挂引封金辞汗相，寻兄遥望远途还。
马骑赤兔千里行，刀偃青龙出五关。
忠义慨然出宇宙，英雄从此震江山。
独行斩将应无敌，今古留题翰墨间。
31 October 2005
30 October 2005
手机与互联网
我有两个奇特的坏习惯：每逢醒来之时，我总是会翻查手机简讯。
这真是不健康的现象。
到了晚间，我总是不时地查看电子邮件信箱。这可谓极不正常吧？
其实除了紧急或工作之外，这两项科学奇迹是不是也造成了人与人之间的疏离，忽略了确切与实在的交流与沟通？
这真是不健康的现象。
到了晚间，我总是不时地查看电子邮件信箱。这可谓极不正常吧？
其实除了紧急或工作之外，这两项科学奇迹是不是也造成了人与人之间的疏离，忽略了确切与实在的交流与沟通？
20 October 2005
Yeah this is boring but oh well... its the best i can come up with
This is from "The Zahir" -- a book about this everyday thing (not living yet not dead this thing is) that is always haunting us... telling us about our regrets in not living our wildest dreams -- and one part of the book wrote about a very successful woman who had everything she ever wanted in her life.
She had a husband that she loves and who loves her back in return, but then felt that the 2 of them had lost something very important as time passed by; so she decides to go far away than to be slowly watch the marriage disintegrate.
She had everything in life and yet she was unhappy, although she could pretend that she was going through life pretending that this unhappiness didn't exist, she was afraid of falling into a depression whereby she would never emerge.
And yeah I do suppose that you guys might be asking what the hell is this story talking about… all the stuff so chim and so obscure… such a thing can happen in real life meh?
Haha much as I would to say, the story could have been fake. But it could also be real. And more importantly, I think what it has to teach us is a lot more real than many other things that we face in life.
I guess the main gist that Coelho (the author) was trying to tell us was that, how come someone who loves you so much can just leave you so suddenly? Is it that she dun love you? Is it due to other reasons that we could have never thought about? Are we too narrow-minded to accept what has unjustly happened on ourselves?
In this story, the author was very sure that his wife loves him and that he loves his wife very much in return. But he could not accept that fact that she left him without a word, and that has only left clues to him that she had gone to a faraway country to cover a war story. (she was a reporter)
She did not have to do that – her husband was very rich and that she could have lived the rest of her life feeling comfortable and obliged to please her husband, or to sacrificed her freedom and time for him… and live happily ever after --- but she did not do so.
She chose to cover a war story instead. She chose a job that could land herself into even death any minute. A job that could mean no proper sleep and meals and shelter but yet she chose to do the job. She says that soldiers live their lives to their very best each and every moment and she wants to experience how it was like to be so. She wanted to see if she could understand it all and then apply to her marriage and to the man that she loves.
So she embarked on that very fateful and sudden journey.
But before we ridicule her to be escaping reality, can we change our perspective and see that she is actually pursuing love? And that she wants the ultimate happiness for herself and the man that she loves? Even if it means that she will perish in the search for that highest love, at least she will die happy trying. She wants to return to her husband, that is why she was trying so hard to find a place to cover a war and to learn.. she wants to do it fast and to do it right.
She was pursuing for her forever.
She had a husband that she loves and who loves her back in return, but then felt that the 2 of them had lost something very important as time passed by; so she decides to go far away than to be slowly watch the marriage disintegrate.
She had everything in life and yet she was unhappy, although she could pretend that she was going through life pretending that this unhappiness didn't exist, she was afraid of falling into a depression whereby she would never emerge.
And yeah I do suppose that you guys might be asking what the hell is this story talking about… all the stuff so chim and so obscure… such a thing can happen in real life meh?
Haha much as I would to say, the story could have been fake. But it could also be real. And more importantly, I think what it has to teach us is a lot more real than many other things that we face in life.
I guess the main gist that Coelho (the author) was trying to tell us was that, how come someone who loves you so much can just leave you so suddenly? Is it that she dun love you? Is it due to other reasons that we could have never thought about? Are we too narrow-minded to accept what has unjustly happened on ourselves?
