From Bentong to Manchestee (Part 1)

I live in Salford, about 7 minutes drive away from my school at the University of Salford. I live near Sedgely Park in Higher Broughton. The area is full of kosher food eateries and synagogues.

It is part of a bigger area called Prestwich, which straddles on both Bury City Council and Salford City Council. It is complicated but if you come here, the character is easily discernible by a strong community identity of the predominantly Jewish neighbourhood, leafy with handsome houses on relatively clean streets. Well dressed children, men with hats and suits and women with dresses are a common sight walking along the pavements and streets. Most women wear long skirts (no pants), so people would look at me with a question, although there are non-Jewish people around. Perhaps they were thinking 'from where do I come from'. I have not met any Malaysians living in Prestwich.

I used to live in Withington, in South Manchester, before moving to Prestwich, which is 20 minutes drive away from school. I needed to pass Rusholme, a local tourist area, which is famous for the mile-long street full of curry houses where you could find 52 halal restaurants, for your once a week different curry experience!


Here is part of Rusholme, and at the corner is Jaffa and further down is Sinbad, that caters for Arabic food. The former is owned by Palestinians and the latter by Iraqians.

I often buy halal meat in this area rather than around Cheetham Hill where many Malaysians live, although Cheetham Hill is nearer to me. I don't frequent Cheetham Hill that much, except to visit Suraya. I use to visit Khairuddin and Zaleha, his wife, before they left for good. Once and awhile I buy some halal meat there.



In central Manchester, at the very beginning of my stay, I use to hang out around St Peter's Square, where the Central Library is as shown above, but my usual venue is the Manchester City Art Gallery. I was first attracted to it because the additional design in 2002 was done by Sir Michael Hopkins, and the original was done by Sir Charles Barry.

He was the architect for the Houses of Parliament in the early to mid- Victorian Era, but I really like the Neo-Classical design of the art gallery in Manchester. It is interesting to note that he designed the Houses of Parliament with Pugin in Neo-Gothic and is equally competent at designing a Neo-Classical masterpiece like the art gallery. He finished the building of the Manchester City Art Gallery in 1824-35, and right after that, subsequently did the House of Parliament in London, which completed in 1868. He had died earlier in 1860.


The front elevation of Sir Charles Barry's building which is a Grade 1 listed building. A two way tram rail-line runs along Moseley Street. Accessible carparks exist at the side roads.


The front elevation's detail of the pediment on top of the portico, which is the main entrance of the building.

I shall write more about the Manchester City Art Gallery later on as it is the pilot study for my thesis.

Tactile Maps

Tactile means 'capable of perception by the sense of touch'.

I was exposed to this idea a few years ago on access features for blind and partially-sighted people.* I heard of tourist venues such as zoos and parks where maps could be read from a tablet hung from one's neck while walking around the place and touching signs and posts.

Someone I know who is blind had used an audio aid or device when visiting an art gallery, and had the exhibits confused as the description from the aid did not match the exhibits. It would not have mattered if his companion is also blind, as they could not touch the objects to verify the fact, obviously! I am sure a technical solution is at hand, if we complain about that, but it is annoying when something does not work.

Marcus mentioned about a tablet that can be connected to a computer and be used by touch which have 12 different layers. He said a better tactile map is available at the Tower of London, compared to the one below. The Cambridge ones that were taken and shown below are found near King's Parade, in front of the Great St. Mary's church. There are similar ones in York. However, these are not portable and not updatable.






Some websites that have more information about tactile maps;

Best practice guidelines for the design, production and presentation of vacuum formed tactile maps
Tactile maps with braille labels
Mapping for the Vision Impaired

* The term 'visually-impaired' is commonly used. However, it is not really correct, as it would mean 'ugly'. So, 'vision-impaired' is correct. But when consulted, blind people do not mind being referred to as 'blind people' rather than just 'the blind'.

Disabled-friendly Upper Penang Road Comment

Today's post is referring to Peter Tan's latest post on Disabled-friendly Upper Penang Road.

I know how unfriendly some of the street environment in George Town, Penang. I was happy to read what Peter Tan posted, and that he was venturing forth with Tan Kuan Aw on one of these 'auditing and reviewing' mission that many disabled people tend to be consulted with. I wish very much that many more people are like Tan Kuan Aw, and hope that Peter Tan would be interested to educate himself and others on how to specify to the architects and local authorities on exactly what should be done. This posting has made me realised the importance of myself in assisting with this knowledge, and I should be back there in Malaysia to help out. But I also need to do what Kuan Aw suggested that is to write articles on Accessibility, which I had made some trial runs here in my blog.

Here is my comment on Peter Tan's post:

This is an interesting development.

