Gap year Worldschooling

Our family of 6 is embarking on a year long journey to travel the world to learn and to serve and volunteer where possible. Where this idea came from was the fact that we live in Singapore. A small red dot on the map of the world. Dont get me wrong Singapore is an amazing country! In a short span of 50 years our nation was transformed from a small, backward, fishing village to one of the most properous and advanced nation in the world. 

The founding prime minister of Singapore, Mr Lee Kuan Yew had a vision for this small island. And he was the one responsible for putting a small island on the map of the world. Being a small country, we do not have land or any resources. The resource that Mr Lee capitalised on was Human Resource. The people. I always knew we are fortunate to be living in Singapore and growing up in Malaysia, I appreciate it more. But my children grew up most of their years here and not intentional but we take a lot of things for granted. Simple things like having continous uninterrupted electricity, having fresh flowing drinking water from the tap, having efficient public transport system, free schooling, clean streets and environment, homes to live in....etc. We are blessed, owning these comfort to our founding fathers.

My parents transfered me to study 'overseas' at a mere 10 years of age, seeking a better English based education in Singapore. Every day we board a yellow school bus and carry our passports to cross the causeway. Being independent and studying in a foreign country at such an young age gave me a great exposure to the world. I am thankful to the education that I have received through some of the most amazing teachers that have inspired me till this day. 

There is so much merit to traveling. To move is an innate instinct in humans. To move from one position to another is the most fundamental characteristic of any living thing. And to move is to change. And Abdul Baha, the son of the prophet of the Bahai faith said that : “Change is a necessary quality and essential attribute of this world, of time and place.”. The reason that change is necessary, He explains, is that “the world of existence is progressive”. So to progress we need to move, we need to change for growth to occur. 

Growing up into my teens and young adult years, I have always loved to travel, to see the world. As a Bahai we often get to travel to different states of Malaysia and neighbouring countries to participate in camps, conferences, musical tours, volunteer work as a English teacher and so on. With each trip, I grew and gain so much. With each experience, my maturity grew, my vision and understanding of the world grew and in return I found my interest and my strength and that made me who I am today. 

After getting married and having children, it did not stop us from travelling. I would wear my baby in a baby sling and bring him whereever I went. Even though a baby is seemingly not able to comprehend the travel we took, I realised the effect of travelling with a baby is much deeper. He doesnt remember the experience when he grow up but the experiences actually form part of him, he absorbs the culture, the language, the way of life. I am certain that that will make him more able to relate to others and have a connection with the different places he visits and people he meet. 

Fast forward 17 years later, my eldest son finished his secondary school and realised that he does not know what he wants to do. I told him to take his time to think about it and if he is not ready, take some time off and just experience life, find his strengths, interest and find out which direction he wants to go from here. Dont need to follow the rat race and keep up with everyone. Being the one who attended school his whole formative schooling years, he does not have much time to ponder much about what he wants to do when he grow up. I try to support him in his hobbies and interest in Piano, Speed Cubing, Sports...etc but he is not too sure which of this is something he wants to do as a career. 

Some time ago, I also did a calculation that the year 2023 is the 1 year that all of the boys are able to take off to travel together. Tristan finished O-levels and if we wait till next year he has to either start tertiary or enlist himself in compulsory national service in the army for the following 2 years. Trevor my second boy is still homeschooled (technically I dont teach him, so I would say he is unschooled or no-schooled!), he can take a break off formal schooling and do some lessons online then come back after a year to continue. Tyler my 3rd by is primary 4, he is in school. Following years are a little more crucial as he needs to prepare for the all 'important' Primary School Leaving Examination - PSLE. Travis is 5 and happy homeschooled/unschooled. So after much consultation with Chris and the boys, we have decided to take a year off together to travel to a few countries around the world. To travel, learn and serve the community we visit. Later only I found out that there are many families who does this on long term basis. They are nomads, sold their home and travel and mostly work via an internet connection from any parts of the world they decide to stay in. These families call themselves Worldschooling families. 

We started our journey on the 3rd Novemeber 2022, and here we are almost 9 months and 5 countries later. All I can say is that we are different people now then when we first started. These travels have enriched us with appreciation of what we have and that really, our life in Singapore is very much like a bubble, outside Singapore, life is not that easy nor perfect. But all these imperfection are also an important part of the enriching experiences we had and sought. I am humbled my these experiences and what made our journey the most memorable is the amazing people whom we have met along the way. They made the difference. More on our adventures campervan-ing in Australia, Serving in the Lotus Temple in India, Surfing on the beaches of Vietnam, Travelling on speed train in South Korea and Volunteering in schools in the villages of Cambodia. 

 #TohFamilyTravels #TohFamilyAdventures #Worldschooling

Jeon Ju, South Korea. Gyeonggijeon Shrine.