Today, I’ve finally gave in and enrolled my son for tuition in his Chinese Mandarin Language and Mandarin Mathematics. It has been 5 months since the beginning of Standard One and it’s getting tougher without someone to guide him in Mandarin. Since enrolling him into a Chinese medium school, I had anticipated problems with his Mandarin related studies, but had hoped that he will catch up with it after a few months.

It’s not easy - it’s a difficult language to conquer - but being a chinese, of course I would like my son to know the language well. I’ve spent a long time thinking of whether to enroll him into a national school or a chinese medium school, and the latter won not because I am a chinese, but because Mandarin is still very widely used in the business world, not forgetting that China is also the major economy in Asia for years to come.

Children of other races are beginning to enroll into chinese medium school, so why can’t we being chinese ourselves, learn the language?

I have all along opposed to tuition for children at such young age. I see other parents ferrying their children from tuition to ballet to art lessons, etc. and I pity the children who are pressured this way. I remember being a child and having time to run about, climb trees, and having fun being a kid. Kids nowadays mature too fast and are too house-bound.

But I’ve come to accept the fact that we need help of a professional as a proper guidance is going to help him cope with his Mandarin studies and to set his foundation. This tuition fees cannot be saved.