What will 2008 be like?

Can't stop the teacher in me from re-appearing ever so often...especially since I'm preparing for J1 lectures now...
In case you haven't noticed, the Straits Times has been churning out a number of 'goodbye 07, hello 08' stories...other than reminding you of the exciting gp lessons that we've had in the past year, they make for pretty interesting reading and ensure that you can still hold a decent conversation with intelligent people despite being on holiday :) Today's papers also had some fun stories of the best and worst of 07.
Most other magazines (Times, Newsweek etc) also carry stories that round up the year and make predictions for the new year so you might wish to take a peek.

Here are some videos that can entertain you over the new year:
Battle at Kruger - amazing battle b/w buffaloes, tigers and crocodiles: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8DDYz68kM
12 days of Christmas - not as gd as the ny history tutors ha, but pretty cool: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fe11OlMiz8
SAF ghost - NS men, blame these folks for the ban on camera phones in camp. This is the top S'pore video on Youtube for the yr. Don't watch if you are easily spooked!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCw9H4lQeLE&feature=related

Happy New Year! Wishing all of you a good year ahead!

Perspectives

Was griping about and getting upset over a full day meeting and my CCAs for next year when I was distracted by the Straits Times headlines - "Bhutto assasinated in Pakistan" (if you don't know what I'm talking about, it's really time to pick up that newspaper!). That kinda put things into perspective - here I was grumbling about my humdrum and mundane life (where a change of CCA is big news) when there are bigger issues out there...people fighting for survival, for their ideals and their country's stability...for a chance to live my 'mundane life'.

On another note, I attended a JC classmate's wedding yesterday, with the usual catching up and laughing at our old tutors. Someone commented that we haven't really changed after 10 years...hmm, other than the fact that we've all aged, with 2 married and 1 a mother-to-be, character-wise, we are still very much the same. Hopefully we've matured some, given that 3 of us are JC tutors (who are also trying very hard to narrow that ubiquitous generation gap). Sigh, the reality of ageing...

Food for thought: what will you and your classmates be like in 10 yrs' time?!!

Making your holidays a more fruitful one

Since one of the Top 10 most popular New Year's resolutions is to help others, some of you might be interested in volunteering at these places (Joanna, this is especially for you 'cos I remember saying that I'll email this to you but forgot :P).

1. Children's Cancer Foundation (http://www.ccf.org.sg/index.html)
- I volunteered with them at NUH when I was studying at NUS. Volunteers basically play with the children while they are waiting for treatment. It's pretty heartbreaking to see young children stricken with cancer but it really reminds one of the transience of life and the blessing of good health.

2. Ling Kwang Youth Centre (http://www.lkyouth.com/index.html)
- If you are interested in helping youths, this is a good place to start. If you live near the centre, you can be a tutor at the centre on weekdays. They also organise activities for the youths (e.g. mountain climbing) during holidays and weekends and they usually require volunteers to accompany and befriend the teens.

3. Club Rainbow (http://www.clubrainbow.org)
- I've always wanted to volunteer at Camp Rainbow but never had the chance. This is an organisation that helps chronically ill children.

I am better at volunteering with children and youths hence the suggestions above. But if you are interested in finding other volunteer opportunities (elderly, disabled, animals etc), you can check out the NVPC website. Most of the charitable organisations in Singapore are listed here: http://www1.nvpc.org.sg/npo/ematch/

Resolutions...groan...

Yikes! December is coming to an end! I always dread the post-Christmas period 'cos it signals the end of the holidays and the start of school and having to wake up at 6 every morning...sigh, guess for now I'm the only one hating this since the rest of you are free from school for a while (except those of you doing relief teaching ha!).
And of course, there's the reviewing of past year resolutions and the making of new ones. I gave this up for a while when I was younger 'cos I always write them on scraps of paper and lose them. But now I make myself write it down in my diary so that I can refer to them regularly. Hmm...they are good reminders but I'll always lose my resolve after a few days heh.
I've just checked my 07 resolutions and only managed to attain 1 very simple one. Oh well, but it's better than nothing! Guess the rest will have to be resolutions for 2008 again...first on the list will be to wake up cheerfully at 6 every morning!

