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How about these right… I think you’ll find the following nuggets of wisdom particularly insightful. Leave your comments below. Check out the second one in particular…

Michael Jackson's single to be released on October 12

A new single from Michael Jackson will be released on October 12, according to an announcement on Wednesday on his official website. …  Read More…

Janet Jackson Lands in Italy for amfAR

Meanwhile, the film of Janet's late brother Michael Jackson titled “This is It” is scheduled to premiere in a whopping 25 cities next month. …  Read More…

Pseudonyms in Michael Jackson, Anna Nicole Smith cases pose …

In the case of Michael Jackson, who died June 25 after being administered a powerful sedative and other drugs, the pop star obtained prescriptions by what …  Read More…
That’s all the news for today guys, so until next time, thanks for stopping by.

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The Need for Balance in Childhood Education in Singapore & Asia
 by: Mike Lim

“Education would be much more effective if its purpose was to ensure that by the time they leave school every boy and girl should know how much they do not know, and be imbued with a lifelong desire to know it”

Sir William Haley

What is considered a good education for my child (and your child, for that matter)?

Before I can answer this, I think it is important that I first relate what education truly means to me.

Education, I believe is the whole learning process of not only acquiring knowledge but, more importantly for a person to discover more about ourselves as well as the world which we are living in. Thus, it is not so much about learning specific subject content such as Mathematics, Science, English or Moral Education per se but how we can apply this knowledge wisely in our daily lives. More importantly, good education also probes and analyses the process of learning that is unique in every one of us, (including your precious Child).

Ponder over this quote:

”The world does not pay for what a person knows. But it pays for what a person does with what he knows”

Laurence Lee

Being a father, the question beckons-what kind of education do I want for my child?

In all honesty, I want an education which allows my child the freedom to discover, explore and experience this world in her own eyes and to form her own view of it. It has to be an enriching and challenging learning adventure. I also hope that she learns the importance of discipline and enjoys the wonders of Nature in her learning process. Most importantly, it must be able to nurture the positive attitudes in her to be strong, resilient, determined, willing to take on challenges but yet be peace-loving and graceful in the way she treats everyone.

However, I felt that most education system today fail in the task that they are designed to do-to nurture a Balanced Child. There is really nothing wrong with having workbooks, assessment papers, enrichment classes and etc. But are we doing too much of a good thing and destroying our child’s present and future in the process? That’s the crux of the predicament that most children in Singapore, Hong Kong (and Asia in general) are facing. We, as parents, have robbed their childhood!

Whatever happened to good ol’ common sense? Where is the BALANCE in the whole scheme of things? I am not against the idea of sending my daughter for enrichment classes when she gets older, but I will definitely ensure that she enjoys the whole learning process. Needless to say, I want my child to have ample time for fun, play and most of all, family!

Reflect upon this:

“Everybody today seems to be in such a terrible rush; anxious for greater developments and greater wishes and so on; so that children have very little time for their parents; Parents have very little time for each other; and the home begins the disruption of the peace of the world.”

Mother Teresa

Parents, let’s not be extremists in the things we do for our children. I understand your worries and concerns but we need to seek BALANCE in all things we do. Think about the criminal trials of Michael Jackson and his lamentations of having his childhood robbed. The last thing I want to hear from my daughter when she grows up is that I have robbed her Childhood unknowingly. And unfortunately, I cannot give her Childhood back to her.

Reflect upon this.

So, dear Parents, don’t be too hard on your self. Let’s take stock of what we are doing for our Child and refine the rough edges. At the end of the day, the best education for your Child starts with having Great parents like YOU around them.

“If you plan for one year, plant rice. If you plan for 10 years, plant a tree. If you plan for 100 years, educate a child.”

Chinese proverb

About The Author

Mike Lim is the Managing Director for Tumble Tots (Singapore and Asia-Pacific). A believer of A Balanced Child philosophy, he hopes to inject balance and wisdom in Tumble Tots’ variety of preschool educational programmes.

tumbletots.com.sg

mikel@tumbletots.com.sg

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Love him or hate him, you can’t ignore who Michael Jackson was. He was and still is everywhere. The fact that his name still dominated news headlines a good week after his death is proof enough that he had an impact on millions of  lives globally. Despite the controversies, mystery and perceived unhappiness, Michael Jackson, the king of pop was a superstar, successful in ways we can only dream about.  What if any were his secrets to success? Here are four observations I believe contributed to his legacy, all of which we can apply if we choose to be as successful in our own right.

