Choices

The time of the year has come again. And it is the period when the MOE Edusave Awards are being presented to students based on their 2014 academic results.

I was at one of the RC centres this evening, doing my part as an emcee, sharing the joy with the recipients.

I would like to share this meaningful story which I heard during the address by the Guest of Honor.

There was once lived an old wise man & his mischievous disciple.
One day, the mischievous disciple caught a bird. With his hands closed, there was little space for the bird to move, except for a little hole just enough for the bird to ventilate. The boy, thinking that he might be able to trick the wise man, asked the wise man: "sir, do you think the bird is alive or dead?"
The wise old man thought to himself: "If I were to tell the boy that the bird is alive, he would crush it & prove me wrong. If I were to tell the boy that the bird is dead, he would release it & prove wrong."

Hence, the wise man then said to him " the bird is in your hand. It's your choice to let the bird live or die."

Thus, the disciple, feeling guilty,  opened his hand & let the bird free. He saw the bird soar like an eagle with awe.

The moral of the story is: the ball is our court. You have the choice to decide how you want your future to be, how you want Singapore to be 50 years down the road.

I quote "we are the young, the children of the world. We hold tomorrow in our hands. We are the young, the promise of A brighter day. The future waita at our command...."

Choose wisely, make the choice which you would not regret!

Read More

The Learning Curve

"The Learning Curve" is a telemovie that was broadcasted on Channel 5, Mediacorp TV on Friday, 23 Jan 2015. This movie is about teachers giving every student a second chance.

I am writing this article as a reflection of the movie.

How is a second chance important to each and everyone of us?

Students make mistakes in school, they get a second chance, sometimes third, fourth, fifth, etc. Teachers are there to teach, impart life lessons and most importantly, to build character. 4 years of secondary school education is a long time, enough for us to learn, make mistakes, learn from them again.

When teachers build character, it's for the students to do the right thing because it's right. And not because their teacher says "I need to do the right thing, so I do." They do the right thing because it's right and their moral values tell them "hey, it's right." They know how to differentiate right from wrong.

All of us learn from many different ways. Sometimes, we learn from our failures, sometimes we learn from others. When a certain incident hits us hard, we learn from it, give ourselves another chance, and we take a new action.

If someone trespass against us, do we give them a second chance and forgive them? Or, do we ignore them and break off all ties with them?

I quote the following:
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

Martin Luther King, Jr.

"The lesson is that you can still make mistakes and be forgiven."

Robert Downey, Jr.

Every student is a seed that can grow. As long as they are nurtured in a good environment, given space, and time to learn. Give others a second chance, for it might be a life changing one.

Lastly, I would like to invite you, my friends, to watch the following video.

The Learning Curve Episode 1

Read More

Why kids hate studying?

As kids, we have to go through the education system. They have to go to school, attend classes and sit for exams. Most of the time, parents have to supervise their kids in their studies. A small handful of kids will enjoy the studying process while most will end up having no motivation to study. Have you wondered why is this so?

I myself didn't enjoy the studying process. I hated school and had no motivation to study most of the time. The only motivation of going to school is that I could see my friends and have fun together. Because of poor results, my parents enrolled me in all sorts of tuition in order to improve my studies. I hated studying even more and dread the tuition classes after school. It did force me to get better results but I still wasn't the least interested in studying.

In secondary school, I met a very good Maths teacher. Good in a sense that he was always encouraging towards me and believed that I could do better. I failed maths since primary school and could not even do simple maths problem sums. This discouraged me so much that I keep believing that I would never do well in Maths. I was often kicked out of class in primary 4 because I did not do my Maths homework. It was until this Maths teacher I had in Secondary 2 that changed my perspective towards the subject. I had new hopes that I could do better. Not only did I believed that I could do better in Maths, I even believed that I could do better in my other subjects. This lead me to getting good progress awards for consecutive 2 years and finally got a B3 for Maths for my O levels. It was a drastic difference from the E8 and F9 I got in secondary 1. 

Why kids hate studying?

1. They can't see the purpose

Kids hate studying for various reasons. One main reason is they can't see the purpose of studying. Parents often tell their kids that if they don't study hard, they will end up as road sweepers etc. This doesn't work because deep down inside, parents know that some people who are not too educated still succeed in life. Kids can sense it too. Parents need to show their kids one thing - School is about loving learning, not just about results. 