I think it is high time disabled people should start educating themselves on what are good and bad accessible designs. See SDPP website for accessibility guidance.
http://www.disabledpersonspenang.org/access.htm

And we not only say what we think is wrong but actually could recommend to MPPP or other council officers or architects what is the best design to be used.

We need to have an accessibility checklist / access survey / access audit based on these guidance which are already available at SDPP website, when consulted by service providers and authorities.

With more and more disabled people educating and promoting Non-Handicapping Environment or Barrier-Free Environment, by specifying exactly what they need and be satisfied with, others will also be educated. That is the first step.

The second step is to highlight via media and promote to the public why there should not be abuse to these facilities. Then the enforcement of the authorities should be made, as disabled people should be able to take to court authorities that do not enforce what they can do under their jurisdiction, which is fining people who abuse the facilities. Refer The Streets, Drainage and Building Act, Uniform Building By-Law 34A.

But first, disabled people would need to take the first step!

Heaton Park Study [Part 2]

This is a continuation on the previous post on the External Access Features of Heaton Park near Heaton Hall.

We left the main gate and we now approach the vehicular cum pedestrian access to Heaton Park. If I had known the security code of the main gate, I could drive straight to Heaton Hall.


Pedestrian in large groups in particular like to walk along this wide road cum walkway meant for both pedestrian and vehicles and is graveled. The route goes direct to Heaton Hall from the main carpark area.









At the bottom of the wide road cum walkway, is another gate, which I believe is designed that way to provide different access for the vehicle and the pedestrian, but I think is irrelevant.









After the gate, one sees the back elevation of Heaton Park which provides for entry into the building. There are carpark spaces adjacent to the building and a ramp to take one into the building which I believe is temporary.









The Farm Buildings are used for demonstration, talks and workshops on horticulture and farming.











There are signposts at the intersections of the walkways to aid the pedestrian, but there are not many of them.











This approaches the front elevation of Heaton Hall.












This is the front elevation of Heaton Hall where it overlooks a field where it said that cattle roam and a landscape feature was built, like a dyke, to provide barrier to deter the cattle from encroaching.









Heaton Park is a listed building and have interesting displays inside.

Heaton Park - A Study on the External Access Features [Part1]

I went to visit Heaton Park early spring. People were excited as the weather was getting warmer, birds were chirping every where, and the first green sprouts were making their way.

Heaton Park is located near my house, but it is part of Manchester City Council rather than Salford. It is a municipal park, in fact, one of the largest in the city.

It took awhile for me to eventually find out at which of the many entrances, I can get closest to the main buildings in the park. I also had the help of a website. I parked at where everyone else did, but it was still some walk away from the main buildings and Heaton Hall, which is a listed historic building and gallery.

This is a study on the accessibility features of Heaton Park leading to Heaton Hall. It concentrates on the northern side of the park, where most people would congregate.



For the first time disabled visitor, there is no information on where the nearest carpark is to Heaton Hall. People would need to call in first to find that out. I parked nearest to Heaton Hall but it is a 500 metres walk away. The accessible carpark is not easily identifiable. And car drivers may have been confused when parking in the larger car plot, aligning the vehicle oddly, as shown in the picture.




On further scrutiny, the embossed logo is embedded on the road to denote that it is an accessible carpark. It is about 150-200 mm in diameter and is hardly obvious from afar. I believe that the service provider do not want to spoil the view of the park by putting up signboards for the accessible carpark.







From the carpark, we find access via gravelled walkways that may prove to be difficult for some wheelchair user to manouvre on their own. However, the position of the walkway is optimum for most people.









Further along the walkway, you will see a tower in a distance and other walkways to choose to explore the park.











Looking at the other side of the walkway, near the carpark, you will find a 'Welcome to Heaton Park' notice board. Many people come to this area of the park to use the play area facilities. I noticed that it tends to be overcrowded with parents and children, and there is an access to the main buildings from the play area.









I found out later when I made an inquiry at Heaton Hall, that I could have entered this main gate if I had known the security code. It would lead to a vehicular access road that leads up to Heaton Hall.









From the main gate, one could access on this road with a car if one have mobility problems.











During peak season, the service providers provide a land-train that could pick up people enroute throughout the whole of the park. This is a stop for the land-train.

You've got to find what you love

Someone posted an email message about Steve Job's Commencement Address at a university in the US. I usually don't read forwarded messages, but this is about Steve Jobs, whom I kind of admired as you know, I am an Apple iBook user.

I have been a user since the early 90s, and have had an old notebook laptop before this iBook.

Anyway, it is an interesting read what Steve Jobs said in the address. It is some sort of a reminder to me. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

Train journeys

[View outside as we left London Euston. The red and blue train is an underground train.]

