With COVID-19 shutting schools down in Malaysia, schools have had to instantly adapt to an online learning environment. With zero time to prepare, how are schools, teachers, and students coping?  In this episode of the Surin Academy Show, we're with a smorgasbord of people representing diverse sectors of the Malaysian education scene. We have: - Rinnie, the co-founder of the Surin Academy, a small and inclusive international school in KL. - Dipti, the CEO of the Malaysian Collective Impact Initiative, a social impact organisation that runs education interventions in local public schools. - Alyssa, an experienced teacher representing a local Chinese school.  - Alina, co-founder of Arus Academy, a makerspace academy in KL and Penang.  - And finally, Sue who heads the Hong Leong Foundation.  Together they're giving us a good picture of what's the state of Malaysian education during the school shut-down caused by COVID-19.

As a parent, you could be struggling with your kids. But your kids could themselves be struggling, and they're unsure of how to express their struggles. What looks to be a rebellious or naughty child, a quiet or an overdramatic child, or a disrespectful child could just be a child that’s struggling to communicate with you. How do you understand the language of your child? In this podcast, we explore how you can understand a child’s first language - her behaviour.

You’ve had a busy day, you’ve taken care of everyone, you made sure that the kids are happy and well fed, they’ve finally gone to bed and it’s time for some you time. So you make a cup of tea, and just as you were about to sit down for some well deserved you time, “Moooooooom,” you kid cries to you. You’re overwhelmed and you don’t know what to do. Your kids are driving you crazy. What are you to do? In this podcast, we're here with the Childhood Matters Project to talk about what you can do when your kids are driving you crazy. Are your kids just being defiant or stubborn? Or are there deeper reasons behind why they seem to be trying to drive you crazy.

It can be heartbreaking to see your son refusing to share his toys with his sister. You might look on with a tinge of worry when your daughter refuses to share her playthings at the playground. But what can you do if your child doesn't share? When telling them to share doesn't seem to work. In this podcast, we're with Dr. Aliyah who heads the life skills programme at the Surin Academy. As a parent herself, she'll be sharing with us on how she gets her own children to share. 

"Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." - Albert Einstein (supposedly) In this episode, we're with Gheethaanjali Ramamoothie, a counselor at The Surin Academy as we explore how we can help children to be better versions of themselves – rather than poorer versions of somebody else. How can we as parents and educators help our children live a life that's congruent to them and to help them discover their passions. 

"My child stopped showing interest in school." "My child stopped picking up books." The most heartbreaking thing that could happen to parents is to see their children slowly lose their love of learning. In the previous episode we explored what a teacher or a parent can do when young children lose interest in learning.  In this episode, we're with Rinnie Russo, the founder of The Surin Academy. Together we'll explore what you can do when your teenager begin to zone off into the land of "I don't want to learn."

"My child stopped being curious." "My child stopped picking up books." The most heartbreaking thing that could happen to parents is to see their children slowly lose their love of learning. In this episode with Melissa Joan, we explore what parents and teachers can do when their young child begins to zone off into the land of "I don't want to learn."