Getting family and community into character education
01 Apr 2020
For our students to do well, the ideal is for parents and schools to partner smoothly in developing the children into future-ready learners for life. Contact speaks to Mrs Judina Cheong of CHIJ (Katong) Primary School.
Parents play a prominent part in CHIJ (Katong) Primary School children’s character education and school lives. For every value the school wants to teach its students, there is a parent volunteer to embody it.
There are reading mums and recycling dads. Parents are also ambassadors for the arts, as well as cyber wellness.
“When we talk about Character and Citizenship Education in school, the family also plays an important role. We start with the home first, then the school and the community,” shared Mrs Judina Cheong, the school’s Principal.
For instance, in its Art Outreach programme, parent volunteers are roped in to guide the students on a learning journey along the Singapore River, and learn about the works of art there.
There are also recycling dads, who will go class-to-class to collect items for recycling. This happens during Recycling Week, the last week of the month where students bring their used papers, plastics and metals for recycling. The fathers then weigh them and take the items to the recycling corner of the school.
Parents play a role during teaching time too. During Teacher’s Day in 2017, teachers came in after 9am, two hours later than the usual 7am. The aim, apart from giving the teachers a “treat”, was to get parents to become teachers and conduct activities for the students.
“When parents come to take care of the students, they start to appreciate the work of the teachers more too,” Mrs Cheong added.
Apart from the family, Mrs Cheong also engages the community to help instil values in students.
Every semester, the Co-Curricular Activity (CCA) groups invite about 30 special needs students from Towner Gardens School, and teach them life skills such as using the computer, buying lunch in the canteen, or even join them for CCAs, such as in track and field or in choir.
During the school’s Founder’s Day, the students visit the old folks’ homes bearing goodies for the elderly. Separately, they each prepare a “gift of love” – a personalised, decorated envelope, where they donate any amount of pocket money to the homes.
The school raised $17,500 this year for a children’s charity. “When you are able to empathise and know that there are people around who are not as fortunate, that prevents you from being sheltered,” said Mrs Cheong.
“When the students help those who are disadvantaged, it gives them space for growth and understanding in how to interact with people from different backgrounds.
“Being a school, we cannot be doing things in isolation. We must see how the students can be useful citizens beyond. One small way is to link them to people around, such as the aged, or those who are not well-off,” she added.
“Through this, they make a friend from another background – maybe someone who is autistic or has a special need. When they grow up, whatever decision they make, they will think about how it may impact this ‘friend’ that they have come across. It inculcates empathy for others at a young age.”
A version of this article was originally published in Issue 28 of “Contact: The Teachers’ Digest” with the headline “Getting family and community into character education”.
