cover story: MINDCHAMPS
REFUGEE WHO BUILT
MINDCHAMPS
a Global Education Movement The Personal Journey that Led to a Learning Revolution.
While the companies “ featured in my prior books (Mercedes-Benz, The Ritz Carlton Hotel Company and Starbucks) demonstrate impressive brand power, none has been in a position to fundamentally shape society on par with MindChamps.
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- Dr Joseph A. Michelli, No. 1 Bestselling Author New York Times & Wall Street Journal
drilling and memorising content, why not help children to understand how to learn and more importantly develop the mindset of enthusiastic, life-long learners?
‘She’s asking what your name is, Stupid!’ David Chiem, MindChamps’ Founder CEO, can still clearly remember being called ‘stupid’. It was on his first day of school in Australia in 1978. David, aged 9, and his family had arrived in the country as ‘boat people’ after fleeing war-ravaged Vietnam, surviving a close encounter with murderous pirates and enduring life in a Malaysian refugee camp. “I arrived not speaking a word of English — not even hello,” he explains. “I can remember being called stupid in my own language by another student because the teacher was asking for my name, but I didn’t understand her.” Education was highly prized by David’s family, a mindset reinforced by their traumatic escape from Vietnam. “My father had a strong philosophy of never taking anything for granted, and my parents always 12 business franchise MAGAZINE
said that the one thing no one could ever take from you was your education,” he says. “This gave me a very strong mindset, and I was determined to make a contribution.” That strong focus on education, coupled with his earlier trauma, pushed David to excel in his studies because his father had always wanted him to be a doctor. At the age of 14, David landed the starring role on Butterfly Island, becoming the first Asian-Australian to be given a lead role on mainstream television and appearing on TV screens around the world. As a result, although he aced his Higher School Certificate, rather than studying medicine, he chose the path of his new-found passion to study acting and filmmaking. As he studied the craft of filmmaking, David had an epiphany. He became fascinated by the idea that there could be another way of teaching children. They faced far greater demands on their education than previous generations, so, instead of rote learning,
“While I always did well at school and enjoyed it, I saw that many students didn’t do so well. I became curious as to why. I began to suspect that it was because their education experience simply didn’t engage them,” he explains.
From the Stage to the Classroom In 1998 he decided to follow his passion and founded MindChamps — a ground-breaking early learning educational organisation based on strategies derived from research in ‘the 4 Domains’ of Neuroscience, Psychology, Education and Theatre. Since its inception in Sydney, MindChamps has grown from point zero to achieving the number one brand position in the highly competitive Singapore premium preschool space, with a market share of 38.5%.*
Preparing Children for Success in the 21st Century MindChamps makes a difference in the lives of children by providing the best in early childhood curriculum and care. By synthesising and distilling more than
