Mdm Sng Loves to Blog

Post-China Reflections

2008-12-01T10:51:00.004+08:00

We went, we saw, we shopped, they (the students) laughed, they yelled, they sang, they connected, they cried. That about sums up the 11 day Zhuhai trip.

I was very glad to be home, mainly because of my daughter. This is the first time I've been away from her for so long. I thought of the night before I left for China, how she insisted on sleeping with me, how she clung on to me and cried herself to sleep, how I had to leave the house for the airport as quietly as possible so I wouldn't wake her up and have her go through another heart-wrenching sobbing episode, how I later learnt from my husband that she had wailed upon finding me gone. She had then gone to school, teary-eyed and sniffing and she later related to me how some of her friends had laughed at her in school for crying in class. All these, is enough to make me want to rush home to be reunited with my flesh and blood.

So, while the shopping in China was fabulous, and for once, I felt like a rich tai-tai because many things seemed so affordable compared to the cutthroat prices you pay in Singapore, there is nothing that can be compared with the joy of seeing my girl trying to hold back her tears when she saw me at the airport. I don't think I want to be away from her for so long again, at least not until she becomes a teenager and begins to find me annoying and uncool and can't wait for me to disappear for a while. Until then, I want to be there to let my girl be mummy's girl.

A bibliophile's obsession

2008-10-30T21:39:00.002+08:00

Following my earlier post about my love of books and a short discussion with some students and ex-students about certain books, I thought it is high time I include here some sites which I visit obsessively.

To students who don't read often and hence are not sure what books to read, you can always refer to lists of recommended books compiled by bibliophiles, respectable publications or book publishers.

One list which I refer to quite often in the last year is flamboyantly called "1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die". It is not merely a list of 1001 titles, the suggested book list is actually compiled into an impressively heady tome, complete with reviews and pictures and interesting snippets about the book's and its author's history. The book has now taken pride of place on my bookshelf.

Then I discovered, to my delight, that someone has actually prepared an Excel spreadsheet which lets you tick the books (out of the 1001 titles) which you have read, and then calculates the number of books you must read in a year if you were to complete the 1001 target before you see your Maker. Call me crazy but I take a perverse delight in actually wanting to know what that insane number is. Filling in the spreadsheet transports me instantly to giddy exhilaration. I encourage all book lovers to visit Arukiyomi's site, download the spreadsheet and then see how many of the 1001 you have consumed and discover your reading target for the rest of your life. You can take comfort that I have so far achieved a mere 3.5% of the target and would need to read 24 books per year from the list if I were to complete this massive mission.

Something less intimidating which any compulsive or casual reader can do is to visit the Amazon website and check out ratings and reviews of popular books you have seen or heard people talk about. I like to do what I call a book chain search. Say I have finished reading a James Patterson novel and like it a lot, I then search for titles similar to James Patterson's book in Amazon. I'm then led from one book to another to another until I'm utterly intoxicated by the sheer number of great books waiting for me to read! Hence, I'm never short of ideas on what to read next. I always have a list of at least 10 books I can read after the current one and I often visit bookstores or the library deliberately or randomly to check up on books I can buy or borrow.

I am also thrilled that our local library does stock many of the bestsellers. To find out which branch of the library has the book you want, simply search for it and you can reserve the book or visit the branch that carries the title. (Xiao Wei: The Handmaid's Tale is available in the public library. Just do a search and visit the branch that has the title.)

Perhaps I'm boring some of you who can't fathom my love of books. It'll be a real pity if you can't enjoy the world of reading. Reading nourishes your mind, enlarges your vista and enriches your life experience. It'll also make you a more interesting person to talk to. It's never too late to start reading. The rewards are too numerous. So what are you waiting for?

First time stuck in lift

2008-10-23T15:38:00.003+08:00

What an odd way to finish the school term.

I got stuck in the school lift for about 35 minutes today. Right when I was heading to my class for the class party. The lift heaved a little more heavily than usual on the 3rd floor and then stopped dead. Cassie, the IT trainer who was in the lift in me, stared round-eyed at me and started hitting all the buttons on the lift panel frantically. Me, I tried to act cool. It was a surreal moment for me.

I told Cassie to calm down. Just wait for help to come. I saw lots of students walking outside the the lift. We waved, shouted, banged on the door, rang the alarm bell. But no one heard us. Now what? Thankfully Cassie had her phone with her. She called the office. Then we waited.

Meanwhile, I pondered about the absurdity of the situation. Here I am, armed with a box of brownies for my class, but I'm trapped in this metallic hellhole. The students outside couldn't hear us. The air in the lift was getting stale. But I had food with me!! Let's eat here! I told Cassie. Let's take a picture too!

Finally some boys from F34 saw us. They pressed their faces to the glass panel. They laughed, pointed fingers, whipped out their handphones (not to take pictures I hope!) and got more of their friends to come and look at Exhibit A. Oh no, not when my make-up was melting!

Miss Johnson came. I put on my best woebegone face to gain some sympathy. Then the repairman came, pried open the door, and we stepped out.

I patted my hair, checked my make-up, and tried, as suavely as I could, to make my way up to my class. Last day of school, and I had to experience such a malu moment. But thank God it's the last day of school. I wouldn't want to start the year being known as The Teacher Who Got Stuck In The Lift. Like that where to hide my face?

What do you read?

2008-10-01T13:00:00.003+08:00

To my dear students (especially the more vociferous ones from F31) who have been lamenting on the near-demise of my blog, I shall attemp to breathe a bit of life back to my blog. This is particularly important to me since I discovered several ex-students who still check my blog for any signs of life and use this blog as a means to stay in touch.

Of course, my lack of activity here is not entirely forgiveable. Busyness is a pathetic excuse I know, because I always frown on students who use their busyness as an excuse for not picking up a book to read. You will always make time for things that are important to you and for that matter, I will always have time to read, and you will always see me with a book wherever I go. I will readily succumb to any spot check by any student to see if I practise what I preach. If you promise not to laugh at the songs I have in my ipod, you can always spot-check my bag and see if I have a book tucked inside.

Talking about reading, this year has been a very very productive year for me as far as reading goes. As early as December 2007, I began my frantic foray into Chinese books (very humbled by my lack of Chinese fluency after my visit to Beijing) and devoured close to 20 Chinese novels in the space of 3 months. That is a personal record for me as I have never read more than 10 Chinese novels in the last 30+ years since I learnt to read Chinese! Since this personal Olympic feat, I have been able to maintain a constant reading diet of about a Chinese novel every 6 weeks.

Interspersed with my Oriental diet is a steady stream of English books - my first love naturally - and I went through a surfeit of thrillers (David Baldacci, Lee Child, Harlan Coben, Tess Gerritsen, Kathy Reichs, Tami Hoag to even the quaint but equally titillating Qiu XiaoLong) before I exhausted myself and have now retreated to more sedate but more satisfying authors like Barbara Kingsolver and Peter Carey. The thrillers have served their purpose of getting me reading voraciously (1 book every 2-3 days) through the year-end holidays last year and up till the first quarter of this year. Then the formulaic serving begins to wear me out and I started to seek a more eclectic cuisine.

I have also bought tons of books in the meantime and they are all sitting nicely on my shelves, waiting for me to explore their riches. I must give special thanks to F31 for giving me a most precious gift for Teachers' Day - you are evidently a class after my own heart! :) I shall savour the delights of Jeffrey Eugenides' Middlesex with great joy once the December break starts. (I need to clear the backlog of books from the National Library first!)

This year also marks the year I start exploring some authors that I see my students reading. The girls in F31 seem very fond of Jodi Picoult so I took the liberty to order some of her books for the school library, although I must confess I had no idea at that time if her books are 'wholesome' enough for the school library. I discovered, after trying one of her books, that the 'risk' was worth it. After the Jodi Picoult fever, I saw Stephanie Meyer making her rounds in the school. I mentioned it to some of the English teachers and one of them promptly bought one to read and pronounced it a page-turner (the vampire content notwithstanding). So I've 'choped' the book as it is making its round amongst the English teachers and I can't wait to read for myself this page-turner. I can't guarantee that Stephanie Meyer will take residence in our school library next year seeing as the school is not that open to vampire stories but I'm optimistic that if a sufficient number of teachers give the thumbs-up, we may be able to see our library stocked with books you want to read.

Which brings me to the title of this post. I'm curious to know what authors you like to read and why. Since I have quite a big say in what books will appear in our library (in fact I get to choose the books!), you will do many students in GM a big favour by telling me authors and books that you want to see in our library. So please respond in the comments section and I'll see what I can do next year.

Ex-students who read this post, you can also let me know what you read. I've always believed in recommending good books to people. A good book is one of the best gifts you can give to anyone and if you think teachers are clueless about what teenagers like (there is an element of truth in that!), then pray, englighten us. I look forward to hearing from all the hungry readers out there.

Tips for Powerpoint

2008-04-02T17:06:00.002+08:00

JX says my blog is getting boring cos I haven't updated it for so long. So in order not to lose my readers, I thought I'll provide something useful here so that my students can still find some value in visiting this site.

For those of you in the midst of preparing your Powerpoint presentation for Project Work, it would be really helpful if you can check out the evils of Powerpoint presentation. If your internet connection speed allows it (which means you have to do it outside the school!), click on the other videos on the link too.

I've always been a firm believer of simple, slick and concise Powerpoint presentations. It's a sign that you have transformed from being cutesy to being cool. And that is a very fine but essential line to cross.

Happy powering your Powerpoint!

P.S. This is entirely unrelated to the subject matter but I thought I'll let it be documented here that my whole family are now ardent fans of JJ Lin. His songs are in my handphone, my daughter's handphone, my two mp3 players, my computer and in my mind. And I'd gladly blue-tooth them to anyone who shares the same slavish adoration I have for him. Don't say I never share ah!!