In this story, the author was very sure that his wife loves him and that he loves his wife very much in return. But he could not accept that fact that she left him without a word, and that has only left clues to him that she had gone to a faraway country to cover a war story. (she was a reporter)
She did not have to do that – her husband was very rich and that she could have lived the rest of her life feeling comfortable and obliged to please her husband, or to sacrificed her freedom and time for him… and live happily ever after --- but she did not do so.
She chose to cover a war story instead. She chose a job that could land herself into even death any minute. A job that could mean no proper sleep and meals and shelter but yet she chose to do the job. She says that soldiers live their lives to their very best each and every moment and she wants to experience how it was like to be so. She wanted to see if she could understand it all and then apply to her marriage and to the man that she loves.
So she embarked on that very fateful and sudden journey.
But before we ridicule her to be escaping reality, can we change our perspective and see that she is actually pursuing love? And that she wants the ultimate happiness for herself and the man that she loves? Even if it means that she will perish in the search for that highest love, at least she will die happy trying. She wants to return to her husband, that is why she was trying so hard to find a place to cover a war and to learn.. she wants to do it fast and to do it right.
She was pursuing for her forever.
17 October 2005
真诚
身边的人也许都觉得我是一个非常悲观的人吧？
但其实我觉得自己并非如此。我只是敢于解剖自己，勇于分享我心里的想法吧？就拿上一次写的东西而言，我觉得它不仅仅是一个道歉而已。那则留言代表了我不怕受制裁的真诚之心。
如果学生的成绩能够代表我的努力，那么今年也许我可算是非常成功吧？
再回想当初，如果那两位“骂”我的同学达至今年考试都还在我的“门下”，或许他们也不一定会考获坏成绩⋯⋯因为我敢断言，我时时刻刻都在进步，而对于让中四生能够考好成绩的能力来说，我还是相当有把握！
感谢支持我的朋友与同学，我会继续努力的！
：）
但其实我觉得自己并非如此。我只是敢于解剖自己，勇于分享我心里的想法吧？就拿上一次写的东西而言，我觉得它不仅仅是一个道歉而已。那则留言代表了我不怕受制裁的真诚之心。
如果学生的成绩能够代表我的努力，那么今年也许我可算是非常成功吧？
再回想当初，如果那两位“骂”我的同学达至今年考试都还在我的“门下”，或许他们也不一定会考获坏成绩⋯⋯因为我敢断言，我时时刻刻都在进步，而对于让中四生能够考好成绩的能力来说，我还是相当有把握！
感谢支持我的朋友与同学，我会继续努力的！
：）
14 October 2005
A Really Controversial Posting
Okie its late and i might be crazy to be doing this, but what the heck.
Tonight i had the chance to talk to someone about the incident as tagged by 安仔 and it is only now that i understand the complexity of the entire situation.
To make the really long story short, it was really a very simple affair. There was this really young graduate from the university who first joined the teaching fraternity in the year 2004 and got posted to his alma mater.
He was inexperienced and he had not a clue on how it was like to be teaching but yet he was made to take over a class as part of his teaching experience. Its absurd that such a thing should happen, as the poor class of whom he was teaching was to become the ultimate sacrifice in so that this young and inexperienced teacher could learn what teaching was all about.
Yet there was not any other way whereby he could have been made to learn.
So accidents happen and a lot of blunders later, the bad karma came back to him in the form of bad remarks and even nasty insults as was made know to him through word of mouth.
If it was in the past, this young and inexperienced teacher would have been very upset and will make it a point to quit the teaching service so as not to bring more harm to more students. But then, the present was not the way it was before.
He thought of the people he had seen; there are very capable people who could teach but chose to ruin or not care about their very own students (yes such people do exist, was seen in other schools) and came to the conclusion:
At least he was trying the best he could.
It was not the best that anyone could offer, it should be in fact quite "sucky" as most of the people in the poor class could have felt, but it was nevertheless the best the young teacher had to offer.
The worser thing is that this teacher did not even realise it until that incident in the hall that very fateful day. Many things go through in his head after that -- he still agrees that he is a sucky teacher, he still thinks his proficiency leaves much to be desired, and he is still trying to improve.
