The Power of Hugs - Teacher Low Mei Yen from R.E.A.L Kids Bandar Puteri Puchong

 

A hug is a form of physical intimacy, universal in human communities, in which two people put their arms around the neck, back, or waist of one another and hold each other closely. It is nonverbal and it means differently depending on the culture, context or relationship of the people involved. It could convey familiarity, close friendship, sympathy, support, comfort or a loving feeling.

 

Do you know how powerful a hug can be?

 

It is not just love but it serves as a form of encouragement, it strengthens immune systems and it boosts self esteem, especially in children. It also regulates love hormones by releasing Oxytocin and by lowering our blood pressure.

“We need 4 hugs a day for survival, 8 hugs a day for maintenance, and 12 hugs a day for growth.” – Virginia Satir.

There is a tendency that we can be drained emotionally with an empty tank by end of every day. This is when the love from hugs replenishes our energy. Depending on the social or cultural context of the place, on whether we do it privately or publicly, unexpected hug can be treated as an invasion of personal space. On the other hand, we witness kids who hug their parents when they see strangers as a lookout for security, confidence and support.

7 years ago, Teacher Mei Yen had a 4-year-old girl in her class who regularly came to school in pyjamas, a bottle of milk in her hands, a head of messy hair and a sleepy face. There was literally no interaction between her and the rest of the kids. Other kids made fun of her. Teacher Mei Yen and her colleagues thought of helping her and helped changed her pyjamas. They made the kids sang The Barney Song, “I Love You” and got the kids to hug each other. She asked the children to hug the little girl and saw her began to smile. From then on the little girl started to talk to others. 

From that day onwards, Teacher Mei Yen encouraged her kids to hug each other every day regardless of their differences. She believes that love and acceptance is a way better form of lesson to the kids than rejection and isolation. It enables the kids to face challenges.

Before Teacher Mei Yen ended her speech, she asked us, what do you think HUG means?

Here you go. HUG is an acronym for:

H – Helping

U - Us

G - Grow sensitively.

Dedication to Help Kids Learn through Multiple Intelligence (MI) - Pn Razmah Dahlan from R.E.A.L Kids Wangsa Melawati

Privileged to meet Principal Ms Gina (R.E.A.L Kids Suria) and Principal Pn Razmah (R.E.A.L Kids Wangsa Melawati) during KPI Visit on 22nd Dec 2015.

What is dedication to serve in education industry? I do not know for sure. But Pn Razmah opened my eyes to see it from one perspective - she traveled daily from Semenyih to Wangsa Melawati to run a preschool she believes in, R.E.A.L Kids Wangsa Melawati, where Multiple Intelligence is practiced under Ms Esther Yong's leadership.

Do you know that your kids can learn most effectively when guided with their inborn intelligence?

I'm sure most of us have heard stories of how teachers manage to get kids attention by playing music. But have you heard of special cases whereby a Special Kid was able to stay focused when you give her a book to read by herself? This special kid later proved to be outstanding under Pn Razmah's patient guidance. She turned out to be self-smart! What happened was, all children were coached to perform their parts during an upcoming Concert. Towards the event date, suddenly there was an unanticipated change of venue. Every child was stunned and was not able to perform as practiced during the event with the exception of this little girl. She turned out to love the surprises and she danced and sang like a fairytale princess, fully utilizing her new stage. Her mother was so impressed!

Another instance Pn Razmah shared was another self-smart or Intrapersonal child she guided when she was a teacher. Little did Pn Razmah know that Little B is actually very active and good at impersonation at home. She was so surprised when Little B's grandmother shared with her that Little B sat grandma at a little desk back at home, flipped her exercise book and repeated the entire session Razmah taught back at school. She was playing the role of a Teacher at the tender age of 5. She imitated even Razmah's slang, gestures and every single word she said. So fellow teachers, please do not assume that the quiet little child in your class is a slow learner. You'll be surprised how smart they actually are.

A final note I caught in Pn Razmah's office before I bid her thank you and goodbye for her warm hospitality during KPI visit, I found it interesting and had taken a picture of it here for us to ponder.

Ability is what you're capable of doing; Motivation determines what you do; Attitude determines how well you do it.

Test of Faith by Teacher Nik Waheeda - R.E.A.L Kids Kota Damansara

An inspiring finding by Teacher Nik Waheeda, something worth your time reading if you cared about helping your child improve but nothing seemed to work no matter how hard you tried.

