It was not always like that...

Further to my previous post, Gillian's school was not always like that. Six years ago when we selected her Pri Sch, KH and I considered several factors. Top of the list was the fact that Gillian was already diagnosed to be ADHD and dyslexic. We wanted a place that was not that stressful academically, with standards which we considered reasonable. It had to be a Catholic school. It had to be a convent since I enjoyed my Marymount Convent days so much. And, this was the hard part, it had to be a small enough school with a 'kampong gotong royong' atmosphere - where the principal and teachers were warm and kind, and knew the students well. It had to be 'family-like'.

We went to a few schools and this one fit the bill. We had a nice session talking to the principal, she was warm and kind. We walked around the school and it felt right. It was small - only three to four classes per level. The school buildings were old but we didn't mind. We liked the worn feel of it. We liked the small little green garden in the heart of the school. The little statues that peered out from here and there in the school - the rocky grotto, the entrance porch - all so kitschy but yet so reminiscent of my school days in MC. We decided that this school could care best for her.

When Gillian went in, it was as we imagined - the teachers were warm, caring and concerned. They went the extra mile for her. But then slowly, things changed. The school moved, the old buildings were torn down, the old principal retired, a new principal came on board. And gradually, the school lost its special, old-town feel about it.

New need not be wonderful. What is happening with the school also seems to be just a microcosm of what is happening in the country in general. In our hurry to progress, to be bigger, newer and better and faster, we have lost our old buildings, swept away our old ways of life, our old-fashioned values. We see this kind of impatience in the way we live, our buildings, our jobs, our leisure, our culture, our relationships, our values etc. So if you ask me, not all things new are wonderful. Bigger need not be better. And sometimes, progress is not necessarily desirable. Some things are better left unchanged, or at least, changed slowly with wisdom and with heart. Unfortunately, with this school, that does not seem to be so.

I'm probably the only parent who thinks so though. Judging from the enthusiastic applause at the Parent-Teacher Tea, when performance yardsticks were given, when the facilities were unveiled and ambitious plans presented, I think I might just be the odd dinosaur out who actually regretted the passing of the old ways in the old school.

But then, I am old-fashioned that way.