Psalm 62.5-8

It is the start of the school break – may you find rest in God, our rock and our refuge.

Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from Him. Truly He is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honour depend on God ; He is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge.

Psalm 62:5-8

Dealing with being called a nerd (bullying)

Wil Wheaton (star of Star Trek, Big Bang Theory) was recently asked by a young girl at ComicCon 2013, on being called a nerd (dealing with being bullied). This was his response.

Read more at Huffington Post.

Virginia Tech massacre

The Virginia Tech massacre was a school shooting comprising two separate attacks about two hours apart on April 16, 2007, on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States. The perpetrator, Seung-Hui Cho, killed 32 people and wounded many more, before committing suicide, making it the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history.

Cho, a South Korean who had moved to the United States at age eight, was a senior English major at Virginia Tech. Cho had been diagnosed with and treated for a severe anxiety disorder beginning in middle school, and he continued receiving therapy and special education support until his junior year of high school. While in college in 2005, Cho had been accused of stalking two female students and was declared mentally ill by a Virginia special justice. At least one professor had asked him to seek counseling.

The incident received international media coverage and drew criticism of U.S. laws and culture from commentators around the world. It sparked intense debate about gun laws, gaps in the U.S. system for treating mental health issues, the perpetrator’s state of mind, the responsibility of college administrations, privacy laws, journalism ethics, and other issues. Television news organizations that aired portions of the killer’s multimedia manifesto were criticized by victims’ families, Virginia law enforcement officials, and the American Psychiatric Association.

The incident prompted immediate changes in Virginia law that had allowed Cho, an individual adjudicated as mentally unsound, to purchase handguns and led federal lawmakers to take up the issue of strengthening the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

The Virginia Tech Review Panel, a state-appointed body assigned to review the incident, criticized Virginia Tech administrators for failing to take action that may have reduced the number of casualties. The panel’s report also reviewed gun laws and pointed out gaps in mental health care as well as misinterpretations of privacy laws that left Cho’s deteriorating condition in college untreated.

Are U.S. Schools Safe? (CNN In-depth special)
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/1998/schools/

A Message of Hope: Columbine Father on Va. Tech Shootings (Newsweek, 17 Apr 2007)
http://www.newsweek.com/id/35358

From Heartbreak to Hope (Review Panel Assembled for Virginia Tech Massacre; Columbine Anniversary, 20 Apr 2007)
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0704/20/cnr.02.html

Lessons from Virginia Tech (Dr Tim Elmore, Growing Leaders)
http://www.freewebtown.com/tmot/lessons%20from%20virginia%20tech.doc

Virginia Tech massacre
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_tech_massacre

No proselytisation allowed in schools

http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/forum/2005/20051025a.htm
by MOE (25 Oct 2005)

1. A recent ST Insight article (“Say Aaah…men”, 15 Oct) discussed the issue of proselytisation.
2. Any form of proselytisation to students is strictly not allowed in our schools, including both government and mission schools. Schools will take action against any teacher found to have engaged in proselytisation.
3. The article cited the case of a National Junior College physics lecturer who invited his class to a Christmas party and prayed over them, and who attached Christian sayings to his lecture notes. The Principal has warned the lecturer and counselled him. The lecturer is remorseful about his actions.
4. If parents have any concerns regarding any actions involving their children being encouraged to join a religion other than their own, I encourage them to approach the school.
5. Geraldine Chay Mei Fong (“Not true that all schools are secular”, ST Forum, 14 Oct 05) had pointed out that religious values are imparted in mission schools. She supported the practice of mission schools, and felt that parents who want a secular education for their children should send them to government schools.
6. Mission schools follow clear rules. While they can conduct prayers, religious classes and chapel services or mass, these must be optional. Mission schools cannot compel any student to participate in any religious activity against the student’s wish. Students are allowed to withdraw from any such activity if they are uncomfortable with participating in it, or if requested by their parents.
7. Further, attendance in any such activity cannot be a condition for students to be admitted to the school. The time used for these activities must also be in addition to that required for the schools to cover the subjects in the regular MOE curriculum.
8. It is in schools that children of different backgrounds build bonds and develop shared aspirations as Singaporeans. We encourage parents and schools to work together to ensure that we sustain the strong social cohesion that we have built so far.

Wong Siew Hoong
Director of Schools
Ministry of Education

Say aaah…men

http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/forum/2005/forum_letters/20051025a.pdf
by Li Xueying and Ken Kwek (ST Insight, 15 Oct 2005)

Proselytising in public institutions such as schools and hospitals has been in the news. Is it acceptable for doctors to try and save not just the body but also the soul? Should teachers be allowed not just to teach but also preach? LI XUEYING and KEN KWEK search for some answers.