Words could only mean so much, some would say.
But yet when this young teacher thought back in retrospect, he felt that the very long hours that he had spent in the school, sometimes to an average of 12 hrs is proof enough of his trying.
But facts are facts and the truth is that he sucks. So the only thing that he can do now is to say sorry for the bad times that he had brought to the very unlucky class.
Now the teacher is still trying, and at the same time trying to look for signs for him to whether to continue in the service or not. Do let him know, approach him, be assured that he will not ridicule or scold, as he had done when the students in 4D had done. (In fact he liked that kind of "confrontation". [that meant feedback!])
As for now, the teacher can only carry on... and hope that his sincerity can move more people than turn them off.
I am that teacher. (haha i know its lame... but i think i am quite lame la... LOL)
Tonight i had the chance to talk to someone about the incident as tagged by 安仔 and it is only now that i understand the complexity of the entire situation.
To make the really long story short, it was really a very simple affair. There was this really young graduate from the university who first joined the teaching fraternity in the year 2004 and got posted to his alma mater.
He was inexperienced and he had not a clue on how it was like to be teaching but yet he was made to take over a class as part of his teaching experience. Its absurd that such a thing should happen, as the poor class of whom he was teaching was to become the ultimate sacrifice in so that this young and inexperienced teacher could learn what teaching was all about.
Yet there was not any other way whereby he could have been made to learn.
So accidents happen and a lot of blunders later, the bad karma came back to him in the form of bad remarks and even nasty insults as was made know to him through word of mouth.
If it was in the past, this young and inexperienced teacher would have been very upset and will make it a point to quit the teaching service so as not to bring more harm to more students. But then, the present was not the way it was before.
He thought of the people he had seen; there are very capable people who could teach but chose to ruin or not care about their very own students (yes such people do exist, was seen in other schools) and came to the conclusion:
At least he was trying the best he could.
It was not the best that anyone could offer, it should be in fact quite "sucky" as most of the people in the poor class could have felt, but it was nevertheless the best the young teacher had to offer.
The worser thing is that this teacher did not even realise it until that incident in the hall that very fateful day. Many things go through in his head after that -- he still agrees that he is a sucky teacher, he still thinks his proficiency leaves much to be desired, and he is still trying to improve.
Words could only mean so much, some would say.
But yet when this young teacher thought back in retrospect, he felt that the very long hours that he had spent in the school, sometimes to an average of 12 hrs is proof enough of his trying.
But facts are facts and the truth is that he sucks. So the only thing that he can do now is to say sorry for the bad times that he had brought to the very unlucky class.
Now the teacher is still trying, and at the same time trying to look for signs for him to whether to continue in the service or not. Do let him know, approach him, be assured that he will not ridicule or scold, as he had done when the students in 4D had done. (In fact he liked that kind of "confrontation". [that meant feedback!])
As for now, the teacher can only carry on... and hope that his sincerity can move more people than turn them off.
I am that teacher. (haha i know its lame... but i think i am quite lame la... LOL)
09 October 2005
I am Touched!
哇，安仔的话让我顿感欣慰！
其实虽然我知道大家都不善于发表自己的感情（男孩子嘛，对这种东西都会觉得肉麻，我也不例外），有时我仍然希望很多同学会对我说“老师，教师节快乐！”
哈哈，但是我知道以我的性格，与事情的局面看来，这是比较难发生的一件事。我想我也知道为什么有一些同学对我会有点讨厌（或是非常讨厌? ;p）因为事实是：我喜欢对学生大呼小叫。谁都不喜欢被吆喝吧？
就好像10月7日那一天，有几位 4D 的同学突然跑来找我。他们对我说：“Mr Chew why do you always like to shout at us?”
然后我回答：“Er.. shouting ah... maybe this is the fastest way to get things done?”
（他们好想不怎么相信我的解释）
"Actually you don't have to shout at us, you just have to tell us nicely, we will do it one."