I like traveling by train.

When I was a kid, my parents would travel by train and I recalled sleeping on the top bunk in second class and peering out the tiny window all so excited. I would imagine being in my own world...

The top bunk is just nice for someone less than 5 feet tall, so I actually continued to sleep up there even in my 30s when I commute from Johor Bahru to Kuala Lumpur and vice versa. This was during my UTM lecturing days. Of course, now I have problems climbing up there, but I do sleep at the lower bunk, as it's easier to 'dress up' in them and put my calipers besides me, as the lower bunks are slightly bigger in size. It's all very cramp with your bags and shoes, but I like the rocking motion and the sound of the train, as they lull me to sleep. It costs about 40 Malaysian Ringgit plus, and although that is more costly than an express bus coach trip and also slower, it is more restful and better for the body to relax.


[Coach E was where I sat from London to Manchester on the Virgin Pendolino train with the plug-in piped-in music selection of 14 different channels.]

In the UK, I slept on a sleeper once, to Glasgow from London. This other office colleague and I got a 'present' from our employer and we were treated to visit a well-known architectural conference in 1988. That was nice, in the morning we had coffee and some biscuits while the train comes into Glasgow.


[Cambridge commuters going to London King's Cross on a Tuesday, train left station at 10:15 am.]


[Cambridge rural scene in the Summer]

Now I travel to London by train a lot as I have to finish off my interviews, and subsequently, wrap up my data collection stage. I often find myself able to do much work on the train, but with these new Pendolino trains that Virgin has, equipped with plug-in piped-in music channels selection, I cannot seem to concentrate that much. It is so nice listening to music while on the train. You should try it!

Just would like to share some more glimpses from the train rides that I had recently.

Euston Station

Euston Station is about 500 yards walking distance away from King's Cross Station. Rail passengers from Manchester and the North West of England, including Scotland, would be arriving at this station, whereby those coming from North East of England, like Cambridge and West Anglia and also parts of Scotland would come to King's Cross. And there is a station in between these two, which is St. Pancras, that caters for trains coming from the Midlands.

Tavistock Square where the bus no. 30 was caught in the bomb attack is about 80 yards away from Euston Station.

When I go back to Manchester, I have to use Euston Station, and last week, I had to board a no. 30 bus from King's Cross to come to Euston. Everyone in the bus strained their head to look at Tavistock Square as we passed by the road. Of course there is a huge white plastic sheet that span the whole of the road and a barrier near the junction of the road to stop people from coming in, with only news crews lining the barrier in anticipation. Not much to see.

It was one of the hottest day in July last Tuesday, and I decided to eat my lunch at the area outside the station concourse. They added some wooden benches and introduced four kiosk eateries there to cater for the need for people to eat outside.



I noted that there was no rubbish bins anywhere in sight and when the cleaner came round, he checked whatever rubbish left, including paper bags! People were clearly vigilant and even when I took some shots with my camcorder, you get people looking at you. A news camera crew was told off in the station, by one of the security guards, to not be so noticeable.

I would like to share some pics taken on July 12, six days after the bomb attacks. Clearly, people try to be calm and normal again.

Reflections : King's Cross

I have been reading the online news quite a lot in the last one week and a bit. I read the websites of BBC News, the Independent Online Newspaper and the Guardian Unlimited.

People in Europe observed the 2 minutes silence at noon on Thursday, a week after the bombing tragedies. The television showed how people observed the silence in the UK especially in London, at King's Cross, Liverpool Street Station, Tavistock Place, Trafalgar Square, in a Muslim school, and a regular primary school. Apart from the children who sat wide-eyed and looking at each other, the rest all observed the mark of respect very well. Cars, buses, vans and taxis stopped where they are as well.

I would like to share the following photos, taken in front the King's Cross Station, of people using the streets and pavements and the hoarding boards that were lined with messages and photos of the missing people.















Construction workers standing near the hoardings. It was reported that the workers helped the victims out of the tunnel that day.
















People stopped to read the messages on the hoardings.

















One of the messages being read by a passerby. The paper kept on flapping by the wind.
















King's Cross looks normal except for the many police officers and the messages and post on the hoardings.

A mother's speech

Marie's speech

"This is Anthony, Anthony Fatayi -Williams, 26 years old, he's missing and we fear that he was in the bus explosion ... on Thursday. We don't know. We do know from the witnesses that he left the Northern line in Euston. We know he made a call to his office at Amec at 9.41 from the NW1 area to say he could not make [it] by the tube but he would find alternative means to work.

