Painful Siah!

It was a Wednesday morning. I was preparing to go to school. Putting my stuff on the shoe rack just outside the door, I was slow in retracting my other hand which was still at the door. The closing door decided to close in on my right hand since my reflexes weren't fully operational yet. As a result, the last 2nd finger of my right hand was caught between the door and the door frame. The price paid was a throbbing pain in the joint nearest to the palm. Till today, it continues to remind me...

Da Crunch

It's the time of the term again. In the staff room, you see colleagues buried in piles of test papers and assignments and students slipping in pieces of work that should have been submitted eons ago. Well, the deadline for all work is almost closed, so those out there who still owe work, SUBMIT NOW!

Tagboard Up & Running

After some "complaints" and "requests", the tagboard has been set up after some hassle. Well, html isn't exactly my forte, though one can learn if he puts his mind to it. Now I've finally set up the tagboard, so...

Readers, do leave words of encouragement for me, your frens or others in the tagboard!

Calling each other names is not acceptable.

Do leave your name so that I know who left the message. (eg. - Xxxx Yyyy)

Q: How do you know exam fever is coming?

A: When a lot of teachers and students start getting sick just before mid-year & end-of-year exams. When you see teachers piling up a lot of revision exercises and tests, when teachers frantically rushing to finish syllabus, when more teachers flare up easily, you know exam fever is near. However, symptoms are not always apparent in students, as some are obsevered to be cool and still play soccer/basketball till 5pm, some are frantically studying and some are still wasting time talking in class because of boredom, you know that students have varying levels of exam fever.

It's all worth it!

Have come across a few students who made me feel that teachers' efforts were worth it:

Scenario 1
When I was revising Chinese Functional Writing with my form class in preparation for their prelims, Jia Ren actually took the initiative to come up and ask me the format. Maybe some might think, wah, now still dunno the format. Well, I feel it's encouraging as he's taking responsibility for his studies. However late, however little, even such a short moment of the student showing interest is reason enough for me to try my best to help him. :)

Scenario 2
When I was giving Chinese Class Test 4 to my 2E3, the students came back from English lesson in the Comp lab and were late. I started without delay, but the students knew that there wasn't enough time as it was the comprehension part. Some were clamouring to continue the test after school, but my decision was an obvious no. Irwin, who's usually very energetic and talkative in class, told his classmates off as-a-matter-of-factly, "Shut up lah! It's our fault that we didn't rush back in time. So shut up and try to do!" True, he may not have expressed himself in the most cultured way, but the rest took it well and just went on to try their best to complete it.

Scenario 3
I was doing late night study duty on 21st Sept. Although only a small crowd of regulars turned up, it was what the students said that made me feel that hope is still there. Those who turned up indicated their wish for the school to continue the practice, and some purposely returned back to school just to add to the numbers and ensure that the school remains open for study. Also present were some students who were not expected. Ozy was sharing his awareness of his weakness in certain subjects, and I though it was brave and responsible for admitting to the wrongs. It's still not too late to turn back and make the last 100m sprint. Besides, it's always the effort that counts, so that when you look back, you know you did your best and have no regrets whatever the outcome may be.

Gambatte Ne! :)

Power Day (19/9/06)

Yes, 19th Sept was a power day for me. Why? Well, the day started off just like any other day till I received a phone call requesting for my help to start the paper at 9:15am. In case you readers don't know, the Dean does not have to start every paper. In fact, we usually don't start the papers. Such invigilation duties depend on our timetable and middle management are usually not heavily involved in view of our other administrative duties.
Ok, back to starting the paper. It was nearly time when I collected the papers and rushed to the hall. Upon settling the students, I proceeded to distribute the writing papers. Instead of 5 invigilators, 1 for each class present, there were only 2. Well, I was aware that 2 of the 3 late invigilators were having lessons before the start of the paper, so I didn't delay the starting time. After distributing the writing paper for 3 classes, I started giving out the question paper for 3 classes before the cavalry arrives. I think the students were slightly amused by the fact that I was running acorss the hall as they felt the thumping of my footsteps. Maybe it doesn't sound anything great, but being able to start a paper for 205 candidates is not something everyone can do in such a short time and calmly. I guess it's my way of making myself feel better about myself. :)

