Sorry Chubs... Dad still comes first... hehe.... but I'll keep my promise, I will.... Italy pictures will have to wait a wee while....
Proud Daughter presenting her DADDY .....
Newpaper, 18th April 2007, Wednesday
LOVE brought him to Singapore, but it was his passion for teaching that kept him here.
And he was rewarded for it at a promotions ceremony for senior education officers yesterday.
From his first meeting with his would-be wife when he was 22 years old, there was no looking back for Mr Michael Andrew Peacock, now 57.
A chance invite to a colleague's home in 1972 allowed him to meet 18-year-old Swee Choo Khoo, his colleague's cousin. That meeting went on to shape the rest of his life.
At that time, the Scot was in Kedah, Malaysia, working as a volunteer mathematics teacher.
What followed was a 10-year long-distance courtship that saw him moving from Scotland to Singapore permanently in 1978, to be closer to his then-girlfriend.
He decided to teach in Singapore because maths had to be taught in Bahasa Malay in Malaysia.
Now, the Head of Department in Mathematics at Bukit Panjang Government High is a Singapore permanent resident, and he has been happily married to Madam Swee, now a Singapore citizen, for the past 25 years.
She is a project director for Presbyterian Community Services, a charitable organisation.
The couple have two children - son Alistair, 20, who is doing his National Service, and daughter Leslie, 22, an undergraduate studying in Scotland.
DRIVEN BY STUDENTS
Mr Peacock has a rock-solid passion for teaching. He relishes doing his bit to build his students' dreams.
He said: 'It's amazing how many lives you touch, even though you may not realise it initially.
'It's only after students tell me they took up studies in math or that they decide to teach because of me, that I realised this.'
For his job dedication, Mr Peacock went up a rank as senior teacher, getting the senior education officer 1A1 grade at a promotion ceremony held in Suntec City's convention halls for some 1,000 senior education officers.
Mr Peacock said that compared to the '70s and '80s, today's students are more diverse and complex, and a teacher's job is 'more demanding'.
'We have to cater to not just learning needs, but also to character development, emotional and social needs,' he said.
'But, if I had to do it all over again, I would.'
Principal Shirleen Ong said his promotion was 'well-deserved'.
She remembered how, a few years back, MrPeacock went out of his way to drive a needy student to school for a period.
'He never fails to reach out to students and is very concerned for their welfare,' she said.
Students like Nur Nadia Amanina Daud, 16, a Sec4 Normal Technical student, said MrPeacock's interactive style sets him apart from others.
She said: 'He's approachable and students pay attention when he's teaching.'
And of course, the woman behind his career couldn't be happier.
Madam Swee said: 'I'm very proud of him, he deserves it after working so hard.'
*Oh btw haha.. I know my mom will be fuming and to set the record straight.. her name is Khoo Swee Choo haha not Swee Choo Khoo...