Michael Jackson was passionate: 

He did what made him happy - sing and dance. When you love what you do, you will do whatever it takes to achieve your goals. It’s a drive that will come naturally from within, so even though it may take you a while to get to where you want to be,  you will enjoy the journey so much that you will not mind the time it takes to get there. Those who believe in the law of  attraction will tell you that to be successful you have to be happy because when you are,  you focus on what is working and the feeling of happiness that you experience. The more you do this, the more you will attract of the same to your life. If you want to be successful, do what you love. Connect with your passion. Be happy.

Michael Jackson was in touch with his inner child: 

He knew that life can be outrageously fun, that it’s possible to be audaciously happy when you connect with your inner child. He had a child-like quality, a playfulness that helped him dismantle  the contradictory beliefs that cover up this most precious knowing. His ‘Never land Ranch’ inspired by Peter Pan who refused to “grow up” was testimony to the fact that you CAN have life your way. The true act of growing up is recognizing that you CAN have everything you desire if only you will believe as a child believes, before we strip this magic from them. He may not have had absolutely everything he desired in his life but nobody attains perfection.  He certainly seemed to be doing better than the majority of us. If you want to be successful do what Michael Jackson did, don’t take life too seriously. Believe anything is possible and believe in the highest good of all people as children do.

Michael Jackson constantly evolved: 

He was a true innovator - continually re-inventing himself through time. It was this that made it possible for him to appeal to such a wide spectrum of people. He became his own brand which of course was totally unique. There was nobody like Michael Jackson, nor will there ever be. He stood out by taking risks. Not all his behavior was appreciated by everyone but his actions defined the brand that was him. He also maintained an air of mystery. One never knew everything about him nor what he was going to do next. This ensured that his loyal fans remained intrigued followers. If you want to be successful you need to express your unique nature, be your own brand and give up needing to conform. It’s only then that you will be able to stand apart from the masses and be truly different.

Michael Jackson excelled despite his hardships: 

His early years were difficult and challenging and missing out on a ‘normal’ childhood presented its own brand of issues, but he was successful despite this. Why? Because deep down he was true to himself and the belief he had in himself. This always went deeper than any hardship he endured. As an adult he was often the subject of gossip and misunderstanding but he never let any of it hold him down. Right till the end with a world tour just weeks away, he was about to emerge out of the ashes like a phoenix and prove that he could survive anything. If you want to be successful, you too will have to release the need to blame others for your failure, instead rising above your hardship and succeeding regardless.

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When we lack certain things, the joy of living is diminished. In some instances we may become severely distressed and even incapacitated by such lack. When we are sick, in other words, when we lack good health, it is usually not a happy circumstance and we do all we can to regain our health. When someone is poor, that is, when they lack money and material possessions, life is not very enjoyable. Such a person is not able to live the way they wish or do the things they want. Poverty oppresses and incapacitates. As individuals and as nations, we all are desirous to distance ourselves from poverty.

Likewise, life is not so full and joyful when we fail to find happiness and fulfillment in relationships and in our work. (By relationships, I mean relationship with God and relationship with our fellow human beings). The deep desires we have to commune with deity and to love and be loved by others are emotional needs we are born with. And so we find that human beings experience want in three identifiable areas. Life requires us to cope with physical, material and spiritual wants.

The saying, “health is wealth” implies that someone in good health can be said to have physical wealth. When a person has a lot of money and material possessions we describe him or her as being materially wealthy. In the same vein, when someone finds happiness and fulfillment in relationships and in their work, they can be said to possess spiritual wealth. And this brings us to the concept of total wealth. To have total wealth is to be completely free from any form of lack, be it physical, material or spiritual. This is the holistic model of success. A person is truly wealthy only when he or she has gained total wealth.

