Changing the School Curriculum to Suit Real Life

When I was in high school, Physics and Algebra were part of the curriculum. All the other subjects were fine with me except the first two mentioned. I was a diligent and conscientious student. I love to read and study. But no matter how much I read the books and tried to study these subjects, I just couldn’t fathom the mathematical equations.

Some people say the kind of teacher will determine how one learns a subject. Well, my teachers were good, methodical, patient and professional. But I didn’t think they were the problem. The problem was me. My brain just wasn’t wired to comprehend those equations.

It is still a wonder to me how I passed those subjects. My quiz and periodic exam results were far from passing. I believe the teachers were kind enough not to give me a failing grade; after all, I was a good, diligent and conscientious student, and I behaved well. I attended a public high school, and I believe it was the reason that I graduated despite my lack of algebraic and physics talent—my teachers had compassion and sympathy for me for being a progeny of the less affluent class, but a “trying hard to improve my lot” type of progeny. Simply put, I didn’t have the resources to repeat the class, so that gave me points.

After high school, I worked by day and went to a public university at night. Horror of horrors, I was confronted with Calculus (higher Algebra) and Statistics! I had classes on Saturdays and I would go to the library and really put two and two together to understand those subjects. Try as I might I could not for the life of me solve the assignments—I was clueless! My quiz and periodic exam scores embarrassed me and everytime the teachers handed back the papers, I took them meekly like a wounded dog. To make a long story short, I passed the subjects because I believe the teachers had compassion on me being a night student, and that to them meant I was someone who was willing to sacrifice and exert extra effort to make my life better—someone who had ambition, but lacked subjective talent. Points again.

Even then I could not understand why I had to study those subjects that were my waterloos. I thought they had no place in my future vocation, let alone my daily life. I was learning commerce, not the vastness of the universe. Those subjects were a total waste of my time, effort and resources--I just felt and knew it. I understand that education is meant to discipline the mind, but those subjects oppressed my mind more than disciplined it.

No wonder many drop out of school--one possible reason being a part of the curriculum didn't suit the leanings of the mind and thus became boring and irrelevant. I wished the subjects which I dreaded were instead offered as elective subjects (those that students choose in addition to the regular curriculum). I certainly would not pick them. I remember my elective subject then was Spanish—not because I was crazy about it, but there were no other options for me (there were two actually, but the other one didn’t interest me either).

I worked in a school, insurance company and a bank, and I didn’t have to use Physics and Algebra, even Trigonometry, Calculus or higher Statistics in any of these places--the need simply was non-existent. I wished there were other subjects in high school (even if they were elective) on say, Entrepreneurship, Human Relations, Customer Service, The Art of Handling Difficult/Negative People, Stock Trading, Mutual Funds Investing, Foreign Currency Exchange Investing, How to Generate Creative Ideas, Homebased Business, Real Estate Business 101, How to be a Millionaire at Age 30 (or make it 40 if you think you can’t make that mark), How to Work Four Hours a Day and Still Make Decent Money, Family Relationships, How to Handle Money (which is needed by everybody), Nutrition 101, Weight Loss 101, How to Have a Balanced Life in an Unbalanced World, How to be a Good Marriage Partner, How to Enjoy Life and Still be a Responsible Person, or The Science of Taking Risks. The list is long but relevant to the daily life of probably a large part of the population--if not now, perhaps later.

Education is meant to liberate or enlighten the mind, not to confuse it. It should evolve with time and be more relevant to the needs of the majority, not of the few. What I’m saying is leave those subjects to students who have the aptitude for them. Note that I did not say, leave those subjects to would-be engineers, architects, astronomers, physicists, scientists and whatever occupations that might have use for them because nobody knows what vocation the young will go into, though some would have a pretty good idea already--hence, I used the word “aptitude”. Imagine a young person who would want to be a ballet dancer someday and made to struggle with complex mathematical equations just to "fulfill the requirements." In short, give the youth other options that they feel are relevant to them.

I have come across frontline salespersons who didn’t know how to deal effectively with customers—wouldn’t it be good for their own sake and the business if they were taught good Customer Service in school? Many people hesitate to dabble in the stockmarket, foreign currency exchange and real estate flipping because they don’t have a basic understanding of how these systems operate. Yet, all these people need and want to make extra money and would one day go into retirement, and wouldn’t it help if they had knowledge of these systems and were able to use that knowledge early in life instead of cramming later, and because of fear, they never take the plunge at all?

Up to my retirement, I don’t see any use for those school subjects that did not match my aptitude and interest and I will never see any use for them for the rest of my life. If you want to share your own experience, you are most welcome.

Quote for today:

“One can succeed at almost anything for which he has enthusiasm.”

