School Days Reminiscences of Mabel Kwong

School Days, Reminiscences of Mabel Kwong

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Welcome to the School Days, Reminiscences series in which my champion bloggers and authors share reminiscences of their school days. It’s my small way of thanking them for their support and of letting you know about their services and publications.

This week, I am pleased to introduce Mabel Kwong, non-fiction writer and blogger. I enjoy reading Mabel’s eponymous blog where she shares her thoughts about life and attitudes in Australia. It is enlightening, and also saddening at times, to read her perspectives. It seems that racism is still alive and a little too well in Australia.

I have great admiration for Mabel and admire her honesty. I think all Australians, and others, would benefit from reading her blog. Perhaps then we’d come to know and understand each other a little better and in turn, be more accepting and respectful.

At the beginning of 2018, I was honoured when Mabel accepted my invitation to write a post for readilearn about her experience of Chinese New Year celebrations. She wrote this lovely post The significance of the Chinese New Year — a guest post by Mabel Kwong. Mabel also generously permitted me to present her information as an ebook Let’s read about Chinese New Year which is available to read free on readilearn.

Before we begin the interview, I’ll allow Mabel to tell you a little of herself:

Mabel Kwong is a non-fiction writer in Melbourne, Australia. Mabel was born in Australia and has spent time living in Singapore and Malaysia. With a keen eye on observing everyday details, she writes about multiculturalism, cultural differences and the writing process. She blogs at MabelKwong.com and shares various perspectives on these topics, encouraging all of us to learn from one other.

In 2017, Mabel published ‘How I Found The Confidence To Chase My Passion’ in the self-help book Lady by the River: A collection of personal stories about persevering through challenging times. Her works on current affairs, lifestyle tips and audience reception have also been published in magazines, online editorials and academic journals. She is currently working on her first book about being Asian Australian and finding the inspiration to pursue one’s passion.

Outside of writing, Mabel is a photographer and enjoys going to gigs, walking, playing video games and watching YouTube.

Purchase Lady by the River here

Welcome, Mabel.

Now let’s talk school. First, please tell us where you went to school.

Growing up as a third culture kid, I moved around a lot and attended schools in different countries. I went to kindergarten in Australia. Then I did primary school in Malaysia and later in Singapore. Most of my high school education was done in Singapore, and the last year was completed in Melbourne. I attended university in Melbourne.

Did you attend a government, private or independent school?

My education was a mix of government and private schooling.

What is the highest level of education you achieved?

A postgraduate degree.

What work or profession did you choose after school and was there anything in school that influenced this choice?

When I was in high school, I was intent on pursuing a career in the media, aspiring to be a journalist or a writer smithing non-fiction narratives. At university I was keen on developing my written skills and took writing classes in my Bachelor of Arts. I was also very good at maths and ended up majoring in that alongside cultural studies as part of my degree.

What is your earliest memory of school?

I remember my kindergarten days quite vividly. I was about five and went to kindergarten in a quiet eastern suburb in Victoria where the demographic was predominantly white. My classmates were mostly of western background. They came up to me during recess and laughed at my razor straight bangs and avoided sitting with me during lunch.

I also remember back then my kindergarten had a set uniform code. Girls had the choice of dressing up in a green and yellow checkered dress that hit just at the knee or a blouse with long pants. My parents dressed me in the latter most of the time even when it was 30’C because they thought the dress was not modest enough.

What memories do you have of learning to read?

Mabel Kwong school days reminiscences

Reading time was something I looked forward to in school. In kindergarten, reading time meant reading aloud. Each time it came to my turn to read, my stuttering voice stumbled over the words. Every time I got stuck at a word my heartbeat raced and my face felt flush. It was a mortifying feeling when the other kids giggled but my teacher was always patient, letting me finish reading aloud at my own pace.

Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl were some of my favourite authors growing up. My parents were encouraging of my reading habit and bought me plenty of books by these authors. As a teenager, I got into reading young adult fiction books based off TV series, including Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Charmed, Sabrina The Teenage Witch and also Archie Comics. Later on in high school, I started reading more non-fiction. My high school classes in Singapore made us read articles from the Reader’s Digest magazine each week. I was always the first to finish reading the required articles in class and went on to read more articles in the magazine.

What memories do you have of learning to write?

Mabel Kwong school days reminiscences

When I was eight, every day after primary school in Malaysia I’d write fictional stories about fire-breathing dragons. The words flowed effortlessly. In high school in Singapore I continued this writing streak, and was chuffed when my English teacher read aloud my essays in class as examples of how essays should be written. Later at university in Australia I struggled to write poetry in creative writing classes and my tutors commented my attempts at journalistic news writing were ‘a good start’. Life at university did make me question my ability to be what it takes to be a writer.

What do you remember about math classes?

A love-hate relationship would be how I’d describe me and maths. All throughout school and university, I was good at maths. Studying maths is emphasised a lot in South-East Asian school curriculum and getting less than a B grade meant attending maths remedial classes. While I aced high school maths and aced calculus/fluid dynamics within my Applied Mathematics major at university, I lacked the passion for maths. When I sat down to revise for maths at university, my mind wandered to my cultural studies and journalism classes, planning that next story I wanted to write in my head. That said, from a young age my teachers instilled in me that maths (and science) is important – such as important for calculations, predicting weather patterns and drawing up code to build phone apps.

What was your favourite subject?

English. I’ve always wanted to be a writer and all things grammar and vocabulary appealed to me.

What did you like best about school?

Mabel Kwong school days reminiscences

Excursions. Camping trips where my class got to zip down a zip line, outings to the beach to pick up litter and afternoons at old folks’ home were some fond memories of school excursions. Just as there’s much to learn inside the classroom, there’s much more to learn outside.

What did you like least about school?

School is a place where there are rules to adhere to whether you like it or not. I wasn’t a huge fan of wearing compulsory school uniforms where skirts had to be a certain length and in Singapore schools, long hair had to be tied up (in some South-East Asian schools, girls’ hair couldn’t go past their ears). Also my Singapore high school divided the cohort into academic streams – the Express stream learnt at a faster pace and took more advanced subjects while the Normal stream took more technical subjects. Moreover, not everyone got to do the subjects they wanted to do; I wanted to do geography but by luck of the draw I was put into history class.

There’s also not forgetting that my Singapore high school classes started at 7.30am each day. P.E. classes required us to run 2.5km within a certain time or get a low grade. As a night owl and someone who isn’t all that athletic, I don’t miss either of these.

How do you think schools have changed since your school days?

These days there are many options on getting an education especially higher education in Australia. Online and distance learning at our own pace off-campus can be convenient if we work full time. Notably, primary and secondary school fees are in the thousands each year per student and tertiary student loans are on the rise in Australia. While education may be more accessible, it might not be more affordable.

What do you think schools (in general) do well?

Patient and encouraging teachers make learning much more enjoyable.

How do you think schools could be improved?

Mabel Kwong on how schools could be improved

At times school can be a place where we feel we don’t belong. As Hugh Roberts said in his interview for this series, ‘Nobody should feel afraid to go to school because they are bullied or just because they’re told they are different and don’t fit in.’ There needs to be more focus on bringing awareness towards discrimination, racism and bullying. Having more open discussions in class about different cultures, sexualities, gender, mental illness and disabilities would foster a stronger sense of belonging in school and encourage us to embrace and respect differences early on.

 

thank you for your participation

Thank you for sharing your reminiscences of school and thoughts about education in general, Mabel. It’s been wonderful to have you here. I think your suggestions for improving schools are lessons we could all apply throughout life. When we feel like we belong we are more likely to respect and accept others.

Find out more about Mabel Kwong

on her blog: MabelKwong.com

or connect with her on social media

Facebook: @TheMabelKwong

Twitter: @TheMabelKwong

Instagram: @TheMabelKwong1

LinkedIn: @TheMabelKwong

Purchase Lady by the River here

Purchase your own copy of Lady By The River here on Amazon.