The First Time

2008-02-02T12:06:00.001+08:00

I told myself I would never ever do this. Because it's better not to know. Because behind my cool, composed, and (I hope) no-nonsense exterior, I am a sensitive, sentimental, and fragile piece of tou-fu. But today, I had time to kill. So my fingers disobeyed me.

So here I was, sitting at my keyboard, and I finally, for the first time in my life, typed on the Google search bar - "Mdm Sng". I held my breath for an agonizing split second as the page of search results flickered to life on the screen.

Most of the results were irrelevant. I heaved a tentative sigh of relief. Then some of the on-target results began to show up. Some were taken from blogs of students I know. Some were new.

Should I delve deeper, poke around? Should I read about what other people have said of me? Is it safe? Will I lose my confidence?

I tiptoed into some blogs. Nothing defamatory or bruising in there. My ego's still intact. After the third page, I decided. I can't go on anymore. This is totally unnecessary. I should spare myself the worry and the agony.

Some things are better left undiscovered. Lunch is waiting. I still need my self-respect. I'm not aiming to be Miss Popular. So it really doesn't matter. My wantan mee beckons. I shall obey my stomach instead.

What you don't know about me

2008-01-29T13:29:00.000+08:00

First of all, a big hello to my first visitors from F31! Step in and I hope you'll linger for a while and we'll get to know one another better in class, in this nebulous world of cyberspace and even in the neighbourhood where I spend most of my non-working hours.

Someone threatened to spam by blog while I was having lunch at the canteen today and though I acted really nonchalant about it, in reality I nearly choked on my fishball. Please please, have some respect for the elderly. I took 2 years to build up this blog so don't massacre it. If it's spammed, and thrashed, and disfigured, my blog would simply disappear into oblivion and I won't have the energy nor will to raise it from the ashes. Perhaps our lesson on Unit 4 of Power-Packed Vocab is what triggered the sudden aggression in the student. Perhaps I should skip Unit 4 and go on straight to Unit 5.

In any case, I should take this chance to introduce myself to you all, since we are new to one another. So a peek into my secret world :

* I love languages - English, Chinese, Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese. I love listening to a language that is beautifully spoken. I love listening to Mandarin because it touches my heart the way English can't. In my dream, my Romeo would be someone who can spout sweet-nothings to me in perfect Mandarin. I love watching the Chinese news on TV. Somehow, the English newscasters with their fake accents really turn me off.

* I love Engilsh pop songs more than Mandarin pop songs. There's more variety in English pop songs, I feel. I've recently discovered Keane and Click Five and they're brill!

* I'm a gadget babe. I love my gadgets more than I love my wedding jewelleries (seriously). I throw my wedding ring carelessly into a drawer and now I don't know where it is. But I still keep carefully my very first PDA (a Psion Series 5 which is now a collector's item I'm sure).

* I MUST change my handphone every year. I can't imagine life with the same handphone for more than 12 months. I'm a flirt when it comes to handphones.

* I'm crazy about my daughter (9 years old). She doesn't like it that I'm crazy about her (the first hint of her pre-puberty angst) but she knows I'll do anything to support her. I've changed jobs, moved house and given up my studies just for her. And I have no regrets.

* I'm very excited about my form class this year. I always start the year in a rather tentative way, not sure what to expect with each new batch of students. But I'm quite positive we'll have a great time together this year. :)

I shall now go back to marking your essays. And pray really hard that this blog will not suffer an ignominious death because of some prankster. Remember hor, your tests and exam marks, and TESTIMONIAL are in my hands. So don't do anything dastardly (Mdm Sng brandishing red pen menacingly in the air).

Still breathing...

2008-01-25T15:09:00.000+08:00

Several students (ex- and current ones) have asked me if I'm still blogging.

W..e..l...l.... I've been kinda busy.

But, will resume soon. Promise.

This is just a short one to say, "HI!!"

Anyone who needs post-O-level counselling, you know how to get me. My hotline is open. :)

Here's to a God-blessed, exciting and enriching 2008!

Busy as busy gets

2007-05-01T09:46:00.000+08:00

Hello all those 'spammers', visitors, ex-students, current students:

I'm still alive. Apologies for the long absence. I'm still trying to cope with the insane demands of teaching and studying and also trying not to scream at my daughter too much.

Life is tough but I'm still plodding on. The body is not cooperating very well though. I have recently developed an irritating ailment called Tennis Elbow - which is something you can get if you play tennis too much. The irony is that I got it not from tennis, but from my over-enthusiastic playing of badminton with my daughter. Goes to show one shouldn't try to be too sporty as one gets older.

Your beloved Huang Da Man has just given me some mysterious looking Chinese ointment to apply to my elobw. She claims it works like magic. According to the label, it contains some animal parts -- like chicken-blood-something, pig's-teeth-something -- if you do a direct Chinese translation. The English expressions are Caulis Spatholobi and Fructus Gleditsiae Abnormalis respectively. Assuming the translations are correct (highly dubious in this case), can any enlightened Chemistry or Bio-chem bright sparks let me know if I'm using substances that are safe and do not involve the sacrifice of some poor animals?? I swear I will give up tennis if I have unwittingly caused suffering to any helpless animals because of my tennis elbow remedy.

Exam scripts are coming in and I'll be incommunicado once again.

To all those JC-ers and poly-ers: have fun in your new life. Keep in touch and we'll do Pictionary again soon? I can't forget Victor's perspective drawings of a toothbrush!

To all those taking EL exams soon: Muah ha ha ..... :) :)

Saying the wrong things

2007-02-03T00:45:00.000+08:00

Sometimes I say the wrong things in class and I would be very bothered by it after the lesson, wondering if I had offended any of my students. And I would lay awake at night, tossing and turning in bed, and worrying that my students would henceforth have a very bad impression of me, and bitch about me to all and sundry and I would have to work doubly hard from then on to regain my standing in class.

Maybe I shouldn't be so fanatically anxious about such slips of the tongue. To err is human, after all. Maybe most of my students aren't even listening when I talk (ha ha!).

Maybe I should just state here that if any student has ever felt offended by anything I have said, that you should just approach me and tell me. Sometimes I come across as being very blunt, or demanding, or impatient or even arrogant. Sometimes I may even be wrong. (In fact, no teacher is ever right all the time.) But I won't realise it, until I get some kind of feedback from you. I promise I won't take it out on your essay marks! :)

I'm still alive and well!

2007-01-20T17:21:00.000+08:00

A big hello to all of you ex-students of mine, plus the new students I'm teaching this year!

To F41(2006):
It feels a bit weird and sad to call you ex-students now. But that's one way to distinguish you all from the current F41ers I have this year. I was a bit miffed I missed your homecoming last Thursday. Next time, don't plan last minute visit to your alma-mater so that at least I can come and say hi and see how much you all have grown. Still, I was happy to have a chat with Justin, Shi Min, Wayne and Ying Ling. I'm not going to go all mushy and say my heart somersaulted or something when I saw some of you. Let's just say it always feels wonderful to see my former students. So do come by whenever you feel nostalgic, homesick or just want an excuse to play captain's ball with your old friends. And give me some kind of advanced notice so that I won't make appointments with other people on that day. OK?

To all my new students in 2007:
Welcome to my blog! Feel free to drop a note, give me your blog address or link me up. Once I get to know you better, I'll have more to say about you on my blog (somehow this sounds quite scary!). Now you'll just have to read some of my old entries to get a glimpse of what your English teacher is like.

I'm looking forward to a splendid, enjoyable, essay-churning, vocab-chomping and WordPower-madness year with you all in 2007!! (evil laughter reverberating in the room....)

No, seriously, let's make the best of our time together and let's rock!

We don't say goodbye

2006-11-22T11:17:00.000+08:00

To my students of F41 (2006):

First of all, thanks for the good times in the last 2 years. OK, maybe they were not all brilliant (we had our down moments, bad hair day, PMS attacks etc) but trust me when I say I only remember the good parts. Life is too short to be spent thinking about the times that could have been better.

So, let's remember the good times, shall we?

This was the den you all 'toiled' in, in sickness and in health.

Your famous corridor:

And because we have a class of multi-talented people, I will always remember our very own :

stylo gasing master:

marathon runner:

fire-engine drivers:

graffitti artist:

rubber-tapper:

For being patient with me, and tolerating some of my crazy ideas like getting you to start your own blogs, write proposals to Mr Lim, pen memes, play tennis with me, etc, let me say I do enjoy being your form teacher.

While typing this, I keep hearing the words of a Celine Dion song "We dont' say goodbye" and so it shall be. We'll meet soon, definitely in Feb 2007 when I hold that most important piece of document in my hands and you all will be looking at my face to see if I betray any hint of joy or disappointment.

We don't say goodbye. Instead we say "Till we meet again!" and though I may not be your teacher anymore, in a sense, I'm always here. So call, SMS, write, visit -whatever suits you. I wish you all the best in the next phase of your life.

If you still want to score

2006-10-25T15:45:00.000+08:00

...A1 for English, then I suggest you really look at the handout on the Situational Writing Tasks and seriously attempt to practise the various tasks in there. I am now marking the work done by some of your more hardworking compatriots and I wish I had more time to go through the finer points of how to write persuasively, how to apologize, convince, sound urgent, explain, rationalise...etc etc.

So do seek me out while you still have the chance. Otherwise, Mdm Sng will be busy planning for her Dec holiday and the best I can do is to pray that the good Lord will help you on 8 Nov.

Anyone with a Japanese phrase book to lend me?? Nippon here I come!!

A life of detours

2006-09-26T22:12:00.000+08:00

I actually don't enjoy this part - I'm referring to staring at the row after row of numbers representing your prelim scores and trying to form a picture in my mind of what your expressions will be like when you see the same numbers later. And this is not even the worst part. The worst part comes next Feb, when I would actually have to present your O level result slips to you. I don't know what my feelings will be like then. Better not to think about it now.