Since then he has not made any contact with any single person. Now New York, now Madrid, now London. There has been widespread slaughter of innocent people. There have been streams of tears, innocent tears. There have been rivers of blood, innocent blood. Death in the morning, people going to find their livelihood, death in the noontime on the highways and streets.

They are not warriors. Which cause has been served? Certainly not the cause of God, not the cause of Allah because God Almighty only gives life and is full of mercy. Anyone who has been misled, or is being misled to believe that by killing innocent people he or she is serving God should think again because it's not true.Terrorism is not the way, terrorism is not the way. It doesn't beget peace. We can't deliver peace by terrorism, never can we deliver peace by killing people. Throughout history, those people who have changed the world have done so without violence, they have [won] people to their cause through peaceful protest. Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, their discipline, their self-sacrifice, their conviction made people turn towards them, to follow them. What inspiration can senseless slaughter provide? Death and destruction of young people in their prime as well as old and helpless can never be the foundations for building society.

My son Anthony is my first son, my only son, the head of my family. In African society, we hold on to sons. He has dreams and hopes and I, his mother, must fight to protect them. This is now the fifth day, five days on, and we are waiting to know what happened to him and I, his mother, I need to know what happened to Anthony. His young sisters need to know what happened, his uncles and aunties need to know what happened to Anthony, his father needs to know what happened to Anthony. Millions of my friends back home in Nigeria need to know what happened to Anthony. His friends surrounding me here, who have put this together, need to know what has happened to Anthony. I need to know, I want to protect him. I'm his mother, I will fight till I die to protect him. To protect his values and to protect his memory.

Innocent blood will always cry to God Almighty for reparation. How much blood must be spilled? How many tears shall we cry? How many mothers' hearts must be maimed? My heart is maimed. I pray I will see my son, Anthony. Why? I need to know, Anthony needs to know, Anthony needs to know, so do many others unaccounted for innocent victims, they need to know.

It's time to stop and think. We cannot live in fear because we are surrounded by hatred. Look around us today. Anthony is a Nigerian, born in London, worked in London, he is a world citizen. Here today we have Christians, Muslims, Jews, Sikhs, Hindus, all of us united in love for Anthony. Hatred begets only hatred. It is time to stop this vicious cycle of killing. We must all stand together, for our common humanity. I need to know what happened to my Anthony. He's the love of my life. My first son, my first son, 26. He tells me one day, "Mummy, I don't want to die, I don't want to die. I want to live, I want to take care of you, I will do great things for you, I will look after you, you will see what I will achieve for you. I will make you happy.' And he was making me happy. I am proud of him, I am still very proud of him but I need to now where he is, I need to know what happened to him. I grieve, I am sad, I am distraught, I am destroyed.

He didn't do anything to anybody, he loved everybody so much. If what I hear is true, even when he came out of the underground he was directing people to take buses, to be sure that they were OK. Then he called his office at the same time to tell them he was running late. He was a multi-purpose person, trying to save people, trying to call his office, trying to meet his appointments. What did he then do to deserve this. Where is he, someone tell me, where is he?"

(excerpt from the Guardian, 13 July 2005)

Braving the trains

You see, I had already purchased the train tickets and had to use my saver return by the 15th of July. I also got a fixed single ticket for a train back on the 12th,which will just be obsolete if I don't use it. So, I decided to brave the journey to London.

Not without all the delays and disruptions and I had to take the bus twice as the King Cross
underground could not be used, but managed to take the train to Cambridge as the train station is not affected. As it is at ground level.

Let me take you through my journey that was affected by what happened 7.7.05 in London. (See previous posts.)

I took the taxi from my house at Prestwich, Salford to Manchester Picadilly Railway Station. As I was walking in the station, I would notice the usual platforms devoid of the London bound trains. Sure enough to my irritation, the notice boards did not display anything on London. So I inquired the Information counter personnel, who said, " Take the bus outside for Stockport, as the train will depart from there". "Oh, okay", I knew that this is an indication of a difficult journey to come. A bloke with a huge tummy, who looks like he is a Manchester United fan, said something to me, gesturing at my Champion's League Winner red t-shirt. I smiled back, hoping he is not a hooligan about to clobber me.

As I waited for the bus, a lady chatted to me about this extra-ordinary situation of having to take a bus to get to London, and where to board one. And I reflected that on this journey I chatted to a total of 6 strangers all in all. Tragedies like what happened in London I would learn brings people together, as people need some comfort that the journey will be safe.

It was quite a wait at the Stockport station, waiting for the train to move, and the air-conditioning was a bit dodgy. Well, I thought I have the best seat with the table and facing forward, and was not particular at first about the air-conditioning.

