Ronin REALLY Goes To School

Well our school journey has finally taken a turn. We came to Singapore with the intention of putting our children in the local schools. SO many people said not to do it. SO many people said it would be hard. SO many people got in our heads about it and yet we felt we should do it and that it would be a positive experience. And thankfully after a loooong two months, we have proven that it is possible to get your kids in the local schools (albeit difficult) and that they can infact enjoy it there. We got a call from the MOE (Ministry of Education) saying they had found a spot for him. We met the principle and she interviewed Ronin. I am really glad we didn't tell him that was happening, because she even intimidated me with her questions. What did he do in his spare time? Did he read Chinese? Who is his favorite author? (WHA? Even I can't answer that!) What is one way he is responsible in his family? Sheesh, they were hard questions. But he braved it well! She asked us what he was doing currently for school to which I told her about his private tutor and she looked very concerned. She said that when we arrived she was planning to discourage us from coming to school there because of the distance it is from our house, but once she heard that he wasn't really in school she pulled out all the stops to help us. And we are so glad she did.

(I LOVE uniforms! So much less laundry and easy to keep track of. Less fuss in the morning and it seems less to separate the kids physically and less classroom distraction. His is one of the better uniforms I have seen kids wearing. Some schools have really horrible colors.)
Transportation to and from school was as difficult as getting a spot in the school and even still we are figuring that out each day. Essentially we told them we would take the spot and figure out transportation as we went along. All the school buses are run by private companies. The two buses that come 'close' to our area are full, and they will not be adding any more service. I called a dozen other bus companies to see if they would pick him up. I called a taxi company and even a private car service. Besides the price being completely unreasonable, every person I called said they wouldn't do it. Even when I had multiple people tell me to call them in the first place! And besides that the logistics of a 7 year old being in a cab by himself to and from school every day sent my heart into a panic. Finally we decided Patrick would take him each day on the MRT (subway). That took a lot of time because you have to take a shuttle from our house to the MRT and in true Singapore style the shuttle is late every time. The first two days Ronin was late and missed the morning assembly which is mandatory! Patrick left for Hong Kong the following day so it was up to me to figure out a better way to get him there for the rest of the week. Then came along the public bus which stops up the street from us. Because of our time in NY I have a very poor attitude about city buses. They are never around when you need them and constantly grid locked when you are on them! But Singapore's system, at least where we live in all honesty, is great! They come frequently and take less travel time then the MRT.
School starts at 7:30 in the morning so we get up a little after 6am to get kids up to eat breakfast and to get ready. We figured as long as Ronin and Patrick had to be somewhere, we might as all get up and switch our schedules up an hour. But it is pure death for us! We are dragging out of bed and have to wake the kids every time. We leave the house when it is still dark which I have always hated. It's so odd because I expect it to be cold when we get outside as I always remember it being in New York and Utah when it was still dark when I got up. It just feels like you should be sleeping still. Its a good thing Singapore is nice and cool this time of year and not cold at all I definitely wouldn't be able to stick to this school schedule if there was snow or frost involved. Lucky for us it gets hot quickly. By the time we get to school the sun has come up and the entire area is bustling.School children walk the sidewalks in droves and we corral right along with them. We have been trying out different bus stops and walking routes to get there but we have finally settled on one that gets us there in 30 minutes flat. Thats 15 minutes shaved off of the MRT route. What a relief!
One of the mornings a kid from his class found us at the entrance and yelled out Ronin's name. He had a few other classmates with him and they all ended up walking into assembly together. It did my heart good to see that other kids were looking out for him. He has a school buddy named Lorenzo who has taken him around and shown him the ropes. Ronin says Lorenzo is his best friend. Lorenzo even explained times tables to Roe since he was struggling with them (thank you Lorenzo!) And really Ronin is as happy as can be with his school experience. (Except they do cut recess time which is the one thing he says he doesn't like about school).

I love that all the art programs are accounted for. No scrimping or cutting.This week Ronin has had music class, art, drama and dance. He has also had PE (his favorite subject) and he was the fastest runner in the class. You should have seen his smile that day! They will be starting swimming soon and next term he gets to start extra curricular basketball. He has Mother Tongue class which is Mandarin Chinese. He has an exemption from the class but he sits and tries to listen anyway. He says they don't speak any english in class so its hard for him to pay attention. I think he has been doing his homework during the time instead. Ronin will still have a private tutor come to the house to teach him Chinese since he won't really be getting what he needs in school and hopefully in a year he will be able to handle a full chinese class.He also has math, english, social studies and health. All the regular things you would get at any other school.

All the students are expected to manage their own money for their lunch, bookstore purchases and uniform purchases. Which he was excited about and also nervous for. In the states we wouldn't be given the chance to have them responsible for those things. His money would end up pinned to his shirt with a long note for the teacher stating what to send home. Not the case here! They queue up and take care of it all themselves. I even had to explain what 'queue up' even meant. We even bought him a special wallet to organize his money, id card and bus schedule. I was so stressed about him managing it all, but he seems to be handling it just fine. There are half a dozen food stalls in the canteen and he can choose what to buy everyday. The first day he had noodles but he said they tasted like fish, which most food here does. The past two days he has had cereal for lunch as .50cents a pop. This kid has eaten for less than 5 SingDollars this week (about 4 USD). One thing that is cheap here is prepped food and we love it!

The school staff are very concerned that their children learn to be responsible. One morning I tried to walk him past the entrance and I was stopped by security. He said to let him find his own way. "It will make him more independent" the gentleman said. And I know he is right. Just throughout the week I have seen Ronin change. He is more responsible and helpful at home. And because he is getting out and spending his energy he is less of a handful at home. He is growing up. It is a far cry from the little boy that was struggling just two weeks ago. He is in an environment that encourages growth and development. He is making friends and doing hard things with both his brain and his spirit and he is blossoming because of it. As a parent it is SUCH a relief. What a long journey this has been.
This was taken after his first day. He was in the office doing his homework as we waited for the bus home. We called around town (for two days) and found another school's bus driver that could come get him in the afternoons. The biggest bummer is he is on the bus for an hour. But, I think its worth it for the experience he is getting. Plus they get out at 1:30 so by the time he gets off the bus he is still home earlier than he would be in the states. And we are hoping that maybe through the year a seat will appear for him on his regular bus so he can get home earlier. But for now it works. It's inexpensive and it doesn't require me going to pick him up each day. Which is a relief.

Over all, I think this was the right choice for us. It was stressful waiting for a school spot and calling around for vacancies and transportation and it did take 2 months, but it did work out so it was worth all the stressful waiting. There was so much waiting it felt as if it would never stop, but here we are now, going to school!!

When we decided to come here we felt it was important for us to really experience the culture in the time we are here. Many people put their kids in the American School that costs the same as college tuition would in the states. We felt there was no reason to spend that kind of money (which we don't have anyway!) on an experience we could have had just by staying home. We decided if we were going to be here, we should really be here and take in all that Singapore has to offer. That means both the good and the bad. And if the bad is a school environment that expects a lot of its students, then so be it. Because there is so much good to be had with it too. We think Ronin needs the structure and discipline that these local schools provide. And we love that he gets a chance to learn a new language. So far, this has proven to be right (knock on wood.)

However, it's only been week one, so I very well could be in tears by next week and I am prepared for all that may come. But for now I want to be happy and positive that we are finally moving in the right direction.

So that is the general story of the roller coaster ride that is Singapore's local schools. We hope it only continues to be positive.