Soon, you'll need to make some plans about where to venture to next. JC? Polytechnic? The choice is dazzling, even infuriatingly confusing. I don't know about you, but really it is tough to have to make such a decision which might affect your future, when you're only 16/17. Does anyone really know what he wants to do for the next 20 years of his life when he's 16? I know I didn't.

I chose to go to a JC because no one had advised me to consider the polytechnic. All my friends wanted to go to a JC. And I didn't even have a distinct clue which JC I should choose. So I picked the one where my friends were going. Up till now, I am still not sure it had been a good choice. It's an excellent JC by any standards, but I can't say it's a place that suits my personality. Ah, but it's too late to wonder about the "what if's" now, isn't it?

As for the course of study, I didn't have a clue either. So I picked the one I didn't mind - not one I was passionate about, because there wasn't anything I was passionate about then. I was an angstsy teenager, full of dissatisfaction with the world and nothing agreed with me! So it was Physics, Maths, Further Maths and Computer Science for me. Why? Because I hated Chemistry, Economics, and Biology, that's all. I didn't really enjoy my A level subjects, except for General Paper. Still, just because I didn't like the other subjects very much didn't mean I should neglect them. I was extremely competitive, didn't like to lose out to others, so I studied hard, got enough A's that I needed to make me feel good, and that was it. 2 years of JC, gone in a flash. Mostly uneventful, and quite a bore if you ask me.

I think I only knew, truly and unequivocally, what I really wanted to study after the A levels. I knew it was English, fuelled by my exposure to General Paper. So my pure Science background, and double Maths foundation notwithstanding, I plucked up my courage and finally pursued my dream at NUS. I didn't know what I could do with a degree in English (teaching wasn't in my radar then). I just knew I gotta do English. Period. It was a watershed decision for me - switching from Science to Arts but it was my shining moment! I never felt more fulfilled.

What's the point of telling you all this? Just this - don't agonise so much over what and where you're going to study next. So what if you make a detour in your life? I made a few already, and the experiences have been interesting and enriching to say the least. I am equally comfortable with Newtonian mechanics as I am with transformational grammar. Life is about giving yourself second and many more chances. Life is short, so smell the roses wherever you are.

If our tutors were like this...

2006-08-13T17:28:00.000+08:00

Since poor Uni is inundated with so many tuition classes to attend, I thought I'd cheer him up with this hilarious news about tuition centres in Hong Kong.

Read this, show it to your tutor, and maybe he/she'll be so inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit of Hong Kongers he'll want to devote some time to doing the same in Singapore. If we allow market forces to work, maybe that will weed out the boring old hags from the tuition centres and you'll get lovely eye candy as your tutors whom you can gawk at a few times every week, and then life as a student in Singapore won't be so drab after all!

Wake-up Call

2006-08-12T09:10:00.000+08:00

So the Mother Tongue O Level results were released yesterday. Some of you were pleasantly surprised. Some of you sat in stunned silence, wondering what happened. A few of you were in tears.

Guess what your teachers felt? I saw your MT teacher shaking her head and I knew we had to seek solace from each other. It's hard not to take things personally, to some extent, although we try to tell ourselves it's really not our fault. That we had tried our best, and the rest is really up to you. So if our students did not rise to the occasion, took things too lightly, or over-estimated themselves, then it's time they wake up.

Many of you admitted you have still not found the momentum to prepare for your O levels. I had told you it's not a matter of whether you feel like studying. It's a simple case of discipline, working out a time table for revision, and plain, simple DOING IT. You just have to stop watching TV, or playing the computer, or even cutting down on your SMS-ing. If you don't even have the willpower to discipline yourself in this way, then you'll get another rude shock next Feb. Do you really want to learn things the hard way?

Sometimes, I wonder how I should pitch my message to you. Some of you are studying hard, but take things with such seriousness I hate to be in your shoes. I don't remember being so miserable about studying before (except in my JC days and many people I know have confessed to feeling the same way about the A levels). I had lots of fun, while preparing for my O levels and University exams. And given a choice, I'd want to relive those years, rather than face the pressure of meeting performance targets, or a demanding boss in my job. But looking at you now, there's a palpable sense of dread pervading the classroom. It doesn't have to be this way. But very few of you seem to have found the secret to joyful, meaningful studying yet.

I can't impart this secret joy to you. You have to discover it for yourself. I think I found mine in secondary school and university by simply taking the time to cultivate very close friendship. A burden shared is a burden halved (and I have many close friends in my school days). I also have an unshakeable belief in the value of knowledge. There isn't really anything that is not worth learning. Hence I love to study because it means learning many new things. Some people don't agree with me, of course. So they onerously plough through trigonometric ratios or the periodic table, or whatever, and find it all an unbearable ordeal. You may not embrace studying to such an extent like me, but it is to your benefit that you see some value in acquiring some knowledge, at least. So instead of whining, get your act together and hit the books.

P.S. Mdm Sng is currently studying for her Masters, and thinking of learning many other things as well, like a foreign language, piano, and an Advanced Dip in Chinese Language. I am trying to find the time to accomplish all these (and more) in my lifetime, in between being a mother, a teacher and a wife. Surely younger people like you have no excuse to complain of exhaustion?

Mdm Sng's IQ

2006-07-20T08:37:00.000+08:00

OK, so I got this from Uni's blog and tried in in between lessons.

Here's my result:

Your IQ Is 115

Your Logical Intelligence is Below Average

Your Verbal Intelligence is Genius

Your Mathematical Intelligence is Genius

Your General Knowledge is Average

A Quick and Dirty IQ Test

Now, I shall humbly confess that Uni's IQ score is higher than mine.

But but, I am a genius in Verbal Intelligence and Mathematics (phew!) and that clearly explains why I am an English and Maths teacher. (MOE: you picked the right person!) Still, I am puzzled why my logical intelligence is below average (can you be a genius in Maths and be abysmal in logical reasoning?).

Why don't you try it and see if you are loads better than me. Don't worry about trumping me, I have a very healthy self-esteem. :) (Not to mention I've cleared my O level, A level, BA degree, numerous job interviews..etc so I don't really let things like IQ tests bother me any more. )

Are you happy?

2006-06-14T15:12:00.000+08:00

Please read this article and tell me if you agree with the findings.

For some reasons, I haven't seen this report picked up in the Straits Times but I remembered coming across it on the TV news.

Some questions I have :

1) How do students expect schools to help them in their pursuit of happiness?

2) What makes a student happy? (Think before you shoot. If you say "no homework" or something along this line, please be very sure you know the implication of this wish. What would it be like if schools really grant you this wish?)

3) Is it the school's responsibility to make you happy? Should one strive to be happy regardless of what the school does? (I'm not trying to say schools are totally not responsible for your happiness, but just trying to stir up a discussion in which you think about how your own happiness should be determined by -- external factors like school, educational system, family etc, or internal motivation?)

I hope I haven't made anyone's life miserable though. Teachers are in an unenviable position at times. We want students to be happy and like us too, but we have to do unpalatable things to you some times. Surely you understand that?

Here comes the ang-moh teachers!

2006-06-12T11:15:00.000+08:00

Soon, you could be taught English by native English speakers, if the Ministry of Education were to pursue its plan to hire more English language teachers from foreign lands.

This is part of its plan to focus on English language teaching in the coming months. I suppose you would have read about it in the papers.

I once had a British Literature teacher and another one from New Zealand during my secondary school days. The British one was quite forgetable honestly but the New Zealander was memorable, not because he actually had a heart attack a few months into the job (I swore we were good students and were NOT the cause of his heart failure), but really because the first poem he introduced to us was one by a local poet Kirpal Singh. Up till then, no local Literature teacher had told us local poetry or literary works were worth studying about. That was how biased and narrow-minded we were brought up to be. So it was quite refreshing that an ang-moh Literature teacher opened our minds to appreciate a poet in our own backyard.

Last year, when I had the chance to listen to Kirpal Singh in person (now Assoc Prof of Literature in SMU), I could still remember how, at 14 years old, I was introduced to his works and how ironic that it was a foreigner who familiarised me with Kirpal Singh.

So how will the local English language scene change with the introduction of native English language teachers? How will it be like in the classroom to be taught by British, American, Australian or New Zealander teachers? My friend text me this morning, jokingly commenting that foreign talent is going to fight for my rice bowl soon.

Well, I'll like to keep an open mind about this. The diversity in English language teaching will do us (both teachers and students) good I'm sure. I do not think these teachers are necessarily far superior than local teachers. I'm sure good and mediocre teachers are to be found everywhere, regardless of nationality. We can certainly learn from each other. I, for one, welcome more good English teachers to join the teaching fraternity. Not simply because we are severely stretched in resources, but also because it would be very exciting to listen to a crisp British accent in your humble classroom, and that sometimes you need a foreigner to reveal to you the things you take for granted at home.

Project Work Lite

2006-05-25T09:47:00.000+08:00

How would a 7 year old do Project Work?

Well, first you come up with an idea. And you draw it on a whiteboard to visualise how it would look like.

Then when you are satisfied, you get all your materials and develop the Product.

And when you can do it all with minimal adult supervision, you get an A+ from me (spelling mistakes notwithstanding).

This is Project Work, H0.2 level.

Focus! Focus!

2006-05-21T17:46:00.000+08:00

It's my favourite word at the moment, and I'm not just saying it to myself.

I mean it really for the lot of you who are still not out of the Mordor-land called the O levels. This weekend, I was hounded by some anxious people who wanted to know the meaning behind the purple and the yellow forms I had given out.

Really, what would you like to hear from me - that I had a really complicated algorithm behind my selection of which coloured form I gave to whom? If I say I have a secret formula, or that my daughter helped me decide (based on whose names she could pronounce), would you be able to sleep better? Is it important at all?