If you missed previous reminiscences, check them out here:

Charli Mills

Sally Cronin

Anne Goodwin

Geoff Le Pard

Hugh Roberts

Debby Gies

Pauline King

JulesPaige

D. Avery

Christy Birmingham

Miriam Hurdle

Robbie Cheadle

Marsha Ingrao

Ritu Bhathal

Joy Lennick

Darlene Foster

Susan Scott

Barbara Vitelli

Sherri Matthews

Look for future interviews in this series to be posted on Sunday evenings AEST.
Coming soon:

Chelsea Owens

Carol Taylor

Pamela Wight

Pete Springer

 

Thank you blog post

Thank you for reading. I appreciate your comments. Please share your thoughts.

 

117 thoughts on “School Days, Reminiscences of Mabel Kwong”

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  5. Christy B

    How nice to see Mabel here! Like you, Norah, I admire her honest writing. I see now why Mabel wanted to pursue journalism as the blog posts are very well researched – it all makes sense now to me 🙂 Mabel, I felt your flush reading aloud in Kindergarten as I was so shy and hesitated to speak up as a child. I was always nervous and sweating about any attention. Now you have grown to be such a master of the English language and I’m so lucky to know you! xo Wonderful interview, ladies.

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  7. Pingback: School Days, Reminiscences of Chelsea Owens | Norah Colvin

  8. roughwighting

    Mabel’s memories of school and her education are fascinating and interesting to me. Well done, Mabel. I always enjoy Mabel’s blog posts – she makes me think, and as we know, that’s a good thing!

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  9. Sue Slaght

    Mabel i both enjoyed and was heartbroken reading about your education. The thought of you being teased about your bangs and having to wear the more modest uniform in kindergarten tugged at my heart. It should be a time of joy and exploration. I also found the two streams of your later years quite restrictive. I’m sorry you didn’t get to do the classes you wanted. What a shame.
    What I do know is that you are an excellent writer and that love of written word was obviously there from a very early age. I’ll look forward to reading for many years to come.

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    2. Mabel Kwong

      You are so right, Sue. School should be a time of joy and exploration – and exploration is a great work to describe the school experience. I really feel like I missed out on geography. But that has not dampened my interest in reading maps 🙂 However with all the travel that you have done, pretty sure you are better at it than me. Learning on the road while traveling is such a great learning experience 😀

      You are also very kind with your words, Sue. Thank you. You are a great travel writer, always so informative about your trips and itineraries 🙂

      Liked by 3 people

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  10. Sherri Matthews

    Hi Mabel! Great to see you here at Norah’s. I read your replies with a mixture of sadness and smiles, and I thank you for highlighting how vital it is to keep pressing the issue of bullying at school, for whatever reason. This stands out for me: ‘There needs to be more focus on bringing awareness towards discrimination, racism and bullying’.
    I’m so glad you’re pressing on with your writing and what a fantastic writer you are! I loved learning more about you and your background.
    Phew…I complained about having to travel on 2 buses 20 miles to and from school, but at least I didn’t have to start at 7:30am!
    School uniform was essential for me too, I remember having to wear a shirt, tunic dress, jumper and blazer on the first day of school in September, and somehow, it was always really warm. And you could bet that a wasp or two would find its way into the classroom, of which i was terrified. Still am 😉
    Learning outside the classroom too…so important. How fun to go on those camping trips! A really enjoyable and educational read. Thank you so much, Norah and Mabel for a fab interview 🙂 ❤

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    2. Mabel Kwong

      So lovely to see you stop by over here. Traveling on two buses 20 miles to and from school is quite an effort. You certainly lived far from school 😦 I guess some of us do what we need to go to school and also work. That would mean getting up early so you could travel all that way to school and be there on time, and you certainly didn’t want to miss the bus.

