25 May 2005
posted by j at 5/25/2005 02:02:00 PM

Is it me or is the WHOLE WORLD born in MAY???

Gosh...people should really choose when to have their babies and spread them out among the 12 months man!! So all u guys reading this post, pleeeeez...have mercy on people like me...i've had NINE birthdays to celebrate and buys gifts for in just this one month. It would have been TEN but one is in hospital and it's not too convenient to visit. I'm not even counting the acquaintances, mind u. These are all rather good friends!! While it was fun planning surprises and stuff, i actually feel quite brain-dead at the end of it all. No more brain cells left to think liao. Plus my weeks have been super filled-up. And best of all, sigh. I'm broke. And i mean B-R-O-K-E...BROKE!!

Dunno how i'm gonna summon money for my Hongkong trip man...sigh. Anybody got a golden turtle to introduce to me?? *wide grin*
 
posted by j at 5/25/2005 01:51:00 PM

Was walking around aimlessly in a shopping mall looking for birthday gifts, when i chanced upon a grandmother hugging her newborn grandchild tightly in her arms. As i walked past this duo, it occurred to me that this grandma would give her life to protect this child. At least, she verily looked like it. And i've no doubt that it was very possible. I know it's not just her. Many mothers and grandmothers would give their lives to protect their young instinctively and without hesitation. And i wondered, at that point of time, why this was so. Is this need to protect privy to those who had the privilege to birth new life? Or is it an instinct sprung from the experience of parenthood and therefore something the young would not experience or understand? Is there a difference between what mothers and fathers feel for their offspring? Would not a non-parent willingly give up his/her life for another in the same way? Hmmm... Would i be able to?
 
17 May 2005
posted by j at 5/17/2005 02:10:00 PM

'No temptation has seized you except what is common to Man. And God is faithful, He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear, but when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.' (1 Corinthians 10:13)

Sigh. I gave in to temptation today. It seized me while i was trying hard to mark my papers. It is common to Man. At least, SOME Man. I'm not sure what the way out was. Perhaps i should have given it away like i planned to last week. Keeping it was a mistake. It certainly felt like it was more than what i could bear. Sigh.
 
13 May 2005
posted by j at 5/13/2005 02:45:00 PM

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posted by j at 5/13/2005 02:43:00 PM

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Just looking at it makes me happy... Anyone (besides aMuse) knows what it is?
 
posted by j at 5/13/2005 02:32:00 PM

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Nice??

Lurve the containers...told them that if they were going to throw them away, they should just give them to me...

But then, as i was leaving the classroom, i thought i heard them fighting over the containers...heh. One boy was hanging on the it and running away from a girl...
 
12 May 2005
posted by j at 5/12/2005 11:19:00 AM

Sometime during the first painful lesson of the day (every thu this term has been painful from 8 to 9.10am because of the class i have to teach), something occurred to me. One may call it an epiphany of sorts. It suddenly struck me that in order to survive, emotionally and mentally, in teaching, one had to truly believe in the innate goodness of people in general. It may sound unbelievable and naive to some, i know, but i really dun see how else one can survive in this profession in Singapore at least. Can't really speak for other countries cos never been there.

Many say that the money in teaching is good. Here, at least. But believe me, if u were a teacher, u'd find that the money is still not proportional to the amount of work and crap u have to suffer. In all honesty, in view of the workload, admin and wat-nots, the money ain't good at all. That is why, the many who come into teaching for money's sake often barely survive the 3 years bond. Many would rather break the bond and keep their sanity. Which is an irony, considering they came in for money.

I can't help but feel very strongly, that something is very wrong somewhere in our education system. Many measures are being taken all the time, but none address the root of the problems that arise. I can't even point a finger at what exactly the problem is, but it is clear to me that all our so-called solutions are only weak attempts to cover up superficial wounds. So much so, that these measures when seen in proper perspective, are really ridiculous and illogical. Take the government's decision to implement short teaching stints at schools. Seems logical right? I mean, no bond problems, in a few months these 'teachers' know whether teaching is their cup of tea. And maybe in making teaching more accessible to the general public, the government might discover some hidden talents? But all these only attempt to address surface level problems! Why don't they ask why teachers would rather break their bonds than stay on?? Raising the salary alone doesn't solve the problem!

One thing i hate about the system now, is how it has become so organisational and mercenery. Somehow, in my utopian world, schools should be far from being money-making organisations. It just should not be tainted with values of the money-making world. I'm discouraged and am seriously thinking of leaving when the time comes.

Back to the innate goodness of mankind. Yes, in order to survive in teaching, you have to believe that deep down in every student is a tiny little person who wants to do good. The moment u stop believing that, you give up hope in the student, and teaching loses its meaning for u. As i said before, money is just not sufficient a motivation to survive in teaching. What then, is left? The belief that somewhere, somehow, that little person in every students exists. The hope that one day this student might respond to your desperate attempts to reach out to him or her.

