Jackson English on life and fatherhood
Who ever said men can’t multi task? We’ve found one. He’s a husband, father of 3, boarding house master to 160 students, a teacher, champion paddle boarder and SurfAid’s highest contributing fundraiser. He’s also into his tenth year living on campus with his family at UWCSEA. Meet Jackson English.
On the eve of Fathers’ Day 2014, we had a chat to Jackson to get his take on fatherhood, life lessons and upper cuts learned through parenting. A more inspiring role model for kids would be hard to find.
Hey Jackson! Tell us about Jackson English – dad, teacher, surfer, paddle boarder, pastoral carer…
Dad
My wife Anna and I have been married for 13 years and we have three gorgeous children, Grace (9), Lily (6) and Max (4). All three of them were born in Singapore.
Watching the kids grow up has been such an incredible experience. Not one day with the kids in nearly 10 years has been the same. Our house is always full of noise and fun.
Teacher
In 2004 I was offered a job teaching at the UWCSEA Dover Campus. At the time I had only been teaching in Australia for a few years since graduating. I’ve been at UWCSEA for 10 years now (4 years at the Dover Campus and 6 years at the East Campus). I’ve learned far more than I could ever have imagined I would. I’ve seen hundreds of kids grow into fine young adults who have the passion and intelligence to make the world a better place.
Board Rider
I was lucky enough to grow up close to the beach and have parents who were surfers. I’ve been fortunate to surf in some amazing places around the world and some waves are still etched into my memory like it was yesterday. When you are in the ocean, everything gets washed away. When you are on a wave, there is no chance to be thinking about anything else other than the wave you are on.
The hardest part about living in Singapore is that, although we are on a tropical island, there are no real waves to surf. One of the advantages of living here is that it’s so close to Indonesia and the incredible waves that are on offer across the entire island chain. I’ve been on three surf trips there this year and next week we are heading down to Bali for a month of waves and relaxing.
Paddle Boarder
My life on a paddle board is another thing that keeps me in the ocean. I was lucky enough to be involved in the Surf Life Saving races in Australia as I was growing up. I then heard about a 52 kilometre (32 mile) paddle race in Hawaii between the islands of Molokai and Oahu. The race is considered the world championship of paddleboarding and is without a doubt the hardest thing I have ever done physically. After my first attempt across the channel, I vowed never to do the race again. Since 1999 I’ve done the race 9 times and have finished 3rd three times and 2nd three times. Each time across the channel is a different experience and one I will never forget.
To train for the race I do a lot of paddling from Tanjong Beach. It’s nothing like Hawaii but it is still enough to get me up each morning. Watching the sunrise whilst on the water is a great way to start the day.
What’s it like living on Campus at UWCSEA?
Living on campus at UWCSEA-East in the Boarding House for 160 students from Grade’s 7 to 12 is crazy to say the least. Along with being a parent to my own children, we deal with all the highs and lows of teenage life. It is incredibly rewarding to watch the students grow into the incredible young adults that they are. Two weeks ago the first group of graduating students finished their exams and after graduation moved back to their home countries to be with their families before heading off to University. It was sad to see them leave as we all grew very close to them.
We have students living in the house from over 40 different nationalities. Every day I learn something new about different cultures that I am able to share with my own family. I have learnt enough about teenage life to be prepared for when my own children are teenagers themselves. I’ve also heard just about every excuse that teenagers have when they want to get out of doing something they don’t want to. I think I’ve heard enough to write a good book on them.
You’re SurfAid’s number one fundraiser. How do you balance it all?
Balancing everything I do is not easy. I choose to be involved in the things I do because I love doing them. Fitting everything into the day is not easy either, it usually means waking up way too early (well before 5:00am) and going to bed later than I want to.
Before kids, I used to go to bed before 8:30 every night. To fit everything into the day I now go to bed much later than that. It’s easy to do something when you are passionate about it. I’m passionate about being a great role model for the kids first and foremost so I want to show them that doing the things you love is far better than sitting around waiting for something to happen.
Along with doing all of this, I’m also trying to finish off a Masters’ degree by September. It’s on the value of homework for primary school children. It’s taking me a while to complete but I’m looking forward to getting it done and hopefully sharing with people my research findings.
How important are goals in life – and sticking to them?
Setting goals is the most important thing anyone can ever do. If you don’t have a goal to achieve it’s easy to get into a rut and not really bother about anything.
A friend of mine who represented Australia at the 1996 Olympics used to always say “Set your goals high so that you have something to aspire to.” I’ve always had one goal or another to try and achieve. My most immediate goal right now is to write the remaining 10,000 words of my Masters’ dissertation that is due in September. It’s not going to be easy but I have the goal set and look forward to getting it done. After that I want to get fit again and get ready to tackle Molokai to Oahu paddleboard race in July 2015.
We reckon you’re a great role model, what are your 3 guiding principles for raising kids?
1. Laugh and have fun with your children.
2. Make connections with your children so that they know that when things are not going as planned they can turn to you for help.
3. Let your children develop an enquiring mind so they have the confidence and ability to tackle any issues that come up with an open mind.
What has having kids taught you?
Having kids has taught me to always remember to smile when things are going downhill quickly. There have been many times when our kids have had monumental “melt-downs” all at the same time in very public places.
Having kids has taught me to be patient. I was once told to “Hurry Slowly” It’s something that I’ve never forgotten and always try to do (unless of course I am in a paddle race).
Having three healthy, happy kids has also taught me to remember how lucky I am. I have amazing parents, in-laws (I actually mean this when I say it too), friends and wife as role models to aspire and look up to. I take parts of all the great things they do and build on it for myself to make the lives of my own children as happy as they can be.
One piece of advice for other dads…
Spend as much time with your kids as you possibly can. Guide your kids in the right direction and let them learn for themselves and more importantly, let them make mistakes.
Have fun with your kids and keep smiling even when things aren’t going to plan.
What would you most like to do on Fathers’ Day?
My ideal fathers’ day would be to wake up early before everyone else is awake and go for a surf. Then I’d like to spend the rest of the day at the beach with my family and friends.
What do you think you will actually be doing on Fathers’ Day?
I’ll be woken up early by one of the kids wanting breakfast, clean the house, do some work and hopefully go somewhere nice for lunch where the kids won’t complain too much about the food…We’ll then spend the afternoon either in the pool or at the beach if the tide is right. Dinner, wash the dishes and bed. And I’ll be happy with that.
Thanks Jackson and Happy Fathers’ Day
(Editor’s note: For those who don’t know, SurfAid is a non-profit humanitarian organization whose aim is to improve the health, wellbeing and self-reliance of people living in isolated regions connected through surfing.)
Images: Suasti Lye Photography & Design for Honeycombers