Manman Lai 慢慢来

Education for everyone

2013-05-30T19:22:00.002-07:00

Today I'm taking a little sideways step to tell you what's been filling my time this year...

Not pictures of cats or videos of people falling over, but the democratisation of education has to be the best thing the internet has given us after the facilities for easy communication. I joined Coursera in December, since then I’ve taken a 15 week course on world history which has quite literally changed my life, ideas and goals. I’ve studied Ancient Greek history and Philosophy too. Currently I’m taking a Child Nutrition course and one on Greek and Roman Mythology. I’ve never studied Latin or Greek and would have considered something like reading Homer impossible. Okay, so the original may remain a blank for much longer, but after 4 weeks of our Myth course spent on a close reading of The Odyssey I feel very personally much the richer for the experience.

This is all free. If you have an internet connection, it’s all there for you. With classic novels now available for free download too, not to mention excellent educational podcasts, education really is now there for the taking. It's wonderful.

I now feel so much more motivated to learn than when I was an undergraduate. I put more love and effort into my peer-marked myth assignment then into essays in my university days and certainly enjoyed it a lot more. The courses I’ve taken have all been of a really high standard from good universities.

Another advantage of this system is there’s no commitment necessary if you try a course and it’s not for you. I’ve started a few other courses and decided not to continue so I could focus my attention on the ones that really grab my interest. No penalties, no embarrassment, just click ‘un-enroll’. Easy. This would also be a really great way for people considering studying with the Open University or similar to try out online learning and see if they enjoy it and how motivated they are, before paying the not-inconsiderable course fees.

Online university courses won’t replace bricks and mortar universities, and neither should they. Many people keep learning and studying after they graduate but far more do not as they move into the workplace. Others don’t have the opportunity to go to university, or like me would love to go back and have another go. Coursera and other providers can really help bridge this gap for those that want to learn something new without stopping working or paying a lot of money for the priveledge.

Maybe I can’t put my completed courses on my CV and they probably won’t help me get a better job, but learning purely for the love of learning- there’s nothing better.

Heading Home- Part Three

2013-05-30T19:05:00.001-07:00

Since I lost my Mum in December 2010, and soon after my childhood home, the idea of 'home' has been a moveable one.

My eldest son F has lived in seven houses, in Scotland, England and China in his 5 years so my own little family has moved a lot. This has never been a big problem for us, lots of upheaval for sure, but we have a fairly flexible attitude towards our living spaces and we enjoy change.

My Mum's house always seemed like an anchor though, unchangeable and always warm and comforting. Full of people, music and good conversation. Her house now belongs to my Dad and sits empty, unloved and for sale. I wish there was another family dancing and laughing there.

I found being around that area very hard, as I wrote about last year here, but I think I'm ready to go back to these much loved places again.

So where is home now? I instinctively say we're going 'home' to Edinburgh but that's not where I grew up. As a couple we lived there for 4 years while we were studying, we got married there and there's no city we like better. My husband grew up in England but when we lived there and returned to Scotland to visit, we both instantly felt relieved as we crossed the border. It's always been Scotland for us.

There's another reason that makes the pull of 'home' so strong though, Edinburgh is home to not just one but both of my beautiful, kind, funny younger sisters. The super-aunts, the confidants, the greatest sisters a girl could ask for. For the first time since we all left home, they are living in the same place so like a magnet I am drawn to be there too.

When we told my youngest sister H that we were returning she was very excited and said to my son, "Oh F I can see you every day". F replied patiently, "Not every day Auntie H, sometimes we might be busy".

My sisters are busy girls with their own lives, jobs and friends but having them back in our own regular, normal life is immensely exciting. It's a cliché but one not without meaning, I think home really is where the heart is. Girls, this cheesy old song is for you. See you soon!

Heading Home- Part Two

2013-05-27T19:55:00.000-07:00

One of the many reasons that we fled the safe security of two good jobs in England was the approaching deadline for F to start school. In England children start at 4 and to me this just seemed far too young, it still does. I was confident that the local schools were good and that he would have coped (and I know there would still be a lot of play), but it did feel like cutting his childhood a bit short. Also, it's undeniable that once children are in the school system it becomes a bigger wrench to up and move them across the world. It felt a bit like 'now or never'.

We read up on home-schooling and were very excited by the prospects and really keen to do it. We decided we'd be in no rush to get back to the UK for school as we could teach the boys ourselves. We loaded up on phonics books and the like and felt pretty confident. We both love learning, surely we could pass that on?

18 months later one of the reasons we're heading back is for F to start school. With the Scottish system children start at 5 so he'll be beginning with all of his peers at the same time. He is very excited.

Why the change of heart?

Well as I've written about in previous posts, here F goes to local school in the mornings (so we can actually go to work for at least some of the day!) and then both boys are with one of us in the afternoon. We try to do play-based home-schooling in the afternoons (okay, perhaps just play). We've spent some time with those phonics books but don't want to push it as he's still young. I'd never forgive myself if it was me who put him off learning to read!

F's school experience here has been quite mixed, he's fine when I pick him up and his Chinese has certainly benefited (see my husband's blog here for much more about the Chinese learning) but he really, really hates going. Kicking, screaming, crying, making threats...every single morning. He hates going, I hate taking him. Leaving my sobbing son in a classroom every day is torture.

And the joyful afternoons? Well, we cherish our time with the boys, really we do, but it is so, so exhausting. Going to work and delivering energetic English lessons can honestly feel like a break as it's so much less exhausting. (In the UK I worked until the last week of my second pregnancy for very similar reasons!) With two boisterous boys of 2.5 and 5 each demanding attention and often wanting to do totally different things, J and I end each day totally drained. No different from any other parents I'm sure I'm not claiming to be any different, but when I think about being totally responsible for the boys education when I feel like this...I have serious second thoughts.

There's no guarantee that F will love school in Scotland but for him and for us right now, it feels like the right decision. Edinburgh schools are pretty good so wherever he ends up he should be in a happy learning environment. I hope we'll treasure the time spent with the boys even more, and we are all excited to be moving to a place with excellent parks, museums and libraries as well as our friends and family, things we've really missed here.