"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing." Abraham Lincoln
"If at first you don't succeed, you are running about average." M H Alderson

Interesting facts about New Year's resolutions:
- 25% of New Year's resolutions will be abandon in the first 15 weeks
- The average number of time's a New Years resolution is made is 10
- Those who manage to make a resolution that lasts for 6 months or more have often tried 5 or 6 times before finally succeeding

Top ten most popular New Year's resolutions (About.com):
1. Spend more time with family and friends
2. Have regular exercise
3. Lose weight
4. Quit smoking
5. Enjoy life more
6. Quit drinking
7. Get out of debt
8. Learn something new
9. Help others
10. Get organised

Tips for making your New Year's resolutions:
Don't make absolute resolutions
Keep them realistic. For example, instead of saying you won't yell at your kids anymore, resolve to yell at them less often.

Don't keep your resolutions to yourself
Tell someone you trust about your resolutions. It helps to share your goals with friends, who can gently nudge you in the right direction when you veer off course. Write down your resolutions rather than merely think about them.

Give them some meaning
People sometimes make goals that aren't necessarily meaningful to them. Your goal should be something you really desire to change or achieve, not something that society says is good for you to do or your family members would like to see you do. If you don't have strong, internal motivation within yourself, you won't be successful.

Take baby steps
Set realistic goals that are attainable and then take small steps that are likely to be met with success toward those goals. Don't try to lose 10 pounds in a week or quitting smoking cold turkey with no preparation. Instead, try joining a weight loss program and try to lose a pound a week, or join a smoking cessation group.

Avoid perfectionist thinking.
While we certainly always want to better ourselves, it is healthier to think in positive terms than it is to focus on how much we fall short of our aspirations. In other words, students should view the grade of an A- as better than a B, rather than not as good as an A.

View setbacks as lessons for growth.
Mistakes can be and usually are opportunities for learning. If you fall short of your goals, ask yourself what kept you from achieving them and then try to make corrections. People who like to sail understand this navigational concept. You almost never go directly from point A to point B. You set a course and periodically take readings of your position then make adjustments as you go along. Learn to be flexible.

Adapted from http://www.umm.edu/features/prepare.htm
Other interesting sites:
http://mentalhealth.about.com/od/selfhelp/a/newyears2.htm
http://exercise.about.com/od/weightloss/a/keepresolutions.htm
http://www.habitsmart.com/sdut.htm

The CHRIST in Christmas

As Shrek says, "What's Christmas without the Christmas story?", here's the real story of Christmas:

The Conception of Jesus Foretold
Mary, a virgin, was living in Galilee of Nazareth and was engaged to be married to Joseph, a Jewish carpenter. An angel visited her and explained to her that she would conceive a son by the power of the Holy Spirit. She would carry and give birth to this child and she would name him Jesus.
At first Mary was afraid and troubled by the angel's words. Being a virgin, Mary questioned the angel, "How will this be?" The angel explained that the child would be God's own Son and, therefore, "nothing is impossible with God." Humbled and in awe, Mary believed the angel of the Lord and rejoiced in God her Savior.