2. They don't believe in themselves

There is no one person who is stupid. Only those who believe they are stupid will end up being stupid. Kids need to be encouraged. As adults, sometimes we also need inspiration and encouragement from others. It is more so important for kids. Believe in them that they can do better. 

3. Kids are explorers

Kids enjoy the learning process. They are always discovering new things in this world. Lead them on a journey to self discovery. Let them be fascinated in the world of education. The education world shouldn't be projected as some scary monsters that eats them up when they sit for exams. 

Let them learn through exploring. They will learn to solve problems by themselves. 

Here's a good video of what learning through exploring is all about:

Read More

Procrastinating now? Why not read this? ;)

Here are the common excuses that procrastinator make:

"I am so tired,  I shall do it tomorrow." 

"This is so difficult, I shall do it later."

"It's not really important, I shall do it next time."

"I have many things to do now..."

"There is still time to do this..."

"I do not have enough information about it..."

"I do not know how to do and where to start..."

Sounds familiar? 

We usually fail to realize that procrastination occurs way too much in our lives. When procrastination becomes a habit, we tend to make excuses subconsciously. 

The longer we wait, the worse it gets. 

Everyone has 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year. Yet, why some people are able to do more and do better? 

These people are not smarter, they just know how to make good use of their time. They understand that time is precious and when time goes by, it will never return. 

One good proverb: 岁月流逝，时光一去不复返

Always remember that:

 

Therefore, 

Simply, the best way to get something done is to begin! 

* Stay tune to the next post "How to overcome procrastination?"

Read More

What's next after "O" levels?

The O level results will be released soon in 2 more days on 12 January 2015! Are you excited over it? Or are you worried, wanting to press the panic button?

No fret, as I will be sharing with you my experience as an O level student back then.

Sec 4 life for me was a bitter-sweet experience. As I juggled between 2 CCAs, orientation camps as a peer support leader & studies, I had to manage my time such that I would have sufficient time for revision daily. Being drilled by my teachers to be consistent in my work & to set goals, I typed out my goals & paste them in front of my study desk, on the glass of my bookshelf.
This allowes me to remind myself that I have to achieve that.

So.. What goals did I set for myself (to achieve for O levels)?
English: B3
A maths: a1
E maths: a1
Combined sci: a2
Pure geog: b3
Combined humanities: b3.
Chinese: no target set.

To be honest, I was failing my english since the start of the year. Hence, I had to attend intensive english tuition classes so that I would be able to pass english.

When the results came out, I did achieve some of my targets set, while deviating from it slightly. Here's what I got:
English: b3
A maths: a2
E maths: a2
Combined sci: a2
Combined humanities: b3
Pure geog: b3
Chinese: c6 in may, b4 in november.

I had my eyes set on going to a jc as I wanted to do mathematics at a higher level. Although the polytechnics had a phletora of courses, j didnt know what to choose. So, going to poly would be quite risky for me.

I selected CJC as my 1st 2 choices, TPJC as my 3rd & 4th. SRJC as my 5th. The rest, cant remember. Well, I got into SRJC when the JAE results were out..... (to be continued)

Read More

What's next after GCE "N" Levels?

It's been some time that the GCE "N" Level results have been released.

Let's look at the following pathways which you can take after N Levels.

Picture taken from: www.evergreensec.moe.edu.sg

First of all, you need to know where you want to go: whether to pursue a course at an ITE (Higher NITEC/NITEC), a course at a poly under the Polytechnic Foundation Programme, or to take the GCE "O" level examinations.

Take some time to reflect and decide on your future.

At the end of the day, what you decide now will affect where you will be and what you will do in the long run.

Secondly, do not choose a course just because your friends choose that particular course. It might be their interest, but this does not mean that it is your interest. Follow your heart and select the right course which you will not regret after embarking on your next phase of education.

If you were to take the GCE "O" level examinations, i.e . promote to sec 5, be prepared to work extremely hard because it would be a big jump from "N" levels to "O" levels. The questions will be more challenging that what you have gone through for "N" levels. Having a good foundation is thus an important start if you aim to sit for the "O" level examinations at the end of 5 years.

Last but not least, I wish you all the best in your future endeavors.

Read More