      That sounded like quite the layered outfit for your start of school in September, the tail end of summer and start of August. Wouldn’t have blamed you if you took your jumper off in the middle of class 😀

      Thanks for stopping by Sherri. Need to catch up with you soon 😀

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      1. Sherri Matthews

        Hi Mabel! Always a pleasure to read your posts and learn more about you. Ha, yes, it was a long stint with those buses, and sometimes I did miss them. When it snowed I loved it as the bus wouldn’t show up at all so I got to stay home, yay! I still didn’t have to start as early as you though, at 7:30 am. That was when I got up!
        Yes, to this day, I can’t bear getting too hot 😀
        All the best with your writing and various projects, Mabel, and I look forward to catching up with you soon.
        Take care, my friend 🙂 ❤

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          2. Norah Post author

            I think many would have hoped for snow every day, Mabel. I think that now, many schools have online lessons available for snow days. How disappointing, I’m sure, for the children to not get the day off.

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  11. Jennie

    “Patient and encouraging teachers make learning more enjoyable.” I loved those worse from Mabel. This was a very interesting interview, Norah. Mabel has a broad area of schools and learning. Thank you!

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    1. Norah Post author

      Thank you for participating, Mabel. It’s been a delight to have you join in. I’m enjoying everyone’s perspective. We can learn so much from getting to know each other.

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  14. dgkaye

    So nice to see Mabel featured here today. Mabel is a wonderful writer. And it’s sad about bullying in school getting a little too common. It’s scary what some kids learn at home. 😦 ❤

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    2. Mabel Kwong

      Such a lovely comment, Debby. Thank you. It’s scary what some kids learn at home, and scary that they bring that to school. Learning at home is just as important as learning in the classroom .

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  15. Prior...

    Norah – this was a great read – and it was nice to get to know more about Mabel –
    and this was top part today:

    It was a mortifying feeling when the other kids giggled but my teacher was always patient, letting me finish reading aloud at my own pace.

    reminds me how teachers make a huge difference – 🙂

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    2. Mabel Kwong

      Very true, Yvette. Teachers can make a huge difference in our learning experiences. A good and kind teacher might be the best memory some of us have of school. It is nice to have good teachers, but at the end of the day I think we can all benefit by enjoying the entire school experience.

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  16. thecontentedcrafter

    I enjoyed very much reading this interview over my morning coffee Norah and Mabel. It is refreshing to hear about education from a contemporary voice in this series and what shone through for me is Mabel’s positive outlook – also incredibly refreshing these days. I concur that education is not a ‘one size fits all’ kind of thing and that applies to school uniforms. I taught in a school system that had no uniforms, but an expected ‘standard’ of dress that even the teenagers respected 🙂 Students, again especially the teens, expressed themselves through their chosen attire in creative and fun ways and our school gatherings were bright and colourful affairs as a result. Lovely to see you here Mabel ❤

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    1. Norah Post author

      Thank you for your lovely comment in support of Mabel, Pauline. I agree with you about the contemporary voice, and about Mabel’s positive outlook. I think we must have someone from each decade (almost) represented now. I hope so. It’s great to get such a variety of perspectives on education.

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    2. Mabel Kwong

      So lovely to hear you enjoyed this post over your morning coffee, Pauline. Education is indeed not a one size fits all. Each of us has a difference pace of learning, each of us have a different way best. Interesting to hear you taught in classes that had no uniforms and the students were respectful of the attire they chose to wear. In my last year of high school in Australia, I went to a school (a private international school) that had no uniform code. Most of us wore T-shirt and jeans, nothing too outlandish. We were all there to learn ❤

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  17. balroop2013

    Nice to see Mabel here. Thank you Norah, for sharing the most wonderful part of our lives – school days, here. I wholeheartedly agree with her that discrimination, racism and bullying should be discussed with students to create awareness and convey how hurtful it is. Impressionable minds accept the differences readily especially if their teachers are sensitive toward these issues.
    I too had a love-hate relationship with Math Mabel and liked languages, especially English and look here we are! 🙂

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    1. Norah Post author

      Thanks so much for affirming Mabel’s thoughts about discrimination and bullying, Balroop. We do need children to learn to be inclusive so that as adults they will continue to treat others with respect. 🙂

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    2. Mabel Kwong

      Thanks for stopping by and reading, Balroop. So important to minmise discrimination and maximising cultivating sharing and inclusivity in schools. You are so right – young impressionable minds accepts differences readily if there is someone to show them the way.