I was speaking to one student today. A boy. One 'problem' amidst a host of 6 other 'problems'. At the expense of missing lesson with another class, because i just HAD to address his behaviour before too much time had passed. As i tried to reason with him nicely in a desperate attempt to find a sob story or the likes to explain away his rebelliousness, i was aware of a nagging thought - What if all that was happening was not a student in a long, slow process of 'conversion'?? What if he was just playing on my naive character and taking me for a ride? And maybe when he returned to class, he and his accomplices would gather for a good laugh at how easily they got away with their crimes and how naive and foolish their teacher was? What if all that time i spent talking to him was a waste of time? What if...

It discourages me to even consider these possiblities. And while i'm painfully aware that the negatives are possible, i know that i cannot dwell on them, i have to try and believe that that little person exists...i must... I just hope that, in God's mercy, one day He'll let me see that my efforts were not in vain, that i was not naive to believe, and that the little person does exist within each person. It just takes a HELL LOT OF SEARCHING for some people!
 
11 May 2005
posted by j at 5/11/2005 01:39:00 PM

Last month was English Language month in school. Which meant extra work for us English teachers cos every level from secondary 1 to 5 had to do something related to the language as a way of promoting English in the school. I'm teaching the last few classes of the express stream in Sec 1, which means i'm dealing with the naughty/lazy/challenging/ill-disciplined/loud/hard-to-control/i-never-hand-up-work-on-time people...u get what i mean... SO when i heard from the other teacher teaching the better Sec 1 classes that she was planning for the Sec 1s to do a storytelling competition, i wanted to die...i mean, how was i supposed to get students who had problems doing homework and keeping quiet, to memorise an entire story??

sooo.. in a pique of rebelliousness coupled with helplessness, i came up with my own activity for them. I call it 'Show and Sell' as opposed to 'Show and Tell'. I gave them 2 choices: Create and sell a new product of their invention, or modify the use of an existing product and sell it as a new product (e.g. Supposing a fork's normal use is for eating, find another unique use for it that is unlike eating...) I gave them an example of how i was given this particular task as well, and how i used a disposable spoon to bun up my hair instead of using it for eating. They were divided into groups of 5 or 6 to complete this task and present it in a week's time.

The deadline was last week. They were supposed to present. No prizes for guessing what happened. Or rather, what didn't happen. I was not surprised at all actually, having known them for some months now. So i patiently chased them, and ruthlessly threatened them. Yesterday and today, i saw the fruits of their labour...

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Creativity with chopsticks...Kinda think they stole my idea with the spoon..hmph

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TA-DAAAHhh....

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Oooh...live demonstration?? What's THAT??

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Ohhh...handphone and bag accessories...they're a dollar each..anybody wanna buy??

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Demo 2...guess what they're up to?

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Here's the finished product! Students these days are amazing... just from 2 straws..we used to make stars with straws =)

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There's a hundred hearts in there man...

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Demo 3...What are these guys making??

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Awww...the poor fellow. The result of his toil...

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Finally, the product of their labour... hopefully their motto too... all made from paper clips and paper.

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Anyone for World Peace??

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A challenge from the class, "Can u make ANY alphabet we want??"

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Free sample to the teacher...hmmm...looks like an attempt at bribery if u ask me...but then i'm not complaining. *grin* Looks good on my table.

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Here's another...test-tube decor. Only need a test-tube, coloured hair gel and alphabet macaroni... Comes in as many colours as hairgel comes in. Mixing colours apparently brings bad results...

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HO! Another attempt at bribery!! heh. This one looks good on my table too.. just afraid it leaks...

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Kinda like this one personally...
Step 1: Grate the chalk finely into separate containers by colour...

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Step 2: Add salt. Don't ask me why...supposed to make it smoother i think...

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Step 3: Pour into bottle via a funnel. Layers of sand in different colours can be arranged aesthetically.

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WA LA!

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Here's my private loot...hee hee..

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This is one of the more unique ones... heh.

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What is it used for? To scratch your friend's back??

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Cool! It's a keyholder! Twisted and drilled at the D&T workshop...

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Comes in different colours and words... impressive! As usual, i got a free sample! Heh. Orders were actually placed for this ok...

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Any idea wat this is?? Looks like a peacock...

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They call it..."Swan thing" Hee hee...wonder if they were trying a pun...doubt it tho

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After the demo, there were two...

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Recycled from aluminium cans and cut with scissors, they claim that it's an ash tray and can be used to grow plants as well...hehee...kinda stretching it i think.


All in all, i'm quite pleased with this guys and the results. So i went out and bought them some prezzies...Show u next time... *wink*