Before Stafford, I found out that the other carriages had better air-conditioning and told the lady in front of me that she had better get to the other carriages, as I noticed she and the other lady were becoming really red on the neck and very uncomfortable. Being a Malaysian, I quipped machoily, "Go ahead. will sit here and brave the heat. I need a bit of sauna...", thinking about similar conditions back home with the 3rd Class KTM carriages!

Earlier, I had chatted with the ladies where I usually did not chat with people. I noticed people seems to care about people around them more, and a sense of 'communal grief' and solidarity has emerged from our beings. People going all out to help others. Anyway, we are all travelling to London, and we feel that there are still dangers that cannot be discounted.

At Euston, the London station where I arrived, I noticed many policemen, but not as many as at King's Cross. I could not stop at King's Cross underground so I had to get back on the escalators and travel by bus. At King's Cross, I noticed a newscaster from the US busy rehearsing fom his notes while a camera was poised nearby. I noticed so many policemen watching warily and scrutinising people toing and froing around the station.

I managed to get on the Cambridge bound train some less than 2 hours later than expected before I set my journey out from Manchester.

Steiner schools: Learning from experience

Someone who is successful academically told me that she never attended kindergarten like most of her siblings. Perhaps she had a Steineresque education, playing in the paddy fields, and catching spiders must have done her a world of good.

I like this quote from the article below:

Rudolf Steiner founded his first school back in 1919 for the children of the Waldorf-Astoria cigarette factory workers, but he understood that rhythmic, coordinated physical exercise helps the brain, and that the development of the imagination is central to a good education. He knew children needed room to breathe, and had to come to things when they were ready for them, and he understood the importance of helping them to develop as whole people.

I repeat. That the develoment of the IMAGINATION is central to a good education. Says Steiner.

Surely this is common sense, as I find education seems to be overly prescribed and controlled, and isn't that something wrong?

It doesn't have to be kindergarten, but any level of education. When I reflect back, I don't remember what I learned in the class rooms, but what I learned outside. I remembered the smell of the forest when I went camping in sixth grade, for example.

But then, that could just be heightened sensation. Or then again, it could be imagination of the senses. Which leads to ideas. And isn't that what education is about? Releasing ideas from the senses.





Steiner schools: Learning from experience

Steiner school pupils get a stress-free education - they're not even taught to read until they're seven. Now, the Government is set to turn one into an Academy. Hilary Wilce reports

Published: 07 July 2005 (The Independent)

A field in Herefordshire could become the birthplace of one of the most radical departures our school system has seen. Right now, it is just buttercups and cow parsley, but if current plans stay on track, this field will soon be home to the first state-funded Steiner school in Britain.

Last week, we reported that the Government was making common cause with the privately funded Montessori schools movement to rescue a struggling state primary school in Manchester. Today, we can reveal that it is getting into bed with the private Steiner movement. That means the Government that gave us curriculum tests and league tables will be supporting a school where tests and exams are almost non-existent, and where play and dance are seen as every bit as important as formal classroom learning.

And if - as Steiner supporters hope - this coming together of the two systems allows some of these ideas to filter into mainstream schools, the children of our noisy, socially fractured world could benefit immeasurably. "The Steiner curriculum is a therapeutic curriculum," stresses Sylvie Sklan, development director of the Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship. "It is perfect for disadvantaged children. It should be available in the inner cities."

"There is definitely scope for two-way learning," says Philip Woods, professor of education at the University of the West of England, who has just completed a major study on Steiner schooling, commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills. "And learning across boundaries is a significant theme of Government policy."

There are 31 Steiner schools in the UK and Ireland, but they have never had any public money, unlike their counterparts in other European countries. In fact, they exist on the margins of educational consciousness - something, people tend to think, to do with tree-hugging.

In fact, the framework of Steiner schools is closely prescribed, and built on the view that a child's creative, spiritual and moral dimensions need as much attention as their intellectual ones. "When people used to say to my mother: 'Aren't those the schools where children do what they like?'," says teacher Alison Gilbert, "she used to say: 'No, they're the schools where children like what they do.'"

Even so, it is ground-breaking that the Government has decided to expand its drive towards school diversity - mainly used to encompass Moslem and church schools - to embrace such a different educational philosophy, and it's no surprise to find it has not been easy.

The idea has been kicking around for six years. Estelle Morris, when she was Education Secretary, and Andrew Adonis, now an education minister, have pushed for it to happen, but attempts to set up a voluntary-aided school in London foundered, and three years ago it was decided to go down a different route.

Now, plans are being worked out to make the Hereford Waldorf School in Much Dewchurch, currently housed in a converted barn, a new, all-in Academy taking about 300 pupils aged five to 16. But there are tricky issues to negotiate. Steiner teachers want to protect their ideas; the Government needs its schools to be accountable.