The Birth of Jesus
While Mary was still engaged to Joseph, she miraculously became pregnant through the Holy Spirit, as foretold to her by the angel. When Mary told Joseph she was pregnant, he had every right to feel disgraced. He knew the child was not his own, and Mary's apparent unfaithfulness carried a grave social stigma. Joseph not only had the right to divorce Mary, under Jewish law she could be put to death by stoning.
Although Joseph's initial reaction was to break the engagement, the appropriate thing for a righteous man to do, he treated Mary with extreme kindness. He did not want to cause her further shame, so he decided to act quietly. But God sent an angel to Joseph in a dream to verify Mary's story and reassure him that his marriage to her was God's will. The angel explained that the child within Mary was conceived by the Holy Spirit, that his name would be Jesus and that he was the Messiah, God with us.
When Joseph woke from his dream, he willingly obeyed God and took Mary home to be his wife, in spite of the public humiliation he would face. Perhaps this noble quality is one of the reasons God chose him to be the Messiah's earthly father.
Joseph must have wondered in awe as he reflected on the words found in Isaiah 7:14 foretelling this event, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel."
At that time, Caesar Augustus decreed that a census be taken, and every person in the entire Roman world had to go to his own town to register. Joseph, being of the line of David, was required to go to Bethlehem to register with Mary. While in Bethlehem, Mary gave birth to Jesus. Probably due to the census, the inn was too crowded, and Mary gave birth in a crude stable. She wrapped the baby in cloths and placed him in a manger.

The Shepherd's Worship the Savior
Out in the fields, an angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds who were tending their flocks of sheep by night. The angel announced that the Savior had been born in the town of David. Suddenly a great host of heavenly beings appeared with the angels and began singing praises to God. As the angelic beings departed, the shepherds decided to travel to Bethlehem and see the Christ-child.
There they found Mary, Joseph and the baby, in the stable. After their visit, they began to spread the word about this amazing child and everything the angel had said about him. They went on their way still praising and glorifying God. But Mary kept quiet, treasuring their words and pondering them in her heart. It must have been beyond her ability to grasp, that sleeping in her arms—the tender child she had just borne—was the Savior of the world.

The Magi Bring Gifts
After Jesus' birth, Herod was king of Judea. At this time wise men (Magi) from the east saw a star, they came in search, knowing the star signified the birth of the king of the Jews. The wise men came to the Jewish rulers in Jerusalem and asked where the Christ was to be born. The rulers explained, "In Bethlehem in Judea," referring to Micah 5:2. Herod secretly met with the Magi and asked them to report back after they had found the child. Herod told the Magi that he too wanted to go and worship the babe. But secretly Herod was plotting to kill the child.
So the wise men continued to follow the star in search of the new born king and found Jesus with his mother in Bethlehem. They bowed and worshipped him, offering treasures of gold, incense and myrrh. When they left, they did not return to Herod. They had been warned in a dream of his plot to destroy the child.

Results of Signboard Competition!

Here are the results of the competition as promised. Not a very difficult decision since there were only 4 entries by 3 brave souls :)
I've also corrected some slips of grammar in the entries...nothing very major but they are things we can learn from. I must say I'm very impressed with all the entries!
And the winners are (drumroll please...):

1st prize:
diRty
Do not feed the monkeys in the museum.
Do not bring any food or plastic bags into the museum to prevent any (the word 'any' is not very necessary and makes the sentence a little confusing) attacks from the monkeys.
Do not provoke the monkeys as they will attack you.
Please take care of your children. Do not carry any toys and always stay close to your children.
It is dangerous to interact (the word 'interact' seems to be used more frequently for humans rather than animals. 'It is dangerous to have any form of interaction with the monkeys' might be clearer) with the monkeys. They are not afraid of humans.
Note: The museum will not be held responsible for any accidents that occurs (either 'any accident that occurs' or 'any accidents that occur').

2nd prize:
Joanna
1.DO NOT FEED THE MINKEYS (monkeys haha!) IN THE MUSEUM.
2.DO NOT BRING ANY FOOD NOR ('or'. we only use 'nor' with the word 'neither') PLASTIC BAGS INTO THE MUSEUM AS THE MONKEYS WILL ATTACK YOU AND ENDANGER YOUR LIFE.
3.DO NOT PROVOKE THE MONKEYS AS THEY WILL BITE YOU.
4.PLEASE TAKE EXTRA CARE OF YOUR CHILDREN AND DO NOT CARRY ANY FOOD OR TOYS INTO THE MUSEUM AND STAY CLOSE TO YOUR CHILDREN.
5.AS THE MONKEYS ARE NOT AFRAID OF HUMANS, PLEASE DO NOT INTERACT WITH THEM AS THIS WILL PUT YOUR LIFE AT STAKE. ('put your life at stake' sounds a little extreme)
NOTE: SHOULD ANY ACCIDENTS ARISE, THE MUSUEM WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR IT (the 'for it' sounds redundant. 'The museum will not be held responsible' / 'will not bear any responsibility' will suffice).