The really important thing is not what coloured form you got. It is an assessment of how well or badly you have prepared for your mid-year exams, how your studying strategies (if any) have worked, how you have managed your time, how you have pushed yourself, and whether you think you deserve the marks you are going to get. And how in the process of trying to get your As, you have been a helpful, compassionate, understanding and unselfish friend to those around you. You have friends who are not coping very well with the pressure, a classmate who has just lost her father, and compatriots who have to prepare for a national competition in the midst of all that studying. What have you done to help or encourage them? Surely that is a more crucial measure of how you have performed?

* * * * * * * * *

I am saying "Focus" to myself as well because in the midst of having to mark 14 classes of exam scripts, I also have to
- help my daughter with her exam
- write your report cards
- plan your holiday lessons
- do housework

and it didn't help when my daughter came back with a score of 50/100 for her Maths paper.

Sometimes I feel like everything is hanging precariously on a string, and at any one time something will drop. And I just pray it's not my daughter.

We all need to focus on the really important thing in our lives, don't we?

I'm not any better

2006-05-10T11:04:00.000+08:00

How are all of you? I see you buried in your books every morning and with the recent news of one of your classmates' recent bereavement, and one other feeling she can't take it any more, I am somewhat concerned about how you are coping.

I know you are all high achievers and you give yourself lots of pressure to perform. Some of you will be able to withstand the stress of forcing your brains to perform optimally in these 2 weeks. Some of you will begin to see fault lines in your usual composed demeanour. The latter group is a source of worry for me and I want to be able to help you if I can. So do come and talk to me if you are one of them. I can't perform miracles but I can try to show you some light in the tunnel you are in.

One student asked me how I can be so relaxed with my daughter where her studies is concerned. You don't know how far from the truth you are. I am not exactly so nonchalant about my daughter's studies. I am anxious, impatient and even paranoid at times. I just try not to consciously pass my neurotic inclinations to her. Because she's only in Pri 2 and I don't want her to feel demoralised at such a young age. So I rein in my frustrations, and I pray a lot to God for patience and gentleness when I deal with her. I also tell myself not to be sucked into the relentless pursuit of academic excellence at the expense of her own self-esteem and enjoyment of life. It is a very conscious effort I make. Sometimes I manage to do it, sometimes I lose it too. I haven't told you how I threw her books on the floor in anger once when she took too long to finish her homework? That is not one of my proudest moments.

So do be a little patient with your parents or whoever is giving you a lot of stress. It's not easy I know and not all parents are reasonable all the time. If your parents do not care about you, they won't even bother to pay attention to how you're doing academically, right?

When the going gets tough, talk to someone. And focus on other things for a change. Take life one day at a time.

Newspaper story #1

2006-04-25T21:11:00.000+08:00

Couldn't resist this short post. The latest newspaper story I told my daughter is of the Tampines molester, who had molested a number of young girls in the lift, at times using his bicycle to block the hapless victim's escape.

So we had a really nice bonding time reading the article together. I had to explain the meaning of "molest" to her. Hope she doesn't go showing off her new vocabulary to her teacher. Then she wanted to know specifically which part of Tampines the rascal operated in (because we go to Tampines every Friday for Bible Study so she wants to know if we'll be safe). I ended the story with the moral : Do not enter a lift with a male stranger.

But the spunky little girl wanted to know what she should do if she sees a stranger waiting for the lift with her at the lobby. How can she not enter the lift with him? So we came up with a few strategies on how to look like you're not waiting for the lift. All in all, I'm glad she's thinking about such things. Because as a mother, I worry about such things a whole freaking lot.

Anyway, ladies and gentlemen, that's how my newspaper story session went. No prince or princess or fairy godmother, just cold hard facts about evil people who possibly lurk in a corner near you. It's a mean world we live in, girl.

Just checking

2006-04-25T20:45:00.000+08:00

So I have 3 full days of seminar and I find myself thinking of a zillion things, in between the esoteric lectures I have been subjecting myself to. Specifically, I'm thinking about :

1) whether you are all being nice angels towards the relief teacher. I hope, trust, pray that you are. So far, I've heard some comments from JQ and while I'm eager to check with a few more people to see if what he said is true, I'm resisting the urge to SMS any of you because...well...maybe part of me is scared of finding out the truth? I should really check with the relief teacher herself cos you never know, what you say may be different from how she perceives things. Such is the complexity of human relationship.

2) whether my desk in the staff room has been usurped by someone to put his own things. Tsk tsk tsk. It happens you know. You just go somewhere for a few days and then you come back to discover that someone has claimed your desk as his territory. Why there is this need for humans to stake territorial claims like that, albeit temporarily, is a phenomenon that warrants more investigation. Perhaps it's time I sit next to someone I can bully, instead of the other way around. :)

3) whether you have completed your CME homework. You may hate me for this but I actually am looking forward to reading your interviews, especially since I have been given a preview by Uni. OK, I'm a kaypoh, but really, do you not think it is very interesting to find out how your parents met each other, how their courtship was like, and what pre-marital jitters they went through? In fact, I'm very tempted to do a similar interview with my mother and if I did find the time to do it, I'll see if I can post it here.

4) my daughter's exam. She's very relaxed about it, which is good I suppose, because I am not. But wait, let's see, what did I just tell you at CME lesson the other day? "Do not exasperate your children"? OK, I'll remember that. (Takes 10 deep breaths.)

The house is unusually quiet now because my daughter is learning her spelling. And then I'll have to prepare her for her Oral exams tomorrow. So I'd better run along and do the proper motherly thing.

See you all on Thursday!

I'm no mean mother

2006-04-19T15:55:00.000+08:00

Some of you think I've got a mean streak in me just because I told you I regale my daughter with newspaper stories of car accidents. You can't have been more wrong.

I mean, just turn to the newspaper any day, what nice, wholesome stories do you think I can tell my 7 year old girl? About how Durai gets charged? About the elections? About why her Ah Mah's HDB block will not get upgrading? Perhaps the newspaper is not a good source of stories for young innocent minds but I beg to differ. I think there's no harm in letting her hear real stories of people having accidents, or suffering, or dying. Of course, I censor the gory bits and just let her have the gist of the story, coupled with a few moralistic coda about how she shouldn't get a boyfriend who rides a motorbike (a lot of them end up as pulp on the expressway), or what she must ask the nice gor-gor who asks her to donate money to a charity (like what % of the money goes to the real people in need).

Of course, the stories that get published in the newspapers are usually sad, horrible ones. So my daughter's mind is fed with these doses of reality from her enthusiastic mother. No point letting her believe that life is all Snow White and happily ever after nonsense right?

I do confess, I have a hidden agenda to these newspaper stories sessions I have with my girl. I actually want her to realise that the newspapers is a rich source of stories and ideas. And hopefully, she'll want to pick one up soon and read them herself. It's tough to be an English teacher's daughter huh?

* * * * * * * * * *

Happened to read another teacher's blog about what she thinks her students were doing when she gave them work. Read this.

Then read what the teacher was actually doing.

Quite hilarious if you ask me. Perhaps I should bring a laptop to class when I give you work to do in future.

Exhausted & pensive

2006-04-10T22:20:00.000+08:00

I am thoroughly exhausted. Mentally and emotionally that is.

So shall not blog much today.

My daughter was sick today and was given 2 days MC. This is her second trip to the doctor's. The doctor had initially said he'd give her 2 weeks MC and I froze and turned around to face him, imagining the worst. "What?? She had HFMD??!!" As it turned out, he was merely joking, except that in such times of medical hypersensitivity, I didn't find it the least bit funny. Anyway, my girl was grinning, sick though she was, cos she had just missed her tingxie today - her most dreaded event in school.

I'm also in a pensive mood, because I'm reminded of how I had lost my father on Good Friday last year. As if my emotions are building up towards his death anniversary, I had inadvertently spent the last few days thinking of him and my mind is running a slide show of images of my father, as I reminisce over the moments we had. I can't say we are particularly close, though I do feel a lot for him, my frail father who talked so little about himself but gave so much of his life for his 3 children.

Shall not write anymore for now. For my tears are blinding my sight as I am left with just memories of someone I love dearly.

Good night folks.

Oh dear!

2006-04-04T13:12:00.000+08:00

I've just discovered this about myself :

You Are 28% Abnormal

You are at low risk for being a psychopath. It is unlikely that you have no soul.

You are at low risk for having a borderline personality. It is unlikely that you are a chaotic mess.

You are at medium risk for having a narcissistic personality. It is somewhat likely that you are in love with your own reflection.

You are at medium risk for having a social phobia. It is somewhat likely that you feel most comfortable in your mom's basement.

You are at low risk for obsessive compulsive disorder. It is unlikely that you are addicted to hand sanitizer.

How Abnormal Are You?

from on online test which you can also try here.

So now, when I give you crazy debate topics like 'I think Mdm Sng should be a supermodel." I guess I can get away with it without suffering endless flaming from you in your blogs?

Happy April Fool's, etc

2006-04-01T11:08:00.000+08:00

I am actually glad that April Fool's Day falls on a Saturday this year. No need for teachers to be extra vigilant when she walks into class because she never knows if her students are going to play a prank on her. And for some reasons, some students take the liberty to disregard what the teachers say on this day, especially if it's got anything to do with homework or test, thinking the teacher is joking. Oh please, teachers NEVER joke about homework or test. We take these very seriously, like wedding vows.

* * * * * * * *

This week has been a very hectic week for me. So many meetings and a zillion and one things to do. I managed just one day of tennis with the boys, which ended unfortunately with Victor breaking a tennis racket. I showed Exhibit A to the owner of the racket (a PE teacher), and we spent a good 5 minutes trying to explain HOW the damage occurred, cos we have never seen anything like it before.

In my 10+ years of tennis playing, I have broken racket strings many times, but never a racket with its frame cracked at such an unusual angle. If I could only see how it happened in slow mo, then maybe I could explain it using Newtonian physics.