So far it has been agreed that the Steiner curriculum will not be compromised, provided that pupils are taught English, maths and science - no problem, since the Herefordshire pupils already take public exams in these subjects. The Government has accepted that Key Stage 1 tests are irrelevant to the Steiner curriculum, and that any Key Stage 2 testing would have to be flexible, and the results not for publication. There will be no selection on ability, admissions will be based on parents' commitment to the philosophy, and the role of a head, as a financial manager, will have to be worked out, as Steiner schools are run as teacher democracies.

At the school, Steiner-qualified teachers will be expected to work towards graduate status if they do not have a degree, but - to the annoyance of the teachers unions - qualified teacher status is seen as a national curriculum-based qualification and inappropriate. Computers will not be used in the lower school, as the Steiner philosophy is that screen images hinder the development of thought and imagination, and the school will be free to decide how to use them in its upper school, provided that pupils become competent at ICT.

The school will be sponsored by the Steiner Waldorf Schools Fellowship, and sponsorship money - 10 per cent of capital costs - will come from a European software house and a private donor.

And it looks as if local parents could be clamouring to get their children into the place. Following the news that there could, potentially, be government funding for the school, this year's open day attracted many more visitors than usual, and it is likely that they would have been impressed by the pupils' calm and confidence, and their powers of concentration.

This, teachers make clear, is because they are brought up from the beginning in Steiner ways. In the kindergarten they play with simple, unfinished wooden toys rather than bright plastic ones, to allow their imaginations to develop. "People say, 'don't they get bored?'" says teacher Karen Fielding. "And we say, 'No, because every day it's something different.'"

When pupils move up a class, they stay with the same teacher, right to the end of their schooling. This means personal differences have to be worked through. It can be hard, acknowledges teacher David Donaldson, but you get to work at relationships at a very deep level.

The school day begins with an important settling-in session, where children work off physical energies and draw together in common purpose. Younger children sing and play games with bean bags; older ones might do something outside, then play the recorder and recite "the verse" together - a religious-sounding affirmation of the spirit of life.

This is followed by a two-hour "main lesson", where students follow one subject for three weeks, exploring it in depth and from all angles before moving on to something else. The afternoons are given over to arts and crafts activities.

The lessons are based on whole-class learning, with the teacher first speaking about something, before the class moves on to talking about it, writing about it, and illustrating what they have written.

There is an old-fashioned, courtly quality to these classes, with children sitting at wooden desks, and a high standard of work - although it helps that class numbers are small. A class of 14-year-olds is studying The Tempest, and discussing the nature of Caliban. He is, they volunteer, "a deformed human being" or "half-devil, half-witch", and argue about whether they should feel sorry for him.

Upstairs, teacher Karin Hines is teaching history of art to the top class of 15-year-olds, who have just finished a three-week module on physics. These students do GCSEs in English literature, language and in maths, and Open College Network qualifications in crafts and sciences, but are not rattled by exams. "The local sixth form college loves to have them," she says. "They say they're mature, interested, articulate and ask lots of questions.

"You work twice as hard for half the pay here. But where else could I teach history of art in the morning and do blacksmithing in the afternoon, with a bit of chemistry thrown in as well?"

Ruth Hardy, 15, and Leila Terrett, 16, are adamant that they would send their own children to Steiner schools. They love the family atmosphere and the way that Steiner children are so creative. Most of them cook, they say, and many make their own clothes, and tend to be practical.

There are things that are weird to outside eyes. The curriculum goes for depth, not breadth, and the laboratory and art room facilities are pitiful. There are few books and no computers. Children learn to write using huge pencils, and to paint using huge brushes. The art is stunning, but closely controlled, with children instructed how to proceed through the colour spectrum. There is basket-weaving, and also a ritualised dance form called eurythmy.

Rudolf Steiner founded his first school back in 1919 for the children of the Waldorf-Astoria cigarette factory workers, but he understood that rhythmic, coordinated physical exercise helps the brain, and that the development of the imagination is central to a good education. He knew children needed room to breathe, and had to come to things when they were ready for them, and he understood the importance of helping them to develop as whole people. He also pre-empted Jamie Oliver by almost a century, pointing out the need to feed children good, wholesome food.

There are 900 Steiner schools worldwide. They work successfully in South African townships and Eastern European refugee camps, as well as in wealthy parts of America and our own Surrey commuter belt. Gilbert says: "It all comes out of how you work with your children - how you work with them in your mind while you're preparing lessons, how you hold them in your heart. It's based on the notion that the child is a spiritual being, and that you are caring for something precious."

