Growing Up and School Days

It must have been a great shock to the system when I had to start school at six years of age. I can still clearly recall my very first day in school. For some reason my maternal grandfather had to take me to the school on the first day. I remember it was a very frightening experience and I would not allow my grandfather to leave the school. He had to stand where I could see him and I would not let him out of my sight. Thus started my school days in Segamat which will last for another 12 years.

The first school I attended was only about 10 minutes walk from home. Each morning someone would walk me there and returned to fetch me at 12.30 pm. I cannot remember much about this school as I was only six but I can vaguely remember the classrooms where we were taught our numbers and the alphabets. I cannot remember any of my classmates from this school. My first year at this school was to prepare me for the “big” school where I was to spend the next 11 years of my school days.

The “big” school was about 3 kilometers from our home. When I started at that school my parents did not possess any transportation. Instead of walking me to school each day and walking me home at 1.30pm when school was over, my parents hired a trishaw to transport me and the son of my father’s business partner to and fro each day.

A school day was split into 2 halves. At 11.00 am each day we would have our “intervals”. All the other pupils would have their time at the tuck shop where they would buy their snacks and drinks. My mother had different ideas regarding tuck shop meals. She would not allow me to buy snacks and drinks from the tuck shop. Instead she would walk all the way to school with home prepared food and drinks for me. I can still remember our daily routine, sitting under the large trees in front of the school eating my meals. I guess it was like our daily picnic. That did not bother me much when I was very young, but when I was a little older it became quite embarrassing. I cannot remember when this ritual ended but I am sure I was quite relieved when it did. My mother, bless her, must have done that out of love for me. I can imagine it must have been quite tedious for her to walk the 3 kilometers rain of shine, to school and back each day with my meal. I have never doubted the love my mother had for me, even during those years when we were apart for long stretches of time.

Primary school days were full of happiness and fun. After school each day neighbourhood children would congregate and play games. The games we played were very simple by today’s standard. Suffice to say that my childhood, growing up in a small town like Segamat was good. I can only remember the happiness and fun I had. I am sure there were unhappiness and traumatic events during my growing up days, but surprisingly I can only remember very few of them.