Education and brand name
I wonder what is the definition of education.
Does the school name have an impact to the value you get from studying there?
I see some people around me, planning where their homes should be so that they can be within the vicinity of the “good” schools where their kids can have a chance to go to. I see friends, who went through distant learning courses, end up complaining that the university isn’t “recognised”, no one has heard of the school name etc.
Some say that certain employers show “discrimination” about which school this potential hire came from. I’m not sure about this, because I have not encountered this before, and if so, it’s not the organisation that I would like to work for.
The school environment matters, not just the grades and the prestige. There are people who come out of prestigious schools and may not go very far in the society’s perception of corporate world success. There are those who aren’t academic, but are successful in what they do.
When it comes to distant learning courses, my take is: you know what you got yourself into. What’s the point of complaining after the course is done?
I think we spend lots of time in school, but many of the things we learn may not be directly applicable to what we may do as a career. Who really remembers the complex mathematical formula and the elements in the periodic table? Do we ever use it in our daily life?
“Branded” schools do not necessarily have good teachers that inspire. At the end, it’s really the people that count, not the brand name of the school.
Being me
I attend a lunch talk yesterday, in celebration of International Women’s Day. The forum was about Achieving Balance, Fuelling growth.
There were 4 speakers, female leaders in their own right, senior leaders in the corporate organisation, a MP and the boss of an executive search firm. The topics touched on women being catalysts of change, finding a balance between choices and how women can climb the career ladder.
The session that strike me the most was on finding a balance between choices. The speaker was sharing her story, about how she almost wanted to quit her job because she felt guilty for not being there with her young children due to work commitments. To her surprise, her family all discouraged her to do that because they could see that she was enjoying what she does at work.
I went through a similar dilemma before. It was definitely not like I was at the peak of my career, a top honcho in an organisation, but I felt the guilt of not being with the kids when I was travelling initially in my new role. Thankfully it was just a short period of time, and I had the support from my husband and family.
Society norms often see the female as the nurturer, the caregiver for the family. Now this definition and stereotype has proven that it’s not about gender, it’s about what this individual is about. Men – breadwinner, Women – caregiver? Many women end up striving to be this super-woman: mum, wife, career woman etc. All of us, men included, face stereotypes but do those social norms matter at the end?
There are reasons why these women are leaders in the corporate world. They love what they do, and they made one point clear: we have to define our priorities in life. What matters to one person may not be important to another person. In our own ways, we are leaders of our life, and we find our niche in this society. When we are happy within, it shows and it’s absolutely impossible to please everyone.
Not everyone wants to be up there in the corporate world. Many that I know want a stable job, time for family and personal pursuits. When you want more, you do more, and it requires a delicate balancing act. These women at the top work their way there, using their own talent, experiences, and certainly some level of sacrifices to get to where they are, but the end result that is important: to be happy.
To be happy with what you do, who you are. It’s a simple philosophy, many of us want to be happy but aren’t sure WHAT makes us happy. So we struggle through life, finding that what others prescribed as success may mean nothing for us.
My takeaway from that session: I’m happy where I am, who I am. I am good now.
Parenting tips: Reflux
Friends who recently had their newborns called to ask about reflux. Their PDs (2 different friends) diagnose their babies as having gastroesophageal reflux (GERD). There’s a full article describing this at BabyCenter.com
Symptoms include frequent vomitting, or spitting of milk after their feeds.
More important are the techniques that I’ve learnt, especially for bottle feeding.
- Burping the baby. We were very persistent during the early months on burping because one of our babies had this problem of vomitting her milk after a full feed.
- After burping, let the baby lie in an inclined position. Fold the nappy cloth or use a small baby pillow to add the height. You can also try adjusting the angle of the cot mattress or playpen by adding cushions below the mattress.
- Check that the milk flow from the bottle teats is not too fast. If the milk flow is very fast, it increases the amount of air that the baby may suck.
Chances are, if the milk flow is too fast, the baby doesn’t know when to stop and may just keep drinking. Frequent feeds, lesser volume each time could help ease the situation.
- Examine if the baby is sucking in air from the bottle. The teat should always be fully covered with milk. Different brands of teats have their ways of resolving this, either by trapping the air (such as Avent), or having a small hole to allow air to escape, just before the milk goes to the baby (e.g. NUK). Using universal teats, some would not tighten the milk bottle all the way, so that the air can escape. (I tried this method, but it only ended up with the milk seeping out of the bottle).
Friends said that their doctors recommended milk thickening so that the stomach can hold the milk longer, thereby avoiding the vomitting. Personally I do not agree with the method. With the thick milk, it also means that the teat hole has to be wider to allow the solution to flow through. It’s harder for the baby to digest and drink thick milk.
Babies generally outgrow reflux as they get older, so parents should not worry too much. If the vomitting/spitting is combined with other symptoms such as loss of appetite or not gaining weight properly, get the doctor to check and advise appropriately.
