Serious business

Some of you have asked me for details about the Headstart tests. Frankly, I thought you wouldn't want to know cos you would want to enjoy whatever's left of your holidays right? But, you folks surprise me some time.

OK, for those of you who 'die die must study', the schedule for Headstart is :

11 Jan - English (Situational Writing)
12 Jan - Science *
13 Jan - Science *
16 Jan - Maths
17 Jan - Humanities

* Sorry I have no details on which Science subject.

But seriously, I would advise you to chill out a bit and savour every last bit of holidays you still have. I know MY holidays have ended as the teachers are all back in school from today onwards for meetings.

Unless of course, you have played excessively this holidays and have not done anything remotely resembling school work, then you should feel really contrite now and hit the books.

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Some of you are obsessing about the English homework - like whether what you wrote on your blogs are counted as homework. Well, if you have been posting regularly (eg. weekly), you really shouldn't worry even if some of your posts do not resemble an essay. My point in getting you to do this is to cultivate the habit of regular writing. If you have been cutting corners, or just being plain lazy and dragging your feet about it and take no pride in your work, then you bet I will be very calculative with you and demand my 10 essays next week.

There is nothing magic about the number 10. I arrived at it as arbitrarily as I would randomly call out Toto numbers. My objective for you this holiday is to write regularly, whether in your blogs, or diaries, or, at the very least, in exam-oriented essay format. Because I know, otherwise, you would be playing computer games or sleeping. And I can tell many of you are not proficient writers yet because you are still making many gross mistakes. So you need to practise, regardless of whether you like it or not. An athelete has to train if he wants to be good. Same with a good writer. There is no short cut.

Some of you enjoy blogging. Some of you don't. You have an option. I don't point a gun at your head. I just want you to write. Your part is to be mature about tasks given to you and take pride in what you do. If you have a lousy attitude and think everything is crap because it doesn't fit your taste, mood or hormonal cycle, and consequently give a half-hearted attempt in doing it, then it speaks volumes about you and I will not hesitate to show you my lousy attitude too.

Do you get my point? I don't want to sound too harsh but I really want my students to offer their best in everything they do. Because there is no way I can know you 100%, I look at the work you produce, the words you say, the body language you convey, and I make a judgement. Everybody does that. So it is important you do everything to the best of your ability so that your work screams "This is me! This is my talent!". That is all I ask of you.

So don't ask me again if you have met the 10 essay quota. You, look at what you have done - in your blogs or hand-written scripts, and ask yourself -- have YOU written the equivalent of 10 essays this holidays? Have you really practised your writing? Or have you been procrastinating? If you are honest with yourself and know you have not done so, then redeem yourself and show me you are made of better stuff. You still have a few more days to do some serious work. Then look me in the eye next week, and tell me you have tried your very best. And I'll leave you alone.

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Phew! Now that's out of my chest, I will wish you a great New Year. And do go and watch Narnia and/or King Kong before school re-opens. I heard they are brilliant.

Cheers!

Checking in

Hi folks!

I'm checking in again after my long break. Realised it's been a little quiet here. When the cat's away, the mice all go and play right? Sigh...

Anyway, by now I guess some of you are starting to get depressed. Jan 3 is less than 2 weeks away! If it's any comfort to you, I'm not ecstatic either. I have to prepare lessons, set Headstart test (ya ha ha!!! evil laughter) and orientate the Sec One's. In other words, I'm just as stressed, if not more.

About my trip, well I have almost 1 GB of photos in my SD card so I shall be judicious and select only the very very interesting/weird ones to feature here. Enjoy.

The spectacular Wave Rock :

A wind farm! Lovely name for industrial wind mills.

A wood-chopping contest in a small town. Real men chop wood, that's what I say!

A plant that looks alien to me :

A plant with petals that fold like paper napkins.

Ant hills you can climb up on :

Meeting friends of higher intelligence :

A Shell Beach is literally that. A beach with no sand but shells.

And finally, this is where I want to spend my retirement years. The place : Karri Valley Resort, Western Australia. Fresh air, cool weather, nature all around you, and no TV or phone connections. Heavenly!

Now, it's back to reality. I face mountains of laundry and undone work. Home sweet home, huh?

And one more thing....

I'm beginning to sound like your mother, I know. But I just have to remind some of you to start dusting off the cobwebs in your blog. I mean, if your last post is like 19 Nov, then obviously I'm feeling like I have the license to nag a little. Unless of course you tell me you've been travelling in which case I want to check your passport when school re-opens. (I can be very idiotic if I want to!) Or maybe you've been faithfully doing your compositions in long-hand, and you will dutifully hand them up to me in hard copies on 3 Jan. (Why do I find that hard to believe?)

I'm heading off to the airport tonight. I know you'll love to give me a rousing send-off party but no need la. I know and appreciate your hao-yi. Unless you're going to be there anyway to welcome back the SEA Games swimmers, then you might as well come and wish me bon voyage and wave your banners at moi. Ha ha ha....I'm definitely in a holiday mood now. Don't miss me too much! :)

Going away - again

OK, I'll be off for Part 2 of my holidays from 6-20 Dec. That doesn't mean I won't be checking this site regularly. I'm going to a developed country ok, so got internet connections. Plus, my trusty smartphone ensures I can visit your blogs on the go! Oh, how I l-u-r-v-e technology.

Perhaps I'll upload some photos along the way, if time and internet connection speed allows.

I'm actually a little apprehensive about my trip. Because I don't know if I'll meet some people in that country who have an axe to grind with Singaporeans. They think Singapore is a barbaric country that have no morals. Those of you who have been following the news should be able to guess which 'enlightened' nation I am talking about.

Anyway, be good. Enjoy the rest of your holidays.

Is tuition really necessary?

Here's an interesting forum letter in today's Straits Times (3 Dec).

Referring to this year's sterling results in the PSLE, the writer says that :

The credit for this year's performance should also go to the many private tutors and tuition centres (PTTCs). Many pupils could even have failed without the assistance of the PTTCs.

Now, this issue about private tuition is something that has occupied my mind for a while, not only because I am a teacher, but also because as a parent, I will eventually reach a time when I will wonder if my daughter needs a private tutor so that she can catch up with her school work (seeing as she's not exactly the academically brilliant sort).

I know quite a number of you have private tuition and I am really curious to know the following :

- Do you feel that you need the extra tuition just to keep up with school work?
- Will your results suffer significantly if you do not have tuition?
- Who decides on whether you need tuition - you or your parents?
- What do you do during your tuition class that is not covered in school?

As a teacher, I am not exactly in a comfortable position regarding this current obsession with private tuition. On the one hand are parents and students who feel the teachers do not have enough time in class to teach them well. This is, admittedly, a real problem given our bloated syllabus. Hence I feel we share part of the blame for this extra burden we inflict on you poor students. On the other hand are kiasu parents (and students?) who feel they need tuition just to be one up against the next person. These are the academic zealots who want A's at all costs. These I have little sympathy for except to say, "There goes your youth. Good luck."

But you -- you are the ones who have to drag heavy feet to your tutor's house or tuition centres at the end of a long and tiring day in school. What have you got to say? Is tuition really essential or a necessary evil?