3rd prize:
R3D L19H+
Do not feed the monkeys in the museum.
Do not bring any food and carrier (Hm..I think you changed this word because you think 'plastic bags' is a Singlish term. Actually it's a proper English term so you can just leave it. 'Carrier' is rather vague) is actually into the museum as it may land u into (in) a life-threatening situation due to the monkeys who may be attracted to it. ('as the monkeys may be attracted to them')
Do not provoke the monkeys as they will bite you.
Please pay loads of attentions ('loads of' is rather informal, 'attention' has no plural form. 'Extra attention' should be fine) to your children and make sure they do not carry any food and toy.
Stay close with ('to') your children.
The monkeys are not afraid of humans, thus do not interact with them as it is very dangerous!
Note: The museum will not be held responsible for any mishaps, injury or loss of life (since 'injury' is singular, it may be better to have 'mishap' in the singular form) that may occur.

Bonus prize:
R3D L19H+ (for sending in the first entry and putting in the most effort to provide alternative vocab and sentence structure...and even sending in 2 entries!)

Congratulations to all the winners! Prizes may be redeemed after 2nd January at 128 Serangoon Ave 3, ext 130.

What is this life if, full of care....

Part of this poem was used in the 97 A-level paper...it just kept ringing in my mind today...now that all of you have extra time on your hands, take time to just stop and appreciate the things around you. If you are travelling, notice how different the sky and the ground is different in different parts of the world. For those of you in NS, or entering NS soon, the jungle is a great place to observe the beauty of nature and God's creation :)

"LEISURE"

What is this life if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs

And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,

Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,

Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,

And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can

Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

By William Henry Davies

(William Henry Davies (1871-1940) is to be considered as the poet of the tramps. Born at Newport, Wales in the UK, Davies came to America from Great Britain and lived the life of a vagabond. One day, as the result of jumping a train, he lost one of legs. Davies returned to England where he continued to live the life of a tramp and a pedlar. He wrote poetry (presumably he did right along) and, eventually, he determined to print his own book and did so with the little money he earned panhandling. A copy of this first work, A Soul's Destroyer, came into the hands of George Bernard Shaw; which, in turn, led to the popularization of the poet. http://www.blupete.com/Literature/Poetry/Leisure.htm)

Christmas...

If you wish to find out and understand how Christians celebrate Christmas and what it's true meaning is, do feel free to drop by at my church's Christmas services. You can give me a call/SMS and I'll meet you (or you can always walk in and pretend not to know me :))

22nd Dec

Prog: Cantata by the choir (a series of Christmas songs in Mandarin) + dinner

Venue: Faith BP Church, 5 Tavistock Ave, Serangoon Gardens

Time: 6pm

23rd, 24th, 25th Dec

Prog: Christmas Musical (in English)

Venue: Singapore Chinese Girls' School Premises, Khoo Auditorium (Gospel Light Christian Church)

Time: 23rd (9am /11am), 24th (8pm), 25th (11am)

A Christmas Lesson

"Is there a purpose? Why are we here?"
A little boy asked as the yuletide drew near.

"I really do hope that someday I will know

The reason we have to stand out here in the snow,

Ringing this bell as people walk by,

While thousands of snowflakes fall from the sky."

The mother just smiled at her shivering son,

Who would rather be playing and having some fun

He soon would find out before the evening was done

The meaning of Christmas, the very first one.

The young boy exclaimed, "Mother where does it go?

All the pennies we collect - every year in the snow.""

They go to help others who can't help themselves,"

She said, "... children and their loved ones who have nothing else.""

But why do we do it? Why do we care?

We worked for these pennies, why should we share?"