对此我的回答是：“I am not Miss XXX XXX”
然后他们说：“its ok, anyway its the last day of school already”
然后这些勇敢的同学便跨步走回了自己的课室。
可能有人会觉得，怎么他们这么没礼貌？或者是，为什么这位老师这么不受欢迎？但当时在我脑海浮现的却是：现在的学生其实也勇于发表言论。这也许是我们现代教育的长处吧？高兴之余，我却也同意他们说的话，但更准确的来说，我觉得我有一点失职。
虽然我不是他们的级任老师，但也许我应该到 4D 去，跟他们说说喊他们的原因。但我并不后悔自己向他们发标，因为那几次的情况都不允许我好声好气的跟他们好好谈。
试问升旗礼 2 次的钟都响之后，我还能小小声、并沉稳的向他们说：同学们，你们该排队了吗？
也许我没把状况搞清楚，但当我看到中四的同学竟可以这样放荡不羁，公然对国家不敬，也不作好自己身为学长的榜样，那么学弟们又怎么能学好？我们又怎么能秉持什么仁义道德？
er... 我不知道安仔说的那些同学在我的背后说了写什么，而我也不在乎，但今天这个如此之长的 posting 其实还是冲着我的良心才须要发表的。(just in case you guys think i am feeling guilty but actually its my sense of duty that made me wanna post this) 所以 4C 的同学千万不要因此而大动干戈。不然等一下被捉不是很不划算吗？（说归说，我的心却为这次的事件而感到甜滋滋的⋯⋯因为我不是圣人，而是普通人，所以我心里非常的高兴smiles）
ok... 我应该搁笔了。This is a very naggy posting hor...
(oh my goodness.. this posting took me 45 mins.. okie i have to go sleep le... cya guys at the Leaver's ceremony... am going to miss you guys... haha i am not ah gua okie.. )
其实虽然我知道大家都不善于发表自己的感情（男孩子嘛，对这种东西都会觉得肉麻，我也不例外），有时我仍然希望很多同学会对我说“老师，教师节快乐！”
哈哈，但是我知道以我的性格，与事情的局面看来，这是比较难发生的一件事。我想我也知道为什么有一些同学对我会有点讨厌（或是非常讨厌? ;p）因为事实是：我喜欢对学生大呼小叫。谁都不喜欢被吆喝吧？
就好像10月7日那一天，有几位 4D 的同学突然跑来找我。他们对我说：“Mr Chew why do you always like to shout at us?”
然后我回答：“Er.. shouting ah... maybe this is the fastest way to get things done?”
（他们好想不怎么相信我的解释）
"Actually you don't have to shout at us, you just have to tell us nicely, we will do it one."
对此我的回答是：“I am not Miss XXX XXX”
然后他们说：“its ok, anyway its the last day of school already”
然后这些勇敢的同学便跨步走回了自己的课室。
可能有人会觉得，怎么他们这么没礼貌？或者是，为什么这位老师这么不受欢迎？但当时在我脑海浮现的却是：现在的学生其实也勇于发表言论。这也许是我们现代教育的长处吧？高兴之余，我却也同意他们说的话，但更准确的来说，我觉得我有一点失职。
虽然我不是他们的级任老师，但也许我应该到 4D 去，跟他们说说喊他们的原因。但我并不后悔自己向他们发标，因为那几次的情况都不允许我好声好气的跟他们好好谈。
试问升旗礼 2 次的钟都响之后，我还能小小声、并沉稳的向他们说：同学们，你们该排队了吗？
也许我没把状况搞清楚，但当我看到中四的同学竟可以这样放荡不羁，公然对国家不敬，也不作好自己身为学长的榜样，那么学弟们又怎么能学好？我们又怎么能秉持什么仁义道德？
er... 我不知道安仔说的那些同学在我的背后说了写什么，而我也不在乎，但今天这个如此之长的 posting 其实还是冲着我的良心才须要发表的。(just in case you guys think i am feeling guilty but actually its my sense of duty that made me wanna post this) 所以 4C 的同学千万不要因此而大动干戈。不然等一下被捉不是很不划算吗？（说归说，我的心却为这次的事件而感到甜滋滋的⋯⋯因为我不是圣人，而是普通人，所以我心里非常的高兴smiles）
ok... 我应该搁笔了。This is a very naggy posting hor...