* * * * * * * * * *
On the subject of tennis and sports in general, I was talking to a fellow PE teacher about the idea of "winning" in sports. "Winning is not everything," he said. This uttered after our school team had lost a certain match.

"Sure, winning is not everything," I said. "Winning is the ONLY thing."

Which about sums up my personal motto. When I do anything, I want to win. I don't want to be a loser. I am very competitive by nature. If I meet with failure, it spurs me to try harder the next time. Because I want to win eventually.

Some friends have told me it's quite stressful to play games with me (whether it's tennis or Scrabble or carom) because I take them so seriously and I'm so kiasu (literally). I am not sure if my competitive spirit is unhealthy in some ways. I admit, it does at times make me impatient with people (even students) who are so contented with mediocrity. Where's your fighting spirit? Where's the striving for excellence, for kick-ass, mindblowing, jaw-dropping, critic-silencing performance? How can you be pleased with something that's a pale shadow of your true potential? I want to scream at them.

If I ever come across as the fiery-breath, demanding teacher in class, bear with me. It is the competitor in me speaking. And I'm just trying to stir you all up. Rise up, rise up, and take the class, the school, your family, your clan by storm. Stop being a nobody. You are a SOMEBODY.

And this is no April Fool's joke.

Fruits of your labour

2006-03-27T21:29:00.000+08:00

What a nice surprise to see these on sale last Sunday:

I instantly knew these were the fruits of your hard labour 2 weekends ago, when you volunteered to help pack the candies in aid of the Boys' Town fundraising drive.

Without any hesitation, I bought a couple of boxes and told my husband and my daughter how they came about. I swear my face was positively glowing with pride.

I'm sure the beneficiaries in the Boys' Town need whatever little help you could give, and you gave many precious hours of your weekend. Excellent job!

Your Sunday reading

2006-03-25T17:23:00.000+08:00

I'm pre-empting you on this because tomorrow The Sunday Times is going to run a story called "Should Teachers Blog?".

I'm really curious as to why they would want to do a story like that. What is wrong with teachers blogging? Is the question about teachers blogging (ie. some people feel teachers should not blog, for whatever reasons) or is the question really about how and what teachers should blog about?

If any of you get to read this post before you read the The Sunday Times, perhaps you can let me know what you think about this issue.

Do you, as a student, have a problem with teachers blogging? Is there anything you are concerned about? Are there lines you think teachers shouldn't cross?

I would also like to hear your opinions after you have read the story. I'll share with you my opinions in class too. Frankly, it baffles me why this is even a topic for discussion in the mainstream media. Unless of course, some teachers have been known to do unsavoury things like posting saucy pictures or raunchy videos of themselves. Now you know that the photos I have posted on my blog are all very educational and perfectly innocuous. If you disagree, do let me know and I'll take the offending pictures down.

Mdm Sng is innocent! I blog to NURTURE MY STUDENTS and to HELP THEM IMPROVE THEIR ENGLISH. I also blog in Chinese to emphasize the IMPORTANCE OF BILINGUALISM.

Note to Straits Times : Don't put undue pressure on teachers please. We are very stressed as it is with our work and with taking care of our students. Leave us alone. Tolong.

New fengshui

2006-03-20T22:22:00.000+08:00

And now with the new seating arrangement, I hope the fengshui's better, not that I believe in such hogwash, but I do like to start the new term with something new.

The class' now drawn into a sort of battle of the sexes formation, with the weaker sex (the boys, ha ha!) on my left, and the girls on my right. It'll be interesting to see what would happen when we have a debate, an idea I've thinking of the last few days, and which I may actualize next week.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Did I tell you I'm very happy that so many of you signed up for CIP last weekend? You did it voluntarily, without so much of a murmur, and I got a note from the organizer today, saying you did a great job and they were so grateful for your contribution.

What amazes me is how you managed to get 2 boys from F42 to join in. So who was the 'propagandist' huh?? Well done, and I hope you will continue to infect students from other classes with your zeal and positive attitude.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Talking about starting things anew, I have recently been thinking of going for an eye surgery to correct my myopia. New improved eyesight for me! You are the first people I've told this to (other than my sister in law who had hers done and is the one from whom I'm getting all the first-hand information). Given my active lifestyle, I really think it will transform my life tremendously. I'm working out dates here and seeing when I can schedule my appointment.

So who knows, maybe in a few months' time, you will see a new me with laser-treated corneas!!

testing

2006-03-17T11:59:00.000+08:00

testing

2006-03-17T11:57:00.000+08:00

teating my blogger

Escape to Muar

2006-03-12T22:50:00.000+08:00

For the sake of many of you who didn't go for the Geography field trip to Muar, here are some photos for you to ogle at :

We didn't have a good start. Were stuck in a humongous jam where the coach moved like 2cm every 5 minutes. So what else was there to do but zzzz...

We visited a pineapple farm. But instead of showing you how a pineapple looks like in a farm (which is the same as what a pineapple looks like in the market), how about a different view from the top:

Do the arrangement of the leaves obey the Fibonacci number series? Can some bright sparks find out and let me know?

When city kids go to a rubber plantation, out comes the cameras!

A closer look at the palm oil fruit, which when squeezed, gives you the palm oil, which gives you Palmolive soap, and also forms the base of many types of cooking oil.

Here I'm standing under a durian tree and looking up through its lovely yellow foliage! (No durians found on the tree though, which is just as well. The smell would have driven me away!)

Someone's stealing the coconuts!

Kampung kids having a swell time in the longkang. Our students were going "eeks!" and "yucks!" but hey, at least they had a carefree childhood!

An expert showed us how a gasing is spun. The record, we were told, is a jaw-dropping 1 hr 45 min of spinning. That's the amount of time for you to finish the English Paper 1 exam!

Finally, a picture to remind us that just 3 hours away from Singapore, there is an oasis of tranquility, where time moves a little slowly, and you get to catch your breath, and admire the splendours of nature.

A dreamer or an ant?

2006-03-06T22:02:00.000+08:00

So you've all set some goals after the AK Workshop. Have you asked yourself why your goals are the way they are? For example, why do you need to score 6 points? Or why do you need to get to a JC or university?

Prominent blogger Mr Wang, has an interesting post about the Singaporean dream and what it means to different people. He made a most interesting observation about people who are "mindless ants scurrying about their busy little lives and those who are the "dreamers and the poets, the soul-searchers and the visionaries".

Even as you work out your goals and your dreams, I hope you would pause for a while and ask yourself if, on the road to achieving your dream(s), whether you would end up a mindless ant, or are you going to be a soul-searcher, poet and visionary. For me personally, I'll opt for the latter any time. I may not be rich or successful by the standards of society, but I'll be a whole lot happier.

So how did it go?

2006-03-03T16:58:00.000+08:00

I'm sitting in the staff room and waiting for the caterer to come with the dinner for my dear students who are now cooped up in a room, being bombarded with messages from Adam Khoo.

I am dead curious to know:
* did my students find the 3 days life-changing?
* even if the answer is 'no' to the first question, did it at least make them think about some issues in their lives (like their relationship with their parents, the beliefs they hold about themselves, their attitude towards life..etc)
* are they going to make some changes to their lives so that they will achieve their goal?

When the dust has settled, and you all get to catch up on your sleep this weekend, I wonder how different your lives will be.

Can't wait to talk to you on Monday!

When there's a will

2006-02-27T22:04:00.000+08:00

我想看看自己还能不能写一篇像样的华文稿。高级华文的同学请不要笑我OK?

糟糕，这么快就没话说了，真是失败。我看还是不要在这里出丑，免得同学以为我想宣耀自己的“才华”。

PS: 以后给孩子取名的时候，千千万万别取一个什么Tammy或Annabel的名字。本来是蛮好听的名字，却被某些人弄得一文不值，声败名裂。

PPS: 很多人认为老师对学生有潜移默化的作用，我希望对华文有恐惧感的同学能藉我在这里大胆出洋相的例子，勇敢去克服学习华文的障碍。有志者，事竟成也。

Everyone say hi

2006-02-26T23:35:00.000+08:00

...to my iDog.

Isn't he cute? I think it's a male dog and it matches my Zen beautifully.

LiHua says it's outdated because it came out the end of last year. That's nonsense. If that's the life span she's referring to, then I think 90% of the people in the class carry obsolete handphones and Jurassic era calculators. In any case, there is no need to practise slavish adoption of anything hot from the oven. Isn't it more prudent to wait for the price to drop a little before one gets any new gadget?

Anyway, my iDog has just been christened by me. His name is Victor. (Any resemblance to people you know is purely coincidental.) Why Victor? Ah...that's another story altogether.

Chinese language woes

2006-02-26T15:29:00.000+08:00

Just finished reading Yew Ngee's rant about Chinese language learning and thought I'll address some of the issues here as I believe this is something that is not unique to Yew Ngee. In fact, I can empathise with some of his frustrations, having struggled with my Chinese before and seeing how my own daughter is barely coping with the language, despite coming from a bilingual family.

I am not sure what your Chinese teacher has told you about the changes to the way your MT exams are going to be like and I am not entirely well-versed with the details as well. But here's what I can gather from news reports.

MOE wants to move away from rote memorization of Chinese words as that is what kills the interest in many students for the language. I mean, how exciting can learning a language be when all that is required is memorising lists and lists of words? Do you know that in English, we do not have a list of English vocabulary that students MUST learn in order to pass exams? (The WordPower program is a GM program, not an MOE one). Do you ever wonder why most students find learning English not as dry as learning Chinese? One of the main reasons is because of this need to memorise so many words.

MOE wants the Chinese language to be taught in a more lively, vibrant and interactive way. So out goes the vocab list. However, that leaves students in a lurch because they don't know how to study for Chinese and they hate reading Chinese newspapers and story books.