There is a shortage of Steiner school teachers in the UK. If you would like to know more about the different pathways to becoming one, please phone the Hereford Waldorf school on 01981 540221, or view training options at www.steinerwaldorf.org.uk/training.htm

What is Steiner education about?

1. Co-educational, comprehensive schools, run co-operatively by teachers, which follow an internationally recognised curriculum, without early specialisation

2. A balance of artistic, practical and intellectual teaching, plus an emphasis on social skills and spiritual values

3. Children have the same class teacher from seven to 14. They do two foreign languages from the age of six. Mental arithmetic happens daily. Calculators and computers are banned until children are older. Whole-class teaching is the norm.

4. Formative assessment rather than testing. GCSEs and A-levels can be taken alongside the full curriculum, usually a year later.

3 hours to get back home

I chatted with Theeba just now. Her work place is near the Barbican, in Central London. She left work at 1 pm, as she did not feel good.

The bomb blasts occurred between 8:50 am and 9:30 am, and it brought the public transportation system to a standstill.

Theeba had to walk and got a taxi that would only go as far as Sloane Square, as the taxi driver feared that he would not be able to get back to Central London if he took her all the way to Kew Gardens.

She walked from Sloane Square to near Tate Britain and Pimlico, and got on another taxi that would only take her to Hammersmith. When she reached Hammersmith, she took a bus back to her flat at Kew Gardens.

All in all it took 3 hours.

Tomorrow, she has taken the day off, and might take a day off on Monday as well, and had made an arrangement with her boss to do her work from home and email the drawings to the office.

Such was the arrangement that one has to do after such an upheaval brought to a city like London.

The Nightmare Arrived

Marcus, my supervisor returned from London yesterday. And I was preparing to leave for London this morning. I had four interviews lined up from the 7th to the 12th of July. Then the nightmare arrived...

Four bomb explosions were reported to have occurred in Central London from just after 9 am this morning.

At first, I heard that it was just a power surge problem at one underground station, and then, Theeba called from London. She suggested that it was more than the problem of a power surge. I thought that I could still travel by bus if only one station was effected.

And the worst started to emerge as I switched on the television. It was a calculated terrorist attack, where the London Tube boss said that bombs were detonated at 3 minutes intervals, at three train coaches. And a suspected suicide bomber (to be confirmed) was on a No. 30 bus at Woburn Place and Tavistock Square near the British Medical Association where the bomb was set off. I saw blood stains on the walls of the BMA building on television. The University of London and UCL is nearby. I use to study about 5 minutes walk away.

I have often been conscious to be in the middle of such attacks, because I often travel to London. King's Cross Picadilly Line was affected, on one of the trains, between that station and Russell Square Station. So it's really scary because that is one route that I take to go Hyde Park the other day , and it's one line that I often use.

First, I have to say, I am relieved that I am alive. At one point, I wanted to travel yesterday to London, and could have been caught in all this today. It would be crazy if I had no where to go as public transport has been suspended.

Of course, it turned out that I had to submit my first chapter yesterday...

After two years and a few months since the Allied forces had invaded Iraq, and almost four years since 9/11, the biggest terrorist attack had struck London, right after London won the Olympic bid yesterday.

First chapter hand-in

No sleepness nights. No panic, except handed-in a day late. So, I managed to hand it in today, and am very relieved, that I kept close to within a day of the deadline. I hope that in the future I will keep to the exact deadline.

I think if I had achieved 50% of what the Chapter is to be, I am happy. It is not easy to do the First Chapter, because you have to get it right the first time, as you are speculating on what is going to happen in all the other chapters. What will prove your success in the First Chapter, is the amount of work that you will have to put in when you revise it later. If you have to start again from scratch, that would be very bad indeed. That's 0%. But if I have to add new things, that's okay. If the strategy is okay, that will be very good.

So now it's the Second Chapter, which is philosophical in nature, but I like that. I enjoy such discussions, but there is still a hell of a lot of stuff to read.

Here we go again!

Accessibility (2)

I realised that no matter what the laws say or are in place, we have got to pursue the Awareness Training and find ways to highlight and campaign for the Rights of Disabled People, as people would be the prime mover in enforcing the laws.

The previous post was on USM's attitude on disabled access and the confident intake of disabled students. Of course, we would like to know more, such as how the disabled students will cope with the facilities at USM and whether they managed to complete their studies. I would like to know how many disabled students had USM taken in and how many percent graduated? If its 100% percent that would say a lot about USM, but even 80% would be a realistic picture as other factors should be considered apart from Accessibility.