Show Your Appreciation

After I was born till I attended kindergarten 1, I was taken care of by my 2nd aunt. When I attended kindergarten lessons, my aunt would always buy a tube of White Rabbit Candy (it came in a square tube many years ago). After lessons, her husband would then fetch me and buy me a meat bun to go with a glass of Milo for afternoon tea. When I grew older, I started playing toy cars and my aunt would always buy a new car for me once in a while. Then I went on to action figurines of He-Man: Master of the Universe.

I remember that when I was in Primary 4, my uncle passed away, leaving my 2nd aunt with 5 children who were in their early 20s. The only way I knew to repay their care was to empty my entire piggybank of coins and write a note to indicate my intention to help their finances. I still remembered that I carried the coins in my pockets and the note was written on a sheet of paper from an exercise book. Of course, the small savings I had then wouldn't make matters better, but that was the only way I knew to show my appreciation.

Now that I'm working, I do give a red packet to my aunt every Lunar New Year. I also buy Christmas gifts for my aunt and even "MCed" for my cousin's wedding. In some ways, my aunt viewed me as half a son and I see her as half a mother.

Children nowadays lead a better life where most things are provided for. The only thing that's sorely lacking is quality time with their family members. Would youths of today do what I did so many years ago? Would teenagers show their appreciation for those who have helped them at 1 stage of their life? Time will tell...

Readers out there, remember those who care for you. Although their methods may not suit your tastes, I'm sure most family members do love you very much. The only problem is they don't know how to love you the way you want it to be. Maybe it's time you show open yourselves and invite them into your world. Even if they don't like it, at least let them know how you feel and how much they mean to you.

You mean the September holidays are over?

In Chinese essays, we always say time passes within a blink of an eye. Well, I feel that's the case for the September holidays. Let me do a re-cap:

Mon - Sharing Session at Cheung Cheng High @ Paya Lebar in the morning. Back to school in the afternoon for CO Pipa Course and some exam matters.

Tue - Back to school for Percussion Course and doing some admin work. Attend Sec 2 Leadership Camp overnight @ Costa Sand Resort in East Coast Park.

Wed - Brought the Sec 2 leaders back to the west, return to school to do some admin work for the China trip.

Thur - Back to school for a short while to pick up stuff and then go off for lunch with friend.

Fri - Meeting from 8:30am to 6:10pm. Need I say more?

Sat - Met with my friend to explore some boardgames. Met my army friends for our quarterly coffee gathering.

Sun - Did some sorting of my stuff and also some school work. Also helping to resolve some problems that my relatives are encountering.

Then it's back to school. And I will be facing a pile of papers as I will be involved in marking the Sec 4E SA2 papers, so that's non-stop action for me liao... I do believe my students ARE having a better time than me. At least they don't come to school everyday during the holidays.

There and Back Again Part II

Other than my sickness, there has been something else that has been recurring for quite some time. I've just gotten a rose-red Motorola Razer V3 in July. But it was only until August that I truly started using it as it took quite some time to transfer the handphone numbers stored in the previous Nokia phone phone memory over to the new phone.

Diaster struck on the morning of 6th August. My handphone received no signal while I was in the middle of a call. Left with no choice, I had to revert back to my Nokia phone for the time being. After sending the Motorola phone for repairs at Plaza Singapura, it seemed that they simply did a software update for the phone. However, it didn't solve the problem. It was only until I sent it for repairs for the 2nd time that they decided to change the entire motherboard of the phone. Now, the phone works as it should be. I only pray that the ciruits inside last for a full 2 years.