Give our children the opportunities to perform.

The sea at the esplanade with a view of a distant scene.


The esplanade where there is a field for recreation.


Fort Cornwallis in Penang Island with its cannons facing the sea.


The light-house, the structure on the left, which my group climbed to reach the top to see how it worked.


When I was in standard six, at the age of twelve, the Hutchings School in Penang Island where I was studying, allowed students to venture outside the school compound to explore and find information on a number of things in the area.

It was the end of the year, the final examination for the year was over. The pupils were divided into groups of six or seven pupils and a leader for each group was chosen to take them to certain areas and search for information on anything in their respective areas.

This is the kind of thing I have always liked. Usually, I would hope to be chosen as a leader although I had some inferiority complex then. You see, even then, I was aware of my problem and was searching for a way out of it through the examples of Davy Crocket, Wild Bill Hickok and Abraham Lincoln from books borrowed from the United States Information Service library in Beach Street, Penang.

I remember a time when my group had to explore the area in and around the esplanade which was quite near to the school.

So, my group walked, with notebooks and pens in our hands, to the Municipal Council building which was about half a kilometer away from the school.

From here, we could see the esplanade just in front of us. Walking and running across the field; we were very energetic then, just as I am now. We came to the sea, looked down at the waves as they smashed against the rocks sending sprays of salty water into the air with a little of it wetting our faces. Such simple joys and pleasures are freely available for us to experience.

We noted all that down in our notebooks. You see, it was also an exercise on creative writing, in expressing our thoughts and experiences.

After that we entered Fort Cornwallis which was built by the British to fend off any attack. In the fort there were bunkers where soldiers could rest. Of course, alongside the wall were cannons ready to fire at attacking ships. There was also a light-house to warn sailors that they were nearing dangerous rocks.

We had the opportunity of climbing up to the top of the light-house when we were given the permission to see the very top portion of the light-house. We saw how th lights were flashed towards the sea. The keeper was kind enough to enlighten us on how it worked. There, we learned how important it was to be polite in making requests. We understood human nature better.

Later, we went to the Penang Port Commission building where there were offices to handle incoming and out-going ships at the port. We noted down all our visits in our note-books.

Finally, we went into China Street and headed back to the school. We wrote down the directions we took to and from the places we stopped at. Indirectly, we were practicing writing directions. It was an important lesson as we had the chance to make use of what we had learned. The lessons were not just academic, they were put into practice and through it we realize the importance of being able to express ourselves through written language.

Upon reaching the school, the leaders of the various groups were asked to tell, from the notes made, what they had accomplished during the approximately three hours they had been given. Again, we had a beneficial activity, speaking in front of a crowd and overcoming stage fright.

So, can you see how beneficial an activity such as this can be. Schools, clubs and any organization which has the development of children in mind should plan such activities with or without adults in the background. If possible, let the children have a free hand at doing things so that they can learn to lead, to search for information, to make inquiries, to make polite requests, to have the courage to approach just anybody for assistance, to report everything and speak to disseminate information.

Yes, children must be given the opportunity to perform on all by themselves. That is every parent’s eventual goal for the children.