      I also liked languages and took Bahasa Melayu as a second language. I was quite good at it and ended up in the Advanced class. Here we are indeed, Balroop 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

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  18. Bette A. Stevens

    Great introduction and interview with Mabel, Norah. Your blog posts are both fascinating and informative. I enjoyed learning about your school years today and am with you all the way on improving schools through early and continued education on diversity and acceptance. 🙂 Sharing… .

    Liked by 2 people

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  19. Susan Scott

    Thanks so much Mabel & Norah for this very enjoyable read. Sounds as if a good structure was in place and that you had a wide and varied education which also allowed for your budding writing abilities. I like what you say about having more open discussions in the classrooms about differences in cultures, gender, disabilities etc is an excellent idea. Children do I think find that interesting and it’s a good idea to show that different cultures do not mean exclusivity but rather inclusivity.I will check out your blog Mabel and well done on all your successes for now and in the future.

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    1. Norah Post author

      Thanks for adding your wisdom to the conversation, Susan. I’m sure you will enjoy Mabel’s blog. She has much wisdom to share too. 🙂

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    2. Mabel Kwong

      Appreciate your thoughts, Susan. If we choose carefully our subjects in school, we could develop our passions and interests from a young age. So agree that it’s a good idea to emphasise inclusitivity – and to do that we can focus on our similarities or topics that we are interested in. Children are often curious, and if we let them be open in exploring the world. the more they will be accepting of differences.

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  20. Jules

    Norah and Mabel,

    I was happy to read this post. But also sad that prejudiced and bullying still exist. It existed for my children in school too because we are not part of the mainstream majority of religious beliefs. Public schools are supposed to have a separation between church and state. But that isn’t always the case. And when you are a minority that can be an issue.

    Continued success in all you both do 🙂

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    1. Norah Post author

      Thank you for your words of support, Jules. It is always difficult feeling the ‘odd one out’. It’s even more difficult when you feel victimised or bullied because of it.

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    2. Mabel Kwong

      Thank you for reading and the lovely words, Jules. There should be no place for prejudice and bullying in schools. Religion can be a touchy subject, but it’s a subject we all have to learn to talk about and learn that everyone is entitled to choosing their faiths 🙂

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      1. Jules

        Mabel,
        I was brought up in an interfaith family and our family has expanded that way. It is a delight to learn from all people. May we continue to learn from each other. 🙂

        Religion only becomes a problem when the main message is “We are right and all others are wrong” … and that is not the lesson I will promote. I promote acceptance and tolerance.

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        2. Mabel Kwong

          Yes, may we continue to learn from each other, and also respect each other’s differences. No one is completely right just as no one is entirely wrong. None of us have all the answers in the world, but we certainly have the time to learn 🙂

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          1. Jules

            ‘None of us have all the answers in the world, but we certainly have the time to learn’
            We just need to live in countries that allow us to learn. And even if they don’t we must learn in spite of narrow minded leaders.

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  21. petespringerauthor

    I always enjoy reading Norah’s interview each Sunday because it reveals the interesting path that each of us has taken. Mabel’s journey is equally enlightening. One of the things that struck me was that she enjoyed “excursions.” In America, my students (I was a teacher) loved them too. We call them “field trips.” I have a hard time imagining that any school in America would allow kids to use a zip line because the dirty word in our sue happy society is “liability.” Many parents like to attend field trips too as chaperones. One field trip that we used to take that became forbidden was the five-ten mile biking field trip I would take with the students and their families—often to a nearby park. A pleasure to meet you, Mabel.