– Charles Schwab, industrialist and financier

No Watch? No Problem

I had always worn a watch ever since I can remember. Didn’t matter if it was a simple, inexpensive watch. It was an indispensable accessory, a part of my dressing. Without it, I felt naked. It became even more of a necessity when I started working. It helped me keep tab of my morning wake-up time, commute, office lunches, meetings, deadlines and rush hours.

When I retired, I thought I didn’t have to wear my watch anymore everytime I leave the house, but I suffered from withdrawal symptoms; I therefore wore it on and off. Time came when I noticed I didn’t experience separation anxiety anymore. I finally can live without my watch, the little master who conducted my daily life but had now become dispensable.

Upon retirement, time became irrelevant to my daily existence. Oftentimes, I don’t remember what day it is--to tell, I go by a point of reference. For instance, there is a long queue at the supermarket so it must be Saturday or Sunday; if it is in the ATM machine, I assume it is Friday. Other times, I ask someone while walking down the street in my village what time or day it is. Or wait for the radio announcer to tell his listeners. I can tell it is time to get up from bed when the morning sun has risen and its warm rays penetrate my window; or it is time for supper when I hear the neighbor's car or kids coming home from work and school.

When I was working, the days before holidays and weekends were filled with great anticipation, and when those awaited days arrived, I sighed with relief and exhilaration. Nowadays, they don’t evoke such feelings anymore. Everyday is a Saturday. However, I noticed that time and days fly at the same speed in retirement like they did in pre-retirement. While a worker is concerned on completing the job for the day, I think of things to do with my day. I plan on doing a number of tasks but at the end of the day, I find I haven’t achieved my targets or I’ve only achieved them partially if at all. The only benefit I derived from this is that nobody complains, so I don’t feel bad, let alone guilty. I have officially become a loafer.

It is ironic that an employee is awarded a gold expensive watch for working that long in the company just when time doesn’t matter that much anymore. Nevertheless, I guess it will come in handy when money runs short.

Quote for today:

“Retirement is wonderful. It is doing nothing without worrying about getting caught at it."

- Gene Perret, humorist

Retiring Early: Is it Right for Me?

Retiring early is not an easy decision to make. Once the decision becomes final and executed, the die is cast. Four years ago, I struggled on whether retiring at the age of 52 was right for me. I still had eight more years to go--eight more years of making decent money. The decision wasn’t made overnight or in a week’s time. It was about a year in the making.

After working my way hard for 23 years, I had a fairly good position and had earned the respect and trust of both my colleagues and supervisors. I was tasked with sensitive assignments and hardly ever had to be checked if I was doing a good job or not because they know I do. My bosses just had to skim through the work I’d done, did a little tweaking here and there and signed it off with confidence. It was a position most everyone at the entry level would want to be in someday. I was born of a poor family and always had to strive hard and now, my career was at its peak and afforded me to have the things that I needed and wanted (though I never really wanted much).

What made me finally decide to go on an early retirement? At the time, I had a housing loan I had been amortizing for nine years out of 19. I had credit card debts, but they were very few and far between, and always paid in full at the payment due date because I am averse to interest charges. Except for those, I had no debts, and I could pay my loan off should I retire. It was my second year of being eligible for a pension. Should I retire, I can take with me my company’s health plan though I would be paying the whole insurance premium including the company’s portion which they were paying for me being their staff. I had medical insurance for my mother. I had saved some. These seemed to be great reasons to enable me to go on an early retirement. However, these were just secondary.

More than anything, I was mentally exhausted and worn out. I wanted to claim my life back. Yet, I wanted the money that I would still be earning in eight years which would be pretty good. Although I had no kids to support, I was helping the economically challenged members in the family, which to me was a mission for I thought I was blessed comparatively speaking. I wanted to still be of help to those who needed my help, yet, I would be doing myself a great disservice if I was to think of others more than I would think of myself given the state of my corporate sanity (or insanity). I felt like a factory machine churning all day long, and the 23 long stressful years were taking their toll on me.

My mind went into a tug-of-war of “Should I” and “Shouldn’t I” retire. One day, it dawned on me that I would lose good money, yet, what good would it do to me if I was worn out to the point of not having a real life and being in a state of ill health? I wanted to enjoy the fruits of my long hard labor while I am young and still able to do it. I wanted to travel and see more places while I can. I wanted to read all the books that I missed; to enjoy my garden, to sleep in, to cease being a daily road warrior. It all boils down really to a simple choice, and why was I agonizing over it? I offer no further excuses for wanting to retire early, for to me, these were enough.

Now, four years after that “fateful deciding moment,” I look back and think if I made the right choice. It was one of the most courageous decisions I ever made. I have no regrets. My life is still not exactly perfect despite my retirement, but I never expected it would be. I am fully aware that retirement doesn't promise you a rose garden. I just feel I am more in control of my life now. If my life then was greatly affecting others in a positive way, I have not lost that perspective and mission, and I hope that by writing my thoughts, I still will be able to impact others in the same way.