(oh my goodness.. this posting took me 45 mins.. okie i have to go sleep le... cya guys at the Leaver's ceremony... am going to miss you guys... haha i am not ah gua okie.. )
06 October 2005
The Making of a Hero - Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President of the the Republic of Indonesia, Time Magazine, 10 Oct 2005
Mr Yudhoyono wrote in his article about his personal definition of heroes, and there are 2 kinds: heroes who shine in the face of great adversity and those who do their work unceremoniously, unnoticed by many of us, but who make a difference in the lives of others.
He talked about a certain army general by the name of Surdiman, who was a larger than life hero in the President's eyes in the then humble days, and another by the name Catur, who is a lieutenant-colonel in the town of Aceh hardest hit by the tsunami that swept across months back.
Catur risked his life time and time again to rescue survivors from the tsunami but was only hit by news of his perished family members. He was griefed but he stayed at his post, and spent the very same whole day guiding residents to safety.
Mr Yudhoyono met Mr Catur during his visit and the latter did not even mention anything to the president, and it was only later that Mr Yudhoyono found out about the matter from Mr Catur's peers.
Then it was the story of Miss Butet Manurung, a lady who embarked on a nearly-impossible goal of eradicating illiteracy among the isolated tribes of the Sumatran jungle.
Mr Yudhoyono had also met teachers who would walk tens of miles each day to reach their school - all for the meager reward of some $20 a month and no doubt of plenty of grief from their students.
Yet they make the journey every day.
So he posed the questions: what is a hero? Who is a hero? Is it the decorated general who leads his army to victory, or the unknown soldier quietly obeying his orders? Is it the researcher who finds a cure for cancer, or the country doctor treating the sick? Should a hero be one who saves thousands of lives, or who comforts just one?
What drives them?
Duty? Determination? Perseverance?
Doubtless that they do play their parts, but it is love thats ultimately pushes them. It was love - a love for education, a love of humanity - that sent Butet Manurung to the jungle, and keeps her there. Love - for their fellow students - makes bearable the long miles those schoolteachers ealk each day. And love - for his community, for his country - drove Catur into the same perilous sea that took his family.
Mr Yudhoyono concludes with the following:
"Perhaps Catur did not set out to be a hero; no doubt he would rather have his family back. But circumstances stirred something in him, something he could not hold back. What Manurung does- giving up her way of life to fight illiteracy - is too extreme for some, but not to her. I often wonder when i meet these brave men and women who are our heroes: what would i do in the same situation? Would i rush out to those deadly waters if my family or my country needed me to? Would you?"
He talked about a certain army general by the name of Surdiman, who was a larger than life hero in the President's eyes in the then humble days, and another by the name Catur, who is a lieutenant-colonel in the town of Aceh hardest hit by the tsunami that swept across months back.
Catur risked his life time and time again to rescue survivors from the tsunami but was only hit by news of his perished family members. He was griefed but he stayed at his post, and spent the very same whole day guiding residents to safety.
Mr Yudhoyono met Mr Catur during his visit and the latter did not even mention anything to the president, and it was only later that Mr Yudhoyono found out about the matter from Mr Catur's peers.
Then it was the story of Miss Butet Manurung, a lady who embarked on a nearly-impossible goal of eradicating illiteracy among the isolated tribes of the Sumatran jungle.
Mr Yudhoyono had also met teachers who would walk tens of miles each day to reach their school - all for the meager reward of some $20 a month and no doubt of plenty of grief from their students.
Yet they make the journey every day.
So he posed the questions: what is a hero? Who is a hero? Is it the decorated general who leads his army to victory, or the unknown soldier quietly obeying his orders? Is it the researcher who finds a cure for cancer, or the country doctor treating the sick? Should a hero be one who saves thousands of lives, or who comforts just one?
What drives them?
Duty? Determination? Perseverance?
Doubtless that they do play their parts, but it is love thats ultimately pushes them. It was love - a love for education, a love of humanity - that sent Butet Manurung to the jungle, and keeps her there. Love - for their fellow students - makes bearable the long miles those schoolteachers ealk each day. And love - for his community, for his country - drove Catur into the same perilous sea that took his family.