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    1. Norah Post author

      I used to love excursions too, Peter. Initially, I was quite fearful of the responsibility of caring for so many children away from the school environment. However a colleague, who was far more relaxed about excursions than I was, showed me how enjoyable they could be. In my later years of teaching, when I had more control over the events, I enjoyed them a lot more. One of my favourite ones was visiting a nearby park and lake looking for minibeasts. We always had lots of parents come along to help, which made it run far more smoothly.

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    2. Mabel Kwong

      A pleasure to meet you too, Peter. I remember the phrase ‘field trips’ from the books I’ve read and movies I’ve watched that are set in the States. It is a good point you bring up there – there is always a risk factor when it comes to school excursions. For instance, someone could have gotten hurt while camping. I do remember my parents had to sign a permission slip before I was allowed to attend any school excursion or trip outside of school premises. The five-ten mile biking field trip sounded like quite a field trip. It sounds like something you could do all day…much fun away from the classroom.

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  22. Darlene

    How lovely to read about Mabel´s school days. I was saddened to hear you were bullied in school, Mabel. I think schools (at least in Canada) have become much more aware of diversity now and ensure children aren´t picked on because they are different. I also don´t agree with strict dress codes as we are all individuals, although there does need to be some decorum.

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    2. Mabel Kwong

      Thanks for reading, Darlene. Great to hear schools are more diverse in Canada. Strict dress codes are interesting. For one, it’s good because no kid will rock up dressed to the nines in designer clothing. On the other hand, school uniforms can be expensive and not an attire all of us might be comfortable with.

      Liked by 3 people

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  23. Chelsea Owens

    I’m pleased to meet you, Mabel. I find your perspective intriguing. As an Asian-Australian who attended Asian schools, did the schools and your parents force a rigorous study schedule? I read that ‘Tiger Mom’ book a few years ago and realized I hadn’t talked to anyone who grew up in a similar environment.

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    1. Mabel Kwong

      Pleased to meet you too, Chelsea (such a lovely name!). In my schools in Singapore and Malaysia, there was a rigor study schedule – a lot of subjects were heavily theory-based. My parents were also insistent I study hard outside of school, sitting me down after school and on weekends to revise what was taught in school, and start reading next week’s material in advance. I haven’t read the Tiger Mum book but have heard so much about it – talking about rote learning and that makes for well-rounded kids. That said, at the end of the day, each one’s education is different and we have different interests and different ways of learning.

      Liked by 3 people

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      1. Chelsea Owens

        Thanks for the compliment. 🙂 I like your game as well.

        I wondered how you felt about the rigor. Did you enjoy it? Resent it? Do you approve of that approach?

        I had a practically non-existent study schedule, but also more of the personality of the Tiger Mom’s second daughter.

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        2. Mabel Kwong

          I definitely didn’t like studying after school every day. I do think that rubbed off me somehow because these days I approach a lot of what I do – work, writing, cleaning – with a lot of vigour and diligence.

          Sounds like you had a lot of fun times back then 😛

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    2. Mabel Kwong

      Thanks, Robbie. Lovely to meet you too 🙂 You are so right. Kids in high school tend to form groups and if you aren’t in a group, you aren’t. Maybe one day that will change and we’ll be more open towards each other.

      Liked by 2 people

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  27. joylennick

    Thanks once again, Norah. I was never once bullied at school, but appreciate how it must affect a child. When I worked in a school as a Dinner Lady and assistant with reading and poetry in my later years, there was a boy of around nine who arrived at school unwashed and uncared for, and my heart went out to him as his mother just didn’t care. Not a lot teachers could do about it, so no-one would sit next to him. An isolated incident but very real to the poor lad.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Norah Post author

      What a sad situation for that young boy, Joy, and especially sad that no one was really in a position to help. It doesn’t seem right somehow. I’m pleased that you escaped being bullied though. That’s a good thing.

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    2. Mabel Kwong

      That is a sad situation to see everyday, a student coming in unwashed and uncared for, and he must be certainly doing it rough outside of school. School might even be his sanctuary. He might just even be happy to be out of home. Hope he eventually found his way and did well in his later years.

      Liked by 2 people

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