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The Ongs have six
children, none of whom
have ever attended a day
of traditional classroom
lessons. Instead, they
study at home.
is a better
Asher Ong cooks a mean plate of
roasted chicken and potatoes. And
when he’s not whipping up a storm in
the kitchen, the culinary lover, who’s
only 13 years old, heads out on his
bicycle to explore the neighbourhood.
Asher sounds like your typical
13-year-old, just with one major
difference.
School
exceed a set benchmark to continue
with home-schooling.
school holiday or a field trip day!”
Suwei says with a smile.
Suwei is unruffled by this condition.
“We do download school tests and
exams so that our kids can have an
idea of what to expect when they turn
12. But, there is no consequence no
matter how they fair for these tests. It
is simply the child performing to his
or her best ability,” explains Suwei.
Furthermore, each day is different; there
is minimal repeated drilling underneath
Suwei’s vibrant roof, save for those
dastardly multiplication tables and
Chinese words.
He does not go to school.
Ultimately, Suwei wants to
incorporate the love for learning in
all her children without the stress
of having to do exceptionally well for
tests and examinations – a refreshing
attitude in tuition-mad Singapore.
“A question we like to ask is: are
we teaching our children to score
well in tests or are we teaching our
The former teacher made this
momentous decision together with children to be passionate learners?
her then-fiancé before they walked By and large, I believe our Asian
education systems produce students
down the aisle. “We wanted to
who do well at tests but might not
have the autonomy to decide how
be interested in the subjects that
our children would be educated
and who their teachers would be,” they are scoring so well in tests for,”
Suwei extols.
Suwei shares.
Instead, the teenager studies at
home under the tutelage of his Mum,
Mrs Ong Suwei. He’s not the only
one. In fact, Suwei’s entire brood
– six in total including Asher – is
home-schooled.
Also, the flexible framework of a
home-school education, as opposed
to the rigid structure of most
academic institutes, allows Suwei
an incredible amount of freedom in
deciding what works best for each of
her children. After all, not every child
is cut from the same mould.
The mother of six uses a rigorous
curriculum from the Accelerated
Christian Education programme,
which contains English,
Mathematics, Science, Literature
and other relevant subjects, and
teaches at a pace that suits the
proficiency of each child.
Ongkids
Meet
The
Isaac, 10
“He has an
incredible
ability to mimic
accents and
always cracks
us up with
his wit and
humour. He
is also a very
good roller
blader.”
14
Magdalena, 4
“Our little
spitfire! She is
no pushover
despite her size.
Extremely chirpy
and delightful,
she loves
helping out with
the household
chores.”
Family & Life • Oct 2013
Abigail, 11
“She’s a
wonderful big
sister and loves
teaching the
younger ones.
Besides helping
out in the
kitchen, Abigail
plays the violin
and the piano.”
While most Singapore schools
emphasise a lot on developing
each student academically and
neglecting the other aspects of a
child’s development, Suwei and her
husband take great pains to nurture
all six of their
children holistically,
Isaiah, 8
focusing not just
“He’s a very visual
on mastering
person, imagining
and turning ordinary
the books but
household stuff
into things that are
nourishing them
completely different.
mentally, physically,
All we have to do is
supply him with lots
emotionally and
and lots of sticky tape!
He is also very gentle
spiritually.
As part of the requirements set out by
the Ministry of Education Singapore,
her home-schooled children will have
to go through the Primary School
Leaving Examination between the
ages of 11 and 15, and has to meet or
Michaela, 1
“She’s the object
of adoration in the
family because she is
so cute and squishy.
There is always an
extra pair of arms to
carry her around but
she loves clinging
to Mama. She also
enjoys sticking
everything she finds
on the floor into her
mouth!”
Asher, 13
“He’s an avid
self-learner, loves
bicycles and is
quite musically
gifted. In the
family choir, he
plays the bass and
can improvise very
nice harmonies!”
By Farhan Shah
and caring.”
“[We] have the
autonomy to
add or drop any
programme
depending on
our children’s
individual needs,
strengths and
weaknesses, and
the speed to be
able to carry it out
quickly. We can
even turn family
birthdays into a
“Our days are very dynamic and
learning takes place throughout the
day and night!” Suwei exclaims, “yes,
they cover their reading, writing and
arithmetic in a day, but school at
home is really more than just that. We
have many interesting conversations
over meal times and we cover a great
number of topics in a day.”
By inculcating a love for learning,
Suwei’s home-schooled brood are
more than ready to remain relevant
and tackle the rapidly-changing global
challenges, in whatever field they
choose to venture to. Concurrently,
many home-schooled children do very
well academically (“One of the factors
is the small teacher-student ratio!”
Suwei says) and many of them have
gone on to esteemed universities such
as Stanford, Yale and Harvard.
Suwei highlights the prominent
Tim Tebow, a former American
quarterback with the New England
Patriots, as an example of a homeschooled child who has become
immensely successful in his
chosen field.
Of course, home-schooling does come
with some minor inconvenie