Mr Yudhoyono concludes with the following:
"Perhaps Catur did not set out to be a hero; no doubt he would rather have his family back. But circumstances stirred something in him, something he could not hold back. What Manurung does- giving up her way of life to fight illiteracy - is too extreme for some, but not to her. I often wonder when i meet these brave men and women who are our heroes: what would i do in the same situation? Would i rush out to those deadly waters if my family or my country needed me to? Would you?"
03 October 2005
Should Teachers Seek to Convert Pupils?
Read the above in the Straits Times forum.
There was this person who wrote in and complained that a teacher is trying to convert a friend's daughter through msn to christianity when she is a buddhist. Then she carried on to suggest that MOE should regulate teachers through MSN even.
Agreed that teachers shouldn't be doing such a thing to a student if the matter really happened. But is the matter just restricted to the fact that the teacher was a teacher?
Is it slipping into the area of religion already? Is the teacher asking the kid to listen to him because he is a teacher?
How about the fact that the public wants the teachers to be nurturing and helpful to the kids? Are we simply discounting teachers when they are trying to reach out?
I am not a christian, in fact i am more atuned to buddhism but the matter of issue now is the fact of the poor treatment of the public towards teachers nowadays.
I remember issues when teachers were taped tearing the assignment of students and were condemned of the act. The student was innocent and should be forgiven as he was young. Nothing was done to address the fact that he was not serious in his work. Nothing was done to credit the teacher when she was trying so hard to make a connection, even if it were in the negative way.
How about the teacher who was cursed by many people when a student was punished for calling her a bitch? What should be the people looking after the students do then?
If the job of an educator were to teach and educate? What should be the way to do it? By referring the kid for counselling or giving he/she a good "thrashing"?
Can we ask ourselves, as we were through much, that which of the above would make much more of an impact?
I am not even talking about the respect that the public should give to the teacher... not of parents who call the schools and demand teachers to do their jobs for them. The kid is spoilt and the teacher should do something when it is the parents who face them more often. How about the teacher who gets blamed when the student does not do work?
Yeah it may be biased of me... well its bound to be but does not all of the above make some kind of sense in the gut? Blame me for my instinctive arguments then....
Or is it propaganda that is destroying all the good general image of teachers nowadays?
There was this person who wrote in and complained that a teacher is trying to convert a friend's daughter through msn to christianity when she is a buddhist. Then she carried on to suggest that MOE should regulate teachers through MSN even.
Agreed that teachers shouldn't be doing such a thing to a student if the matter really happened. But is the matter just restricted to the fact that the teacher was a teacher?
Is it slipping into the area of religion already? Is the teacher asking the kid to listen to him because he is a teacher?
How about the fact that the public wants the teachers to be nurturing and helpful to the kids? Are we simply discounting teachers when they are trying to reach out?
I am not a christian, in fact i am more atuned to buddhism but the matter of issue now is the fact of the poor treatment of the public towards teachers nowadays.
I remember issues when teachers were taped tearing the assignment of students and were condemned of the act. The student was innocent and should be forgiven as he was young. Nothing was done to address the fact that he was not serious in his work. Nothing was done to credit the teacher when she was trying so hard to make a connection, even if it were in the negative way.
How about the teacher who was cursed by many people when a student was punished for calling her a bitch? What should be the people looking after the students do then?
If the job of an educator were to teach and educate? What should be the way to do it? By referring the kid for counselling or giving he/she a good "thrashing"?
Can we ask ourselves, as we were through much, that which of the above would make much more of an impact?
I am not even talking about the respect that the public should give to the teacher... not of parents who call the schools and demand teachers to do their jobs for them. The kid is spoilt and the teacher should do something when it is the parents who face them more often. How about the teacher who gets blamed when the student does not do work?
Yeah it may be biased of me... well its bound to be but does not all of the above make some kind of sense in the gut? Blame me for my instinctive arguments then....
Or is it propaganda that is destroying all the good general image of teachers nowadays?
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