, since Singaporeans are known to be more focus on academic performance and not so strict on physical training, kids training in Singapore would be less intensive compared to China. He asked me if that is true, I could only nod my head sheepishly.

I heard from Mom that kids in Singapore who do not perform well academically go to the school of PE taught by professional aportsmen, but many quitted half-way as they cannot take the tough training. That is something I have against the competitive school system. Much attention is put on a child’s academic performance that physical well-being is neglected. By the time they go into teenage years, they have not enough stamina to sustain physical training. Not only that, but a great percentage of them have become myopic – which teacher in his/ her right mind will take the time to make sure that the kids sit up straight all the time? There are just too many things on a teacher’s hand! Teachers barely have enough time to rest, not to mention the children, working under such kiasu (Singlish: fear of losing) society.

I put my kids through a lot of physical training not only for physical well-being, but for other purposes. Until now my kids are still learning swimming. A lot of their friends have stopped swimming classes once they know at least how to swim breast strokes properly. The kids are still learning with the target to at least pass CAT1 survival (Navy standard).They learn Tae Kwon Do for self defence. Many years ago, one of my friends told me of a horrifying incident that happened to her son, who was about 16 then. They stayed in a private condominium. He was bathing in the swimming pool’s bathroom after his swim when a man came in and tried to take off his swimming trunk! The youth struggled and fled in horror, informed his parents and the guard, but the molester got away. Many have the impression that boys are safer than girls out in the public, but it’s no longer true. It’s a sinful world we live in, and will continue to worsen until the Lord returns.

Michael will be helping the kids with basketball on Tuesdays and hopefully, the kids will get the chance to be in a basketball team one day. Games like basketball, soccer, hockey etc. are good sports that promote team work. One of the sticky issue in homeschooling is teamwork among the children. Efforts have to be made to ensure that this hole is closed.

Coach Cheng asked me many weeks ago if Paul would like to go back to Singapore for tournament, representing Blue Eagle dojang, should Singapore TKD Association give an invitation. I did not give a firm answer as the dates have not been fixed and may collide with their piano exam, not to mention the cost of sending the kids back.

Lots of things are going on this summer.

SALT ended with a pool party at GW’s compound near The Bund. The parents had a meeting while the kids played. Issues like subjects, rental, time-tabling for the academic year 2009-2010 had to be planned before hand, and will be fine-tuned in August. I wasn’t there as Paul was unwell, running a low fever after sleeping on the floor past midnight without my knowledge. We had to cancel the plan of going to GW’s place when he told me he was nauseous.

Summer holiday in Shanghai is a busy time for lots of kids, unlike in Singapore where most kids have break (apart from holiday homework from school). Competition is keen here, so there are lots of intensive enrichment classes and summer camps going on in the city of Shanghai. Paul and John have just completed Intermediate Speed Math and Math Olympiad Grade 2 (for Paul). We’ll not be putting them into these academic enrichment classes in the summer. I think it’s just a bit too much to chew on. The kids will continue with Advance Speed Math and Math Olympiad only after the summer holiday, just like their usual school days.

Looking at their current time-table for the summer, our family is packed with activities everyday. As the children are going for ABRSM piano and theory exam in October, it’s preparation time for them right now – that will stretch over a few months. Their piano teachers requested that they practise for 3 hours a day, but that seems quite impossible at the moment. I was told by the Tae Kwon Do coach last night that Paul will be sent for tournament this end August, which is necessary for his next 2 belts’ promotion – targeting for Black Belt 1st Dan before next summer (he’s now 1st Gup – Red Belt.) Paul is required to report to the dojang everyday for the entire summer for intensive training.

I have been planning the time table ever since two weeks ago. Academic subjects like Chinese, English, Math and Science has to continue during summer. Although Paul is a person who picks up knowledge quickly, he forgets quickly as well. Consistent work is necessary. John on the other hand, has a lot of grounding work (e.g. reading, writing and speech) to do. I had thought of sending the kids to a basketball summer camp held by a renowned coach, but with his current TKD training requirement, we have to let it go this time. Apart from daily TKD training, the kids have to complete at least 2 hours of piano practice daily besides music theory (for Paul). And also they have to save a day weekly to play with daddy or have family outing together. Michael also has to study for his MBA and takes this chance to try to complete the modules faster than planned in this summer. As for me, it’s giving English tuition everyday – it’s time for intensive class for all my students. I thank God for providing me with the students and to hold classes at home while Paul is away in the dojang. The family budget had been in red for a while – this would be a good chance balance the books and keep the excess for emergencies.

Anyway, I’ll still be working on setting the time-table the next few days as there are some adjustments to the children’s teachers’ time due to the training at the dojang. Thank God for a busy summer!

The decision to put the children through ABRSM and not the exam from Shanghai Music Consortium has put us through some days of stress – good ones, I supposed, if we look into the future. ABRSM exam demands a test of knowledge of theory, aural, sight reading besides performance. Shanghai Music Consortium focus on performance skill, music theory is not required until Grade 7.

Paul is on his own, studying for music theory as there is no way he can make it at the Royal Music School in Gubei – he has regular class on Friday and Saturday afternoons. Sundays are reserved for church – no work on God’s day – that’s the rule set in our family. I have to help him by studying the chapter first, marked out the important points and help him revise it later.

I have very shallow music theory background. As a support singer in the music ministry, I was trained with the skill to sight read music scores (a skill which has become rusty now, since I no longer use it after moving into Children Ministry some 15 years ago.) I had learnt basic music theory from GLM, my church pianist, more than 20 years ago. I found music theory tedious and boring and did not persevere to finish, dropped half way at Grade 3 theory. Now I have to learn on my own. Thank God for the internet, it helped me clear some doubts I have. But I do wonder how long will it last, before I get confused and unable to help Paul further? Looks like I need to ask friends who have music theory knowledge for help.