IN 2002, Mr Alvin Choo, 55, suffered a relapse of nose cancer and sought treatment at Singapore General Hospital.

Not only did his nose get attention, so did his soul.

During separate consultations, not one but three, oncologists urged him to consider Christianity.

(read more)

Religious heads’ response (excerpt):
In Singapore, where religion and race remain sensitive topics, there is uneasiness in some quarters about Christians who are perceived to be over-aggressive in promoting their faith. One area where it is felt more acutely is when proselytising takes place in public institutions such as government schools, hospitals or offices.

Up to half of teachers here are Christians, according to the website of the Teachers’ Christian Fellowship, whose members ‘yearn to see a closer link between our church-based spiritual life and our ministry in school’.

Given that evangelism is a key thrust of Christianity, how might Christian teachers and doctors discharge their evangelical duty without undermining their professionalism?

The Christian Medical and Dental Fellowship, an ‘inter-denominational, evangelical fellowship of Christian doctors and dentists’, tells Insight: ‘Under no circumstances should doctors abuse the professional relationship with the patient and compel a patient to embrace a certain faith’.

But its chairman Dr Goh Wei-Leong believes that ‘in a friendly atmosphere’, the doctor can share his religious faith when the patient asks.

The Teachers’ Christian Fellowship past chairman Irene Phoon says that when discussing religious issues, ‘some teachers do refer to what they personally believe without imposing this belief or belittling the views of others’.

Excerpts from Bishop Robert Solomon’s response:
‘WE HAVE always maintained that evangelism is part of our Christian faith. If you’re a good Christian, you have to tell others about Jesus Christ. ‘But we have to do that with great sensitivity, especially in our multi-cultural, multi-religious society.

‘I disagree with people who use their professional relationship which gives them an advantage to push their faith onto others, whether it’s a doctor-patient or teacher-student relationship. That’s unethical.

‘But I think that if there’s an over-reaction to such cases, we may lose out in other fronts.

‘We will build walls and erode communication between people of different religious faiths. People will not be willing to talk about religion at all, and I don’t think that makes for a healthy, open society.

‘I am a medical doctor myself, and you cannot actually divorce faith and religion from health issues.

‘When you’re treating patients, their religious views are important and need to be taken into consideration.

‘That dimension will be cut off from the process of healing if we get to the stage where talking about religion is complete anathema… But if the doctor brings up the issue, and the patient is uncomfortable, then I think a line has been crossed.’

— METHODIST BISHOP DR ROBERT SOLOMON, who is also a medical doctor

(read more)

Related article:
No proselytisation allowed in schools (MOE, 25 Oct 05) – response to the above article

Talking about God in schools, hospitals

by Li Xueying (ST, 15 Oct 2005)

THE nurse could not stop talking about her faith, even as she was inserting a needle into her elderly patient’s arm.

A routine blood test at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) turned out to be a lesson in evangelical Christianity for Associate Professor Wong Weng Fai, 41, a computer science lecturer, and his 66-year-old mother, a dementia sufferer.

According to Prof Wong, a National University of Singapore lecturer, in the testing room, they were greeted by two nurses listening to Christian worship songs on a CD player. As one of them drew blood from his mother, she began evangelising.

He recounted: ‘She asked my mother in Cantonese, ‘Auntie, do you believe in Jesus?’

‘My mum was saying, ‘No, no, I’m Buddhist.’ But the nurse continued, ‘You should go to church because it’ll be good for you.”

Prof Wong felt offended. ‘They’re preying on the weaknesses of old folks, especially when they are sick and down.’

A TTSH spokesman said the hospital is unaware of the incident and that it ‘regularly reminds our doctors and care providers that proselytisation is not allowed’.

The issue of promoting one’s faith in public institutions has been in the news lately with letters in the Forum page touching on the subject.

How widespread is the practice? Should government doctors, teachers and bosses who are in positions of authority and trust be allowed to preach to their charges?

The official answer is no. But in practice, the issues are not so clear-cut, as Insight finds out.

Isn’t Boys’ Brigade just a CCA?

ST Forum, 4 Oct 2005

The letter, ‘Should teachers seek to convert pupils?’ (ST, Oct 1), struck a chord with me.

Some years ago, my son was studying at Sembawang Secondary School when he joined the Boys’ Brigade. Without my knowledge, the instructors/teachers in charge would take the members to church to attend worship services, and study the Bible.

Finally, one day my son told me he wanted to become a Christian.

I wonder whether the Ministry of Education and the school principal were aware of this.

Ong Swee Seng