This is how I would study for Chinese now, given the cataclysmic changes to the syllabus that have left so many of you high and dry. I would NOT ditch my vocab book. I would still study it, although I may not want to laboriously memorise every single word. And I will accompany it with reading newspapers or story books. This may require come compulsion on my part. I will target to read 1 article a day first, and it will be something simple and manageable to start with.

Yew Ngee is right, if your vocab is very limited, then reading Chinese newspaper is super frustrating. So there is no way you should throw away your vocab book and still hope to read a piece of Chinese article. That means your 9 years invested in learning and memorizing the vocab are not wasted! Don't believe what other people tell you that you have been utterly taken for a ride. How can learning words that form the core components of a language be considered useless?

Not everyone is adept at bilingualism. LKY's journey in learning Chinese is not typical of everyone. I struggled with CL1 (Chinese as 1st Language) in my first 2 years of secondary school. The rote memorization almost killed me. (We had to memorize chi yu and the cheng yu zi dian!) I have read fewer than 5 Chinese novels in my whole life and I don't listen to Mandarin pop songs. I read Lianhe Zaobao only to do newspaper cutting. But I watched the Chinese news on TV everyday. It was only in Sec 4 that I saw some improvements in my Chinese grades. Looking back now, if I had not been forced to memorize the chiyu and cheng yu, I wouldn't be able to appreciate watching the Chinese news so much as the language used would be beyond me. I eventually scored an A2 for Chinese. A nice reward, in spite of the many frustrations.

Having said this, my experience may be unique. Maybe I'm strong in language learning. I see my daughter struggle with tingsie and reading and I have many many gripes about how Chinese is being taught now. But I tell myself that in the worst case scenario, she will do CLB. I see no shame in doing that because I really don't think everyone is cut out to be effectively bilingual. My bigger hope is that the planners in MOE will study this issue in greater depth and find a solution to make learning Chinese less painful.

************************

We can have a class discussion on this so that we get to hear from the others how they deal with this problem. Our system is definitely not perfect, and I am glad you are finding your voice in articulating your feelings. I hope you won't feel defeated already though. There is still a light at the end of the tunnel. So lets all help one another to find it.

Recommendations

2006-02-25T14:06:00.000+08:00

Do go and read Justin's blog entry about dealing with failure.

Nice, reflective piece. Justin: I wish you'd write more often. You have a really quiet, gentle and introspective spirit which I admire. :)

Secondly, anyone contemplating a career as a doctor should read about the pros and cons of being a doctor, from one of my favourite blogger, tscd.

Happy weekend reading!

A teacher's fear

2006-02-25T13:09:00.000+08:00

Last night, a sudden fear gripped me.

That when I turn 50, and am unable to play a decent game of tennis or badminton with my students anymore, or wear trendy clothes, or listen to pop songs that teens like, will my students still like me?

Will they bother to check out my blog? Will I be become, in their eyes, an ancient relic, someone they can easily dismiss, as being too uncool to associate with? Will I cease to be relevant to them?

Do teachers have a short shelf life?

A new toy!

2006-02-23T22:02:00.000+08:00

Just when I was going to close my blog and do some serious work, my husband put something on my table and said, "This is for you."

I have just become the proud owner of an I-Dog.

I don't know how it sounds like yet but I'll try it soon. The geek in me can't wait. But my work beckons. So stay tuned. Woof woof!

I need this!

2006-02-23T21:16:00.000+08:00

Two straight days of playing tennis with people less than half my age. What was I thinking of? I must be insane.

The last time I played tennis on consecutive days (actually it was twice a day) was, hmm...more than 10 years ago?

But, Mdm Sng is undaunted. Mdm Sng wants to lose weight, lest she gets mistaken for being pregnant - again - by her mother-in-law to boot. In fact, she's so determined to shed those extra pounds that she won't even complain when those students whom she played tennis with made her run like a mad puppy round the court. When those kilos vanish like vapour into thin air, she'll be strutting around the school like Naomi Campbell, in her new wardrobe of figure-hugging togs. This image of a new svelte me is so powerful I'm willing to pound the courts in the scorching sun and risk skin cancer, tennis elbow and heat exhaustion. Yes, there's a high price to pay for vanity!

But more than that, I enjoy the company. It is really funny to see some of you and your antics on the court. OK, I'm not laughing AT you. I'm laughing WITH you, and it is very very pleasant to spend the afternoon with students for a change (instead of the many meetings with teachers!). Oh, and some of your parents too. (Say hi to Mr Seah!)

And now, to fortify myself, I have just downed a bottle of chicken essence. Yes, need the extra boost and energy to fight the young guns in court tomorrow. Grr......watch out! Mdm Sng, middle-aged tennis warrior, is here to stay. Be afraid, be very afraid.

Nothing to blog about

2006-02-21T17:10:00.000+08:00

This is a post about nothing in particular since I can't really think of any major topic to blog about.

So why should I be blogging, you ask? Well, I'm trying to show you that even when there's nothing earth-shattering to blog about, you can still let your mind wander and sooner or later, something will come up.

Like now, yes, I just thought of something.

Do you think anyone in this class is keen to attend a talk given by a Nobel Prize laureate? I can't remember his name now because I'm not into this kind of thing you see, but someone I met this afternoon presented me with this proposal. Some big shot is coming to town, a very eminent scientist in fact. And he's going to give a talk, about the future of scientific research, and he's going to make it really layman so that even plebeians like me who barely understand static electricity can make sense of it. The talk is open to JC students and other interested members of the public, but because I was so kind as to entertain the organizer of the talk today, he said he could give us 5 tickets.

It's on 18 March. If any of you is interested, please let me know.

See, I've just blogged about something even though I started out saying I have nothing to blog about. Sometimes I amaze myself with insignificant skill such as this. *grin*

My happiness index...

2006-02-18T23:57:00.000+08:00

is going up at the moment cos there are some of you who are finally showing some signs of interest in playing games after school.

So lets get into action and not just talk.

This Thursday : see you Susilo-potentials at the badminton court. OK?
Just let me know if you have remedial and can only play later (4pm?). I'll get the nets from Potassium Hydroxide (hahaha! I'm very tickled by the names you gave to your teachers. I wonder what mine is?) and some rackets. But those of you who insist on premium rackets please bring your own ok (another PE teacher told me it will only make 5% difference to your play, so there's no need to show off your $500 racket really).

If anyone is keen to play tennis, my happiness index will triple! Just tell me when you want to play. Rackets and balls are provided FOC (unless you keep hitting the balls to the PIE, then I will make you replenish my supply with top grade competition balls!).

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On a side note, I was very insulted that Uni didn't think I knew what static electricity was the other day. Hallo?? Are English teachers clueless about Science?? I read Isaac Asimov and Carl Sagan ok?! I can also recite to you the 3 laws of robotics in my sleep ok? So don't pigeon-hole English teachers into Shakespeare-spouting, dictionary-touting airy-fairy bimbos. I am a rojak English teacher, a Jane of various trades, and hopefully semi-masters of a few disciplines. *Ahem*

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Nam just reminded me half the class are badminton club members. Gee, why didn't anyone say so? Well, if I get slaughtered on the courts, I will just take my revenge during English lessons. Heh heh heh.....

Mdm Sng gives tips

2006-02-16T16:00:00.000+08:00

Mdm Sng has just finished a game of badminton in school and with adrenaline pumping furiously and the blood rising rapidly to her face and hopefully to her brains, she is now ready to give tips (since Nacrasis asked for tips for improving compre).

Tips for making Mdm Sng happy : play badminton or tennis with her after school. So you think you are very stressed out? And you think I am not? Ever wonder why I love racket games? Because I get to wield a weapon of mass destruction and slam/smash/whack the ball/shuttlecock into my opponent's face/body/unmentionables. It is very cathartic for the soul. A great stress-reliever. And at the end of the game, if my opponent is decimated and humiliated, I feel a deep sense of delirium coursing through my veins. (If I lose the game, it'll just spur me to be more aggressive the next round.)

And now for the boring stuff.

Tips for scoring in comprehension:
1) Read, read, read. And not just a diet of thrillers if that's your favourite. Read newspaper articles, read National Geographic (especially the mountain expeditions, jungle trekking, river crossing stories cos for some strange reasons the O level setters seem to like such topics), read Time/Newsweek/Economist, read the Life section, read the Saturday & Sunday papers. Read for knowledge, read for enjoyment, read to show off to your friends, read so that you can think more clearly. Just read like you need to eat. Fill your mind with ideas, words, be consumed with such profundity and vastness of thoughts that your senses are so titillated and challenged that you are not willing to settle for mere mediocrity and simple-mindedness of thought and paralysing parochialism.

2) When you're truly able to do (1), then the comprehension passage that you encounter is not so daunting any more.

3) Look through past years' papers. Read all the comprehension passages to get a feel of the types of text that are likely to appear in the exams. Go through the questions, there are only so many types of questions they can ask you -- factual, inferential, vocab, irony. If you can understand the passage, then you can handle the questions.

4) Expand your vocabulary. I am still learning new words now. So how can you stop learning or think that what you know now is enough? A paucity of vocabulary actually leads to poverty of thought. You need a good command of language to think more clearly, more vividly and more profoundly.

5) Practise doing summary (since it takes up 50% of the total marks). Learn to extract relevant information and then put them together in continuous prose. Summary skill is actually one of the most useful skills you would need in your life. If you cannot extract information and present them succintly, you will write trashy, long-winded reports and make boring presentations in future when you work. So it is worthwhile investing time to master this skill.

Tips for surviving your O level year:
Work hard, play hard. And help one another. There is strength in numbers. Build up your class spirit and then you'll find studying quite fun. Believe me! Mdm Sng doesn't lie (although sometimes she tells white lies - which I hope you know what it means because some of you did not understand the phrase and wrote out of point in your test! - but she has very pure intentions!).