I have heard of a story about a disabled student studying in the Faculty of Medicine at UM, and eventually she could not cope due to many barriers, and assumed that she had problems physically accessing classrooms and so on. Then UM, transferred her to the Faculty of Science, presumably taking another course and she failed again, and eventually decided to do something on IT at a private college, and managed to succeed. I wonder if her earlier failures were mostly based on frustration of poor facilities and services, as she had proven she can succeed eventually. But it would be good to find out what happened to her and other university's disabled students, including USM and UM.

University service providers would need to have both facilities and services to be accessible. This means that even though the place may have a few manageable physical barriers, the attitude of the staff and administrators would be crucial in helping out disabled students to succeed. That part would fall under services or/and management.

USM on Disabled Students

This newspaper article caught my attention. How Universiti Sains Malaysia is confident of receiving disabled students into their campus. And they have a much more difficult infrastructure than many other campuses due to the hilly terrain.

I was involved with a Disability Awareness Training programme at USM in January 2002, and I thought that programme was one of the more successful ones, as I noticed the Vice Chancellor was taking a real interest on what was happening.

Even the number of participant and their enthusiasm was greater than the ones I had seen in other training programmes, and the number of high ranking officers involved were relatively more. They were genuinely concerned.

So here is the evidence, in the newspaper report. And to hear the same VC voicing out his confidence. I feel good about this.

I would contribute the success to the leadership of the VC. >>>

Stroke patient is a picture of determination

BY PRISCILLA DIELENBERG

PENANG: Neither age nor disability is a barrier to pursuing higher education as proven in the case of wheelchair-bound stroke patient Mohamed Mohd Ali who is among Universiti Sains Malaysia's (USM) latest intake.

Mohamed, 51, who is pursuing a degree in Social Sciences, had been paralysed on the left side of his body for the past seven years after he suffered a stroke at his home in Klang.

Asked if campus life would be too challenging for him, the gutsy father of four replied: “There are challenges everywhere, even at home. I am confident of coping well given my inner strength and determination.”

Mohamed and his wife Siti Surina Mokmi, 48 at the familiarisation course at the USM campus Saturday.

Mohamed said he taught technical studies at the Construction Industry Development Board's Malaysian Construction Academy until 1998 when the stroke affected his speech.

He spent the past seven years keeping up with current news and latest developments in the construction field, and writing.

“I wanted to apply for the first intake of USM's Lifelong Education Programme for senior citizens last November but could not as my eldest daughter, Nor Syaadila, was taking her SPM examination then.

“I enrolled in this programme while Nor Syaadila will be joining Universiti Selangor this month,” he told reporters at the USM campus in Glugor here yesterday.

USM vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dzulkifli Abdul Razak said the university had a total intake of 5,602 students in its three campuses this year.

“We have 38 senior citizens, which is more than double the first intake of 17 people last year,” he said, adding that there were 120 disabled people.

He said 20 men and 20 women with special needs would be housed at hostels specially fitted with features such as special toilets, railings and ramps.

Among them is Lee Ling Tze, 20, who at 124cm tall, is slightly shorter than her nine-year-old sister Ling Yi.

The diminutive lass from Setapak, Kuala Lumpur, who is pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Biology, and her parents ASP Lee Ewe Kiong, 48, and Lim Kui Suang, 47, were pleased with the facilities at the hostel.

“This is the first time our eldest daughter will be living on her own but we are confident that she would be able to adjust to life away from home,” said ASP Lee.

Means of Escape from High Rise Buildings

(Image uploaded from: http://www.caingram.info/Malaysia/Pix/Kl_railway.jpg)

I had just commented on Peter Tan's blog:

Thanks for highlighting the issue of 'Means of Escape' in the case of 'Emergency in a High-rise Building' situation.

I think it is high time to have a conference on this subject in our country. But the conference should be open to public, and host by an organiser that could pull in participation from:

Jabatan Bomba
Public Works Ministry
Ministry of Housing and Local Government
SIRIM
Prime Minister's Department
Pertubuhan Architect Malaysia
Institute of Engineers
Institute of Surveyors
Quantity Surveyors Institute

As well as NGOs and others, such as research institutions and universities.

The conference should be affordable to all, with discounts to students and disabled people for example.

Most of all, the conference should include a pledge at the end of it to create a Memorandum to set forth in laying out the principles and action for 'Means of Escape in High Rise Buildings in Emergency Situations'. Also what is needed are committees or better still a consultant to be writing proposals and action it under a 'Commission' would be in the right direction.

The following subject area must be tackle in the conference:

Means of Escape for Disabled People / Systematic Evacuation Plan for Disabled People

Structural Performance of High Rise Building in Earthquakes

The conference should not be too technically oriented, or that it should be divided into two sessions, where technical round-tables should also be discussed later in the day.

The way the building industry is going, building upwards higher and higher, isn't it time to do something like this? I hope that this comment will give some ideas.