Teacher Nik Waheeda is a Counselor by profession and she chose to work with children. 

This is her story.

“What do I do with you? Can someone help me, show me? How to deal with you?”

During her capacity as a trainee counselor, Teacher Waheeda has chosen to work with children. Her client was a very young boy, few years old. She was very excited because the boy was her first ever client! All bright-eyed, she looked at him, he looked at her in return, for 5 minutes.

“I’m trained. Let him play. Do whatever he wants.” One hour passed, nobody talked. “Okay. At least nobody died or cried.” Teacher Waheeda thought.

On the second appointment, Teacher Waheeda was ready with some ammunition. “I’ve tried this before and I can do it!” She looked at the little boy, said “Hi”. He went to his toy. For the next 15 to 30 minutes she was only watching him. Then the next 45 minutes to 1 hour. “This is a child, I don’t know what to do!!”

Third occasion, Waheeda kept herself high-spirited and dared herself to speak up to the boy, “What do you want to do today?” Deep down she was starting to get anxious, “I’m going to fail my practicum.”

“What have I done wrong? I know all techniques. I’ve attended all seminars and I’ve aced all my subjects! Seven levels of workshop! I’ve sat on the floor with the boy, rolled on the floor in sand, spoke baby talks. But time after time, it fails! Should I give up? This is not what I signed up for. Had I bitten more than I can chew?”

On the other hand, there is this little voice in her head that speaks softly to her, “Don’t give up.” There she recollected herself on her advanced techniques. Enacted with her friends and asked them if they think this or that could work, or rather not work.

Just shortly before she was about to give up, Teacher Waheeda recalled the most basic of all principles she learned back in school from a Principal Psychologist Carl Rogers, an influential American psychologist and among the founders of the humanistic approach to psychology.  

“Everybody has the potential capacity to change on his own.”

A counselor’s job is to provide the Environment (Pot). The client is the Seed. What necessitates the change comes from the counselor’s act of adding the necessary ingredients (water, soil, sunlight, fertilizer). So what is the missing ingredient?

The lack of faith! Teacher Nik Waheeda realized that she did not believe in her client! All she needed to do is to know for certain that he can change. Throw all the advanced techniques, sat there and be with him. Slowly he began to make small little changes and blossomed from a seed to a flower. Compared to normal child, this change was nothing. Her faith was tested.

So my dear friends, parents, teachers and counselors, have faith in your little ones. Know that they have the ability to change themselves for the better. This could be all it takes to help them make that tiny little change on a daily basis that could eventually transform them into lovely and responsible adults. Faith and Patience are great combination of Characters that could bring Hope to live.

Working and Nurturing Young Minds is a Gratifying Experience - Teacher Lorraine from R.E.A.L Kids Setia Eco Park

When I took up the challenge of becoming a preschool class teacher back in 2006, this is not where I thought I was going to be! Being with R.E.A.L Kids gave me the opportunity to explore and think about which direction I was heading. Teaching preschool is certainly not easy, although it gets easier with experience.

At R.E.A.L we’re given plenty of opportunities to improve ourselves be it as a teacher or as a person.

As a beginner preschool teacher I found on-the-job training to be incredibly valuable!  And now as a Supervisor, R.E.A.L again steps up to give us all necessary training.

I appreciate the leadership roles R.E.A.L Kids has bestowed upon me and take pride in supporting the development of both our teachers and students. Working and nurturing young minds is a gratifying experience.

R.E.A.L Kids' MAP Expanded My Career Potential - Teacher Izyan from R.E.A.L Kids Shah Alam

“I found working at R.E.A.L Kids to be a challenging, exciting and rewarding experience. R.E.A.L Kids allows teachers to be the best they can be. As a new candidate to the Management Apprentice Program (MAP), I was delighted to be surrounded by a wonderful group of staff who are supportive and a highly motivating management team. They encouraged me to deliver the best of my ability, something I never thought I could achieve. This opportunity helped me better understand management and marketing and it further enhanced my potential. As I learn through the process, I realized how different this is compared to my previous role teaching in this education line. I’m looking forward to what this program could further expose me to, which I feel will deliver great benefits to both me and R.E.A.L Kids in the future to come.”