*Bonus* Tips for 4D:
6250. Which is the percentage of distinctions that your predecessors scored for EL last year. 62.5% ah! How, scary target to beat right?

My adrenaline's dropping now, so it's a sign to go home. Talk to you in class tomorrow.

Mdm Sng rambles...

2006-02-14T16:48:00.000+08:00

It's Valentine's Day and I have a bit of time before my *ahem* hot date tonight so I shall sit here in school and type out some of my rambling thoughts.

Oh, I'm sure the nosey ones among you will ask what my hot date is about. Well, it's dinner with my husband, and my daughter. She insisted on not being left out, even though I had told her she could only celebrate Valentine Day if she has a boyfriend. Maybe she'll surprised me later by bringing a partner?? Who knows? Kids nowadays...

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Those of you who stayed back last Friday to witness the chaotic scene in the hall, I wonder what you were thinking when you saw those who were shrieking with joy, and those who were cursing under their breath when they realised they couldn't go anywhere with their O level results.

I watched the drama unfolding before me with mixed feelings. There was euphoria when I saw the students I personally knew doing very well. Then there were some who didn't and I was torn between giving them a comforting arm around the shoulders and telling them it's OK, they can try again, or just being silent because there really is nothing a teacher can do at this point. All the encouraging, teaching, advising, and yes, even the nagging, had been done last year. Our energy has been expended to the best of our abilities already. And if a student cannot bring himself to work towards his goal, or worse still, has no goal at all in mind, what more can a teacher do?

Anyway, I was very very pleased with my English class last year. They achieved way beyond my expectations. I can't explain their sterling results. I think it's got to do with their class spirit, as well as their individual efforts. They were a very close-knit class, and somehow that helped to spur every member to aim for the sky.

That's why I believe doing well in studies is not merely an individualistic effort. When it's done communally, the results can be pretty astounding. Hence I urge you all to share, to encourage, to lift up those who are weak. Then when everyone does well, you'll have a fabulous reason to celebrate.

Next year, this time, I want to see you all bring the roof down. And saying you have ALL made it, and no one is left behind. Can?

Music in your blogs

2006-02-05T18:24:00.000+08:00

F41 bloggers:

I saw that more of you have uploaded music in your blogs. Perhaps you should read this and then decide if you should take down those music.

I'm not trying to be a wek blanket here but just trying to help you save your hongbao money for more meaningful things than to pay fines! From the article, it doesn't seem like the law is in effect yet. But why wait till you get a warning letter?

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I had a CNY gathering with my ex-secondary school mates and we all agreed that the best years of our lives were our secondary school years. I hope you all will experience the same good times that I've had. It's hard to explain such things to you and you'd probably think I'm being sentimental, but it's not easy to make close friends in JC/poly/university/office. Somehow, the environment in these places are not conducive for forming close friendship.

So treasure your last 10 months here. Study hard, play hard, laugh a lot. Don't get hung up on petty things. Then you'll be able to look back on your secondary school years, and reminisce over the good old GM days.

Look at the date!

2006-02-02T17:17:00.000+08:00

Oh dear, it's February already!

I can't believe it. How time dashes past you, while you are busy marking scripts, preparing lessons, attending meetings, shopping, hanging the laundry and doing all sorts of mundane activities.

Some thoughts about the past month :

1. My daughter says she doesn't like her new form teacher because "she's old". What??!! I almost fell off my chair. Why do students like only teachers who are young? What will happen to me when I'm (gulp!) old? Will I still have students who like me or will they just grudgingly put up with me and my unsteady hands, wobbly knees and quaky voice? When is my shelf life over?

2. I actually like all the visiting during Chinese New Year. In fact, I look forward to it more and more. Must be a sign of old age (oh dear. See (1) above). It doesn't even bug me that the more visiting I do, the more ang pows I have to distribute. I just love meeting my relatives, cousins, cousins' kids, old friends and colleagues.

3. I am still as slow in my marking as before. I just never seem to improve. So students, you must must be patient with me ok. I cannot mark fast. I cannot overlook all the itsy bitsy grammatical mistakes you make in your essays. I must underline them, and make a note, and think about whether these affect your final grade. I don't know how to take short cuts in such things.

Soon, February will whizz by and it'll be March hols again! Come, Bintan come!
(Yes, I've started planning for my next break. Talk about kan-jiong!)

Little miracles

2006-01-08T15:58:00.000+08:00

I figured I'd better post something fast, or some of you may think my blog's only alive during school holidays.

I can understand once school starts, you get so overwhelmed with work and then your blog just dies a natural death. Well, perhaps I'd show you by example, that it doesn't have to be. If I, a full-time working mother of one, can maintain 2 blogs (yep, I've got one more that's a lot more personal), then surely you young ones with loads more energy and black hair than me, can do the same, if not better.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I want to take this chance to say how wonderful it is when students show up unexpectedly and offer their help. I was busy with the Sec 1 Orientation, and my usual support for this event came from the Sec 1 Pals. But there was just this one task that I felt I couldn't get my Pals to help me. I didn't have time to brief them and I figured they would be so exhausted after the full day Sec 1 Camp on Friday.

But lo and behold, 3 students from H52 showed up and asked me if there was anything they could help me with. I couldn't believe my ears! I asked them if they would not want to study for their Headstart tests. They said don't worry, they could handle it. So I gave them the little task that I was agonising over, still not daring to believe that my prayer had been answered.

* * * * * * * * * * * *
On the day of the Sec 1 Camp, my daughter was ill. I couldn't take the day off to look after her so had to get my mother to come over and take care of her. I discovered later that not only did my mother go over to my place, my mother-in-law was there too. And they stayed all the way till 9.30pm when I went home.
And the two older women also took it upon themselves to do some of my housework. So I got home to find my laundry washed, ironing done, fridge cleaned. Amazing! I was so touched by their thoughtfulness.

Sometimes, you ask for a small thing from God, and He gives you abundantly above all that you ever ask for. I am still speechless with gratitude. :)

Serious business

2005-12-28T20:56:00.000+08:00

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

2005-12-21T11:29:00.000+08:00

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....

2005-12-05T17:10:00.000+08:00

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

2005-12-03T12:26:00.000+08:00

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?

2005-12-03T11:12:00.000+08:00

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?

On This Day

2005-11-29T16:32:00.000+08:00

En Yeow's latest post warrants a visit. What a novel way to think about your birthday!

My interest is piqued and I did on search on my birthday at wikipedia as well and came up with these :

22 July - on this day :

* Gregor Mendel, the Austrian geneticist was born;
* Gustav Ludwig Hertz, physicist and Nobel laureate was born;
* so was fashion designer Oscar de la Renta.

- Sadam Hussein's 2 sons Uday and Qusay died.

* mathematicians remember it as the Pi Approximation Day, which is the day the earth completes 2 astronomical units of its annual orbit. On this day the total length of Earth's orbit, divided by the length already traveled, equals π. (source: wikipedia)
* Wiley Post becomes first person to fly solo around the world traveling 15,596 miles in 7 days, 18 hours and 45 minutes;
* 1942 - Holocaust: The systematic deportation of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto begins.
* 2005 - Microsoft releases the final name for its next-gen operating system, Longhorn. The name will be "Windows Vista".

Why not do a search for your birthday?

Thinking about the news

2005-11-29T15:55:00.000+08:00

I hope you have been reading the newspapers cos there are several significant happenings recently. Such as :

1) Dec 2 hanging of Australian-Vietnamese Ngyuen for drug trafficking. Justin has written a thoughtful post about the 2 points of view surrounding this issue. Will Singapore-Australia diplomatic relations be severely affected by this? Do you think Singapore should re-consider its stance on capital punishment?

2) Satisfaction survey of bus commuters reveal people are still vastly unhappy about the long waiting time for public buses and infrequent services. The same 2 complaints were revealed in a similar study 2 years ago. Nothing has changed, it appears. So do survey for what?

3) The multi-million dollar plan to transform East Coast Park (ECP) into a major entertainment centre. Some people are crying for the government to stop the nonsense and leave ECP the way it is. Do we need another mini-Sentosa or theme park? Remember how Chinatown is 'transformed' and now becomes another sterile, artificial tourist trap?

4) Local men can now choose a Vietnamese bride by going to a matchmaking agency who brings in virgin girls from Vietnam for potential customers to view in a showcase. The girls have 14 days in Singapore to 'catch' a customer, failing which they have to return to Vietnam, husband-less. What does this say about the status of women? About Singapore men? About the matchmaking agency?

What do you think about these events?

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On a separate note, some comments for the following people:

EnYeow: My comments didn't show up in your last 2 posts. Please check your coding.
Victor: The flash animation takes forever to load and when it does, the song just goes on and on. I am unable to post on your tagboard while the song is playing.
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Question: Who plays tennis in this class? We should have a game or two soon!
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Holiday in Malaysia

2005-11-25T02:00:00.000+08:00

I thought I could perhaps be lazy, and not post the photos from my recent short holiday. But Uni just wouldn't stop nagging so here they are. See if you can guess where this place is.

This was what I saw outside my room every morning.

And here's my angel in the garden.

Early morning walk:

My experimentation with the Macro function of my camera:

Someone came to visit :

If you still don't know where this is, maybe this will help.
So where did Mdm Sng go for her holiday?

Pit Stop

2005-11-24T09:30:00.000+08:00

This week's going to be a busy week for me cos:
- have just been totally overwhelmed by the amount of work I need to do before I go for my longer trip in Dec;
- there are several farewell treats for colleagues (some of your teachers are leaving if you still don't know);
- a wedding to attend (Mr Ha's);
- Sitec exhibition (just drew up my To Buy list this morning);
- textbooks & new uniform to buy for my daughter.

