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http://www.asiaone.com/News/Education/Story/A1Story20090610-147467.html
Sat, Jun 13, 2009
The Straits Times
Girding RI boys for a better age
By Yeo Sam Jo
FIFTY years ago, a teenager at Raffles Institution (RI) by the name of Goh Chok Tong got a measly two out of 10 marks for a General Paper essay.
The teacher who gave the score to the student who became Singapore's prime minister and who is its current Senior Minister was Mr Eugene Wijeysingha. He went on to become RI's headmaster between 1986 and 1994.
Now 75, Mr Wijeysingha has published a memoir, For A Better Age, a collection of his personal reflections on his 35 years in education, 16 of them at RI.
The book contains many sentimental anecdotes from the past, including that episode with a young Mr Goh, who was among his first batch of students.
The memoir takes one through RI's history, with photos of school life and a collection of open letters he wrote to his students when he was headmaster.
The title of the book borrows from the school motto, Auspicium Melioris Aevi, Latin for Hope Of A Better Age, and has a personal significance for the author.
'As a principal, whatever I did was in the hope of giving the boys my best so, in that sense, it was for a better age for them,' he said in an interview with The Straits Times.
Mr Wijeysingha started teaching at RI in 1959 and left to assume other educational posts in 1966. He returned to RI as headmaster 20 years later.
The idea of the book was hatched about four years ago, when a visit from an old boy rekindled memories of his career and made him realise he wanted to tell his story.
'Having been in education for so long, I felt a need to share what I had picked up along the way, and perhaps discover how it has changed me after all these years.'
It took him till 2007 to complete the manuscript, which was then handed over to some old boys from the class of 1988.
That batch, due to have its 20th-year reunion, was hoping to contribute to the school and felt that getting Mr Wijeysingha's work published was a special way to do so.
'We thought it was an opportune time to pay homage to our ex-headmaster,' said former headboy Donald Poon, 36, who is now a doctor.
Mr Wijeysingha sees the book as a tribute to the teachers and students who, to him, gave their blood and sweat for the school.
'I wrote this with them in mind,' said the veteran educator, under whose watch RI became an independent school in 1990.
For Mr Wijeysingha, who previously authored a book on the history of RI, writing this came more naturally to him because of its personal approach.
'The moment I started, the memories just came rushing back,' he recalled.
For many of the school's alumni, the book also holds great sentimental value.
Dr Poon said: 'It means a lot for us to flip through such a piece of our school's history, something of which we were part.'
RI's senior deputy headmaster S. Magendiran said the book was bound to 'really stir the hearts of both current and future RI students'.
But Mr Wijeysingha hopes the book will go beyond the Rafflesian family: 'I hope this will give food for thought to everyone in the field, be they teachers, principals or parents.'
SM Goh, who penned the book's foreword, took away more from his former teacher than just essay writing skills. 'He set out to prepare students for the larger society and country,' he wrote.
This article was first published in The Straits Times.
Sat, Jun 13, 2009
The Straits Times
Girding RI boys for a better age
By Yeo Sam Jo
FIFTY years ago, a teenager at Raffles Institution (RI) by the name of Goh Chok Tong got a measly two out of 10 marks for a General Paper essay.
The teacher who gave the score to the student who became Singapore's prime minister and who is its current Senior Minister was Mr Eugene Wijeysingha. He went on to become RI's headmaster between 1986 and 1994.
Now 75, Mr Wijeysingha has published a memoir, For A Better Age, a collection of his personal reflections on his 35 years in education, 16 of them at RI.
The book contains many sentimental anecdotes from the past, including that episode with a young Mr Goh, who was among his first batch of students.
The memoir takes one through RI's history, with photos of school life and a collection of open letters he wrote to his students when he was headmaster.
The title of the book borrows from the school motto, Auspicium Melioris Aevi, Latin for Hope Of A Better Age, and has a personal significance for the author.
'As a principal, whatever I did was in the hope of giving the boys my best so, in that sense, it was for a better age for them,' he said in an interview with The Straits Times.
Mr Wijeysingha started teaching at RI in 1959 and left to assume other educational posts in 1966. He returned to RI as headmaster 20 years later.
The idea of the book was hatched about four years ago, when a visit from an old boy rekindled memories of his career and made him realise he wanted to tell his story.
'Having been in education for so long, I felt a need to share what I had picked up along the way, and perhaps discover how it has changed me after all these years.'
It took him till 2007 to complete the manuscript, which was then handed over to some old boys from the class of 1988.
That batch, due to have its 20th-year reunion, was hoping to contribute to the school and felt that getting Mr Wijeysingha's work published was a special way to do so.
'We thought it was an opportune time to pay homage to our ex-headmaster,' said former headboy Donald Poon, 36, who is now a doctor.
Mr Wijeysingha sees the book as a tribute to the teachers and students who, to him, gave their blood and sweat for the school.
'I wrote this with them in mind,' said the veteran educator, under whose watch RI became an independent school in 1990.
For Mr Wijeysingha, who previously authored a book on the history of RI, writing this came more naturally to him because of its personal approach.
'The moment I started, the memories just came rushing back,' he recalled.
For many of the school's alumni, the book also holds great sentimental value.
Dr Poon said: 'It means a lot for us to flip through such a piece of our school's history, something of which we were part.'
RI's senior deputy headmaster S. Magendiran said the book was bound to 'really stir the hearts of both current and future RI students'.
But Mr Wijeysingha hopes the book will go beyond the Rafflesian family: 'I hope this will give food for thought to everyone in the field, be they teachers, principals or parents.'
SM Goh, who penned the book's foreword, took away more from his former teacher than just essay writing skills. 'He set out to prepare students for the larger society and country,' he wrote.
This article was first published in The Straits Times.