In general, people tend to be primarily concerned with their material wellbeing. Hence they focus on striving for material wealth. But thanks to Jane Fonda, the American keep fit buff. In the last few decades, Americans and others around the globe have realized the need to actively pursue wealth of the physical kind. There is now an awareness of the health risks inherent in the sedentary life style engendered by technological advancement. These days, being healthy is not just about being free from sickness. One has to be physically fit. Lots of people are now adopting the proactive approach of exercising regularly to maintain good health and keep fit.

However, acquiring spiritual wealth is one goal most people cannot be said to be striving hard to attain. And to think that this ought to be our first priority. When someone gains spiritual wealth, they are guaranteed to also gain material and physical wealth. If you have any reservations about this assertion, then listen to the wise counsel of one of the world’s greatest spiritual luminaries, Jesus Christ of Nazareth:

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Taken from the Bible (NIV), Mathew 6:25-33).

But what is there to lose if someone chooses not to bother with the pursuit of spiritual wealth? The answer to this question can be found by taking a close look at the lives of some prominent individuals.

When it comes to fame and fortune, very few people can match Michael Jackson. He rose so high as a star that the tag ‘superstar’ was just not good enough for him and so he has been dubbed ‘megastar’. The singer has undoubtedly raked in fabulous amounts as earnings from record sales worldwide. But in spite of his phenomenal career success, he has not found happiness and fulfillment in close relationships. His marriage to Priscilla Presley did not prove to be blissful. He has been involved in other relationships that ended on a sour and acrimonious note with settlements taking place in and out of court. Michael Jackson may rank as one of the richest and most famous men in the world, but he certainly is not one of the happiest. Riches and popularity are simply not enough. We need spiritual wealth to guarantee happiness and fulfillment in life.

The late Princess Diana had everything going for her, it would seem. She became a member of one of the world’s most loved and respected royal families by marriage. In terms of material wealth and social status, her union with British royalty catapulted her to the very top. However, the love of God and fellow man, which are pointers to spiritual wealth, were not particularly evident in her private life. In close relationships, happiness and fulfillment eluded her. She slid from the position of dream princess to the level of adulterous spouse and then chose to tag along as girlfriend to a wealthy businessman. We all know the tragic end to her story. She was killed in a car crash while on a trip with her lover.

As monarch of an oil producing Arab State, the late King Hussein of Jordan enjoyed the affluence and influence that come with his position. But while all was well materially, he was wanting in physical wealth. Even the best doctors in the United States could not save him from the cancer that put an end to his reign while he was still in his sixties. Money cannot always secure good health much less procure longevity. Only the possession of spiritual wealth will enable us attain and maintain happiness, good health and success in life.

In “The Parable of the Rich Fool”, Jesus confirms that there is a price to pay when we fail to make acquiring spiritual wealth our first priority, (Luke 12:13-21):

Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grains and my goods. And I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.Ԓ

But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich towards God.”

If the reader is still not convinced of the wisdom of striving for spiritual wealth, the statement I am about to quote should settle the matter. It was made by someone who has chased after the material as well as the spiritual kind of wealth.

Sir John Templeton is one of America’s most successful financial investors. He is reputed to have created some of the world’s largest and most successful international investment funds. Later, he sold his various Templeton Funds to the Franklin Group for $440 million. Now in his nineties, he is a fulltime philanthropist. Through the John Templeton Foundation, which he established, he gives away about $40 million a year to funding work aimed at discovering and advancing scientific knowledge about the spiritual aspect of life. For his many accomplishments, he was knighted Sir John by Queen Elizabeth II in 1987.

Here is what this extraordinary individual has to say about what the pursuit of spiritual wealth has done to his life: “I focus on spiritual wealth now, and I am busier, more enthusiastic, and more joyful than I have ever been.” (Culled from www.templeton.org).

In terms of quality of life, we all want the best for ourselves and total wealth is the very best that life has to offer us. Be wise, go for it.

About The Author

Emmanuel Emezie is a philosopher-scientist. A six-year-long scientific inquiry into the spiritual aspect of life led him to the discovery of intriguing and life-improving spiritual knowledge. For more information, visit: http://www.sssi.org.

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