So I'll do a quick review of what's happening in the F41 blogosphere :
* Most of you have started your blogs and that's made me really really happy :).
* I especially like Letty's blog, because of the lovely pictures and thoughtful posts. I'll give an award to Uni for his indefatigable effort in updating his blog and writing his essays as well. Also another award to Justin for the gentlemanly touch in his blog. Li Hua gets my vote for being the "Gushiest" blog! See how she gushes over Daniel Radcliffe and the other hunks in her life. Song Ying wins the Chattiest Blog Award (can you talk more in English class too? :) ).
* I'm still missing some people, whom I won't publicly 'shame' here but can some of you help do some 'butt-kicking' and get your friends to hop on the bandwagon soon? If they don't have computers at home, be a good friend la and invite them to your house to use your computer.

By the way, we have been cited in another blog. Isn't it exciting to be 'discovered' by other people? I'm sure there are other teachers who are doing this blogging thing with their students so I don't know why I'm being singled out. But know this ah -- if I'm going down, I'm taking you all with me! Muah ha ha ha.....(ok ok, just joking. Seriously, nothing will happen if we don't do anything silly. Mdm Sng will protect you like a mother hen.)

That's all for now. Keep blogging & have fun!

Think about this #1

2005-11-22T23:40:00.000+08:00

My camera's charging and I'm too lazy to upload my photos and talk about my Malaysia trip now. So I shall blog about an entry from Joyce's blog.

About the Malay man who had died while retrieving his fish trap. The same man who was an expert scuba-diver and who had once saved someone from drowning. How and why could this happen? Joyce pondered about the frailties of life and honestly, I felt the same way too when I read this news. And also news about the family in southern Thailand who were brutally gunned down (adults, children and all) by terrorists because the father decided to quit the group.

There are 2 ways to live one's life, 2 ways to look at life, both exemplified by the 2 poems I'll share with you below:

Poem 1: Solitude (by Ella Wheeler Wilcox)
Rejoice, and men will seek you;
Grieve, and they turn and go.
They want full measure of all your pleasure,
But they do not need your woe.
Be glad, and your friends are many;
Be sad, and you lose them all, --
There are none to decline your nectared wine,
But alone you must drink life's gall.

Poem 2: If I Can Stop One Heart from Breaking (by Emily Dickinson)
If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one faintin robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.

* * * *
I believe Mr Abdul Khalid Talib lived his life the second way. May he rest in peace.

I believe you can choose to live your life in solitude, like Poem #1, and see life as thankless, vanity of vanities and a curse in which we must live out. Or you can choose not to live it in vain. What do you think?

She did it!

2005-11-22T21:02:00.000+08:00

I'm back from my short holiday (details in another post coming up).

But first, let me boast a little about my daughter's latest exploit. I am very encouraged by your positive responses to my P1 exam results. I try very very hard not to be the typical kiasu parent, but believe me it is very hard to stay away from the maddening crowd in Singapore.

Anyway, the reason I'm delirious now is because my daughter has just completed her very first Sudoku puzzle!!

Yes yes yes! Thunderous applause please! It is a kid's version - 4 x 4 grid for a start, which will get progressively more challenging. But I am bullish about her logical thinking skills. Because 2 days ago, she cracked a Mastermind code in 4 steps. You should have seen my jaw drop when she coolly placed all the correct coloured pegs on the game board. Bravo! Encore! Pass me the champagne!

So, who cares about her SA2 results? I think she's got potential. Just you wait and see...

Sobering numbers

2005-11-18T11:30:00.000+08:00

Seeing as this class is full of maths whizs, I assume you love numbers and such.

Here's a look at the sobering truth behind numbers in real life. Click this. The blogger is a Singaporean doctor working in the U.K. Her blogs are really good.

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Another truth about numbers -- my daughter's P1 SA2 results. All bands 2 & 3. She wasn't streamed to the best class in P2 where they channel all the maths hot shots to. Am I disappointed?? Nah. She's talented in other ways, like art (which unfortunately won't help her make a living in Singapore but I'll worry about that later).

At the Meet the Parents session at her school yesterday, I heard a parent asking another parent the overall % score for her child. For heaven's sake, why must parents do inane things like that? Sigh....

Survey #1

2005-11-16T22:20:00.000+08:00

OK, students of F41, I found a sampling of these questions from another blog and thought I'll invite you all to answer these questions so that we get to know one another even better. Please post the answers on your blog. I'll do mine here:

Please list, as honestly as you can:

1) 5 things I plan to do before I die
* serve as a humanitarian aid worker in a 3rd world country
* be famous
* visit Europe
* learn to play another musical instrument besides the guitar
* blog in Chinese!

2) 5 things I can do well
* write (in English)
* play most racket games
* make friends
* entertain my daughter
* play Boggle

3) 5 things I cannot do well
* play an instrument by ear
* public speaking
* cook
* jog
* be patient with idiotic people

4) 5 things that attract me to other people
* my frankness
* my easy-going nature
* can talk about almost anything under the sun
* my love of food
* sense of humour

5) 5 things I say most often
* Shit
* Wa lao
* Excuse me?
* What the fish?
* You love me or not? (to my daughter, not my husband!)

6) 5 celebrity crushes
* Jude Law
* Robbie Williams
* Pierce Brosnan
* Srichapan Paradorn (Thai tennis player)
* Andre Agassi

It's now your turn. I'll check everyday for your entries!

Flurry of Blogs!

2005-11-16T21:33:00.000+08:00

Today several people have started up their blogs, probably remembering my deadline of 20 Nov! I am glad to see more activity and I really hope blogging will grow on you and you will continue to do it even after you've left secondary school.

Tobie's & En Yeow's blogs have got photos on them, which makes their blogs quite nice aesthetically. A picture says a thousand words, no?

I will be out of action from 19-21 Nov cos I'm off to Malaysia with some friends. These are people whom I met in my NUS days and were in the same church as me. I hope to take some cool pictures and post them on this blog. If you don't see any eventually, it's probably because Mdm Sng turns out really ugly in the photos and she's a rather vain teacher so cannot embarrass herself in front of her students.

Do remind your friends who haven't started their blogs to do so soon. I am waiting!!!

How to spend your afternoons

2005-11-14T10:16:00.000+08:00

OK, I know you still have Biology lessons this week although I'm not sure how long the 'torture' is going to last (how many days this week?). So I'm suggesting a de-stress activity that anyone of you can enjoy.

After your Biology class, take bus 65 to Orchard Road and go to Wheelock Place.

Then let your breath be taken away by the incredibly beautiful photos of Yann Arthus-Bertrand lining the walkways of Wheelock Place, all the way to Paragon.
It doesn't matter if you are not the artistic, sentimental, or creative sort. I seriously don't think any human being can look at the photos and not be enthralled by the sheer beauty of nature and humanity.

If you have a camera with you, take a shot of your favourite pic and write/blog about how the photo has moved you.

I'm going to take a second stroll there, this time with my camera.

"Mouse Loves Big Rice"

2005-11-11T10:53:00.000+08:00

That is the literal translation of the lao shu ai da mi song that my daughter is now crazy over. Turns out that her school has taught her certain dance steps to the song and she can't wait to show them to me.

So last night I bought her the CD. And from 10.30 pm to 11.00 pm, we listened to the original, ballad, acoustic, dance, extended dance, club, extended club and karaoke versions of the same song. Yes, I'm not kidding.

That's not the worst part. She wanted me to dance with her. So, with the curtains drawn (in case students from the next block caught Mdm Sng dancing!), we danced ourselves silly. She taught me some steps and I improvised some.

It was a great time of bonding, although I felt quite silly initially. She was so obsessed with Guo Mei Mei now she slept with the CD cover next to her.

So now you know, Mdm Sng is quite capable of doing strange things in her house. I hope you'll still respect me.

The Ball Has Started Rolling....

2005-11-08T20:53:00.000+08:00

So first off the blocks (blog) is Yew Ngee. Everyone clap!!!

Thank you Nacrasis (what exactly does it mean?) for your enthusiasm. Please check out his blog and give him a hard time (I'm just joking). Actually, lets be really civil and gracious and give good input to one another's blogs and you'll experience what it's like to rise above all the childish bitching you see in many teenagers' blogs and have mature, thought-provoking discussions. I have faith that the students of F41 can do that.

From time to time, I would refer you to good blogs that I've come across. Remember what I said about good input? Garbage in, garbage out, that's another of my mantra. So feed your mind with good stuff and you will be able to produce good stuff.

Meanwhile, I patiently wait for the rest of you to jump in the bandwagon to start our journey towards Blogland.

Young or Old

2005-11-07T22:09:00.000+08:00

I found this poem, which I thought encapsulates what I really should be thinking about, rather than to be so fearful of yet another year and consequently triggering another franctic trip to Sasa to stock up on anti-aging cream. For you students, do remind yourself of this too:

HOW OLD ARE YOU?

Age is a quality of mind.
If you have left your dreams behind,
If hope is cold,
If you no longer look ahead,
If your ambitions' fires are dead --
Then you are old.
But if from whom life you take the best,
If in life you keep the jest,
If love you hold;
No matter how the years go by,
No matter how the birthdays fly --
You are not old.

H.S. Fritsch

Step in and write!

2005-11-07T21:47:00.000+08:00

This blog is meant for me to not only keep in touch with my students, but having recently discovered the joy of blogging (I have a personal blog elsewhere in cyberspace), I would like to encourage my students to embrace this new facet of writing, of leaving traces of yourself, your life, thoughts and inspirations in the virtual world and share them with others.

Not too long ago, certain students in other schools have been chastised by their school for flaming their teachers in their blogs. I would like to believe that my students are above such juvenile antics. Hence I would like you to take the time to write meaningful entries in your blog. What you write reflects the kind of person you are. So you are the best person to decide how you want people to see you.

F41 students: please remember to SMS/email me your blog URL (include your real name as well) so that I can visit your blog and leave comments in there.

I hope you will have as great an experience blogging as I have. Write away folks!