Early retirement isn’t for everyone; people have different circumstances and life situations. If you are still at the stage where early retirement is not possible and feasible, just hang in there; if despite that you still want it for some good reasons, weigh your options and do what your heart tells you. Just don’t say I encouraged you if it doesn't work out for you.

Quote for today:

"Retirement: When you have given so much of yourself to the Company that you don't have anything left that the Company can use."

- Unknown wise person

Doing What He Loves in Retirement

Here’s someone who have found something to do in his retirement. I hope this will give you ideas if you want to engage in part-time work during your retirement.

Larry was a bookkeeper in a small pest control firm. He learned how to use a couple of software programs to carry out his job, two of which were MS Excel for his calculations and bookkeeping records, and MS Word to write his reports. When he retired, he wanted something to do to occupy his mind and time. He accepted bookkeeping work for a few people here and there but because he has been doing this for several years, he thought he wanted to do something else.

There was this big church that Larry goes to and the church had various activities for its members, both old and young. One of the activities was offering seminars on various topics like marriage encounters, youth leadership, counseling, and many others. He talked to the church administrator and offered to hold a 3-hour training for interested people to learn the 2007 updates on MS Word and Excel, and the administrator agreed. The church would not charge him for the use of its facility, but just a donation.

Larry created a nice poster announcing his first training schedule and displayed this on the church bulletin board and outside the church where passersby can see it. I saw this poster while walking by the road near the church going to the mall and I got interested because I use MS Word and MS Excel in my computer. Although the 2007 updates on these programs are available in the help section of my computer's browser, I thought I would learn quicker thru a classroom setting when something is demonstrated to me rather than reading the instructions by myself. Besides, the training fee was very much affordable, and I get to meet other people.

During registration Larry required the participants to bring their own laptops. For those who didn’t have one, he rented laptops from a computer shop for a fee and charged the participants an additional $1. He charged $8 for non-student participants, and $4 for student participants (remember, the class was just on learning the 2007 updates and the participants are assumed to already have the knowledge and skill in using the programs). About 50 people enrolled for his first 3-hour training held on a Saturday, including me.

The participants liked Larry's training and recommended him to other people, and last week while walking on the road by the church, I saw a poster advertising his next training schedule. Some people have asked him to teach them the software program itself. For this, he charged more. Depending on his client’s location, he holds the training at his place, while a few have asked him to come to their house for which he charged an additional fee for one-on-one training and gas expenses.

Larry said he wanted to be a teacher when he was young but he didn’t have the money to pursue the education. Now he is doing what he loves.

Quote for today:

"Choose a work that you love and you won't have to work another day."

- Confucius

The Retired Husband’s Syndrome

The subject of retirement is mostly centered on the financial aspect--savings, pension, investments and business. A person contemplating retirement is advised which stocks, mutual funds, time deposits and other investment options are at his disposal to make his retirement money grow. The subject of emotional ramifications of retirement is almost always not given much thought.

For one thing, in the workplace, the would-be retiree exercises control, enjoys respect from colleagues and is used to making decisions. His social network is extensive, varied and within his arms length. When he retires, the psychological transition from holding down the job to spending more time at home can produce depression as his social network is diminished. Furthermore, he now has to compromise, and is at an equal level of, if not submission to, decision-making at home. His previous identity which depended largely on his job is now gone and he feels the loss of this identity.

At home, the wife may suffer from what is called the retired husband’s syndrome (RHS). The symptoms are similar to some symptoms of stress: anxiety, rashes, irritability, ulcer even. The couple now have more time together but this time spent together isn’t exactly bliss. The wife who is used to being at home taking care of the kids and managing the home suddenly finds herself with an “intruder”. The husband, with nothing much to occupy him becomes listless and may begin to criticize what was once the wife’s normal routine at home which to her, is her territory. He may read the newspaper and leave it just anywhere he happens to be, or watch tv and fall asleep on the couch in the living room instead of heading to the bedroom, which the wife finds annoying. The husband may begin to assign himself as the financial manager which used to be his wife’s duty, thus making her feel resentful. In time, friction sets in as one’s spousal territory is "invaded" by the other.

Prior to retirement, couples should anticipate the fact that they will be spending more time together at home and would they really want to be doing everything together for much of this time? Depending on their lifestyle and attitudes, each one should give each other space to breathe and support each other to pursue their interests the way they prefer doing it even if it means going out separately either alone, with family or friends. Time apart is time well spent in terms of replenishing each other’s psychic energies.

Someone said that golf was probably invented by the wife of a retired husband. It may as well be. Retirement is the final phase in a couple’s lives, and this is a time to support each other more than any other while enjoying the journey.

Quote for today:

“A retired husband is often a wife's full-time job."

- Ella Harris