"Because once a little baby - so meek and so mild

was born in a manger - so humble the child.

The son of a King - was born in this way,

So the world could have the gift that He brought on that day."

"You see the present God gave to the world on that night,

Was the gift of His Son to make everything right."

"Why did he do it? Why did he care?""

To teach us of love and how we should share."

"The meaning of Christmas, you see my dear son,

Is not about presents or just having fun;

But the gift of a Father - His own Precious Son,

So the world would be saved when His work was all done."

Now the little boy smiled, with a tear in his eye,

As snowflakes kept falling from out of the sky

-Rang louder the bell as the people walked by

While down deep in his heart he now knew why.
© 2003 - Tom Krause

http://www.our.homewithgod.com/mkcathy/MerryChristmas/stories.html

What is good writing?

MY SON returned from school the other day, distraught. An essay he had written, one which his parents had assured him was well done, had received a poor grade from his English teacher.
It lacked an introduction and a conclusion, the teacher had told him. 'You must have an introduction that sets forth your thesis,' the teacher had said. 'And you must have a conclusion that summarises how you have proven your thesis'.....
....
My son's essay, the one that got a poor grade, did have a 'thesis statement' - only, it came at the end, when he finally arrived at the point he had been working to get to from the beginning. The piece did have a conclusion - only, my son had aimed for it from the start. They were all there - thesis, proof and conclusion - but as an entirety, the essay as a whole. That is as it should be.

Ha, what the teacher said sounds oddly familiar, doesn't it? Guess I must have repeated that myself a million times. And I remember how many of you claim that your creativity is stifled because of this 'template'. (But the nagging must have worked 'cos by the end of 2 yrs, most of you can rattle off this template from the top of your head...though some pp still don't know what a 'thesis statement' is! Sigh...)

Came across this article in the Straits Times arguing that writing should not be so formulaic. I agree with the writer, but I guess this template works best for the GP exam. But do know that although this method works best for GP essays, there are many other styles of writing. If you are allowed to be a little more creative, especially in uni, do explore different ways to argue your case (but must be logical!). Don't become like the students mentioned below ok...

...there was this from a committed young university teacher: 'I often give my students more room for creativity than say their JC teachers would allow them. Initially, I thought this would be much appreciated, but I was wrong. They didn't quite know what to do...and repeatedly insisted: 'Can you tell us what the question is?' There was no question per se because the point of the assignment was to encourage them to form their own questions, and explore the implications and possibilities in the process of writing.'

Read the full articles here. The 2nd article is the writer's response to readers' comments on his original article.

Lord of the Flies

Watched Lord of the Flies at the Esplanade today. Was pretty intrigued by this book when I first read it and was looking forward to seeing it acted out. It explores the various ways man handles freedom & stress/tension through a story about a group of boys stranded on an island and how they became increasingly barbaric and started killing each other.
"Free from the rules that adult society formerly imposed on them, the boys marooned on the island struggle with the conflicting human instincts that exist within each of them—the instinct to work toward civilization and order and the instinct to descend into savagery, violence, and chaos."

The set was pretty cool...the Theatre Studio at the Esplanade is a small cosy theatre (just 5 rows of seats along the 4 walls) and it was set up like an island with trees all round and a sand pit (representing the beach) as centrestage. The play was a little draggy but might be worth an experience if you've got $40 to spare :)

Here's a link to the plot summary if I may attempt to interest you in reading the book (don't worry, it's not difficult to read!) :

In the midst of a raging war, a plane evacuating a group of schoolboys from Britain is shot down over a deserted tropical island. Two of the boys, Ralph and Piggy, discover a conch shell on the beach, and Piggy realizes it could be used as a horn to summon the other boys. Once assembled, the boys set about electing a leader and devising a way to be rescued. They choose Ralph as their leader, and Ralph appoints another boy, Jack, to be in charge of the boys who will hunt food for the entire group....read more here http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/flies/summary.html (check out the 'analysis of the major characters' and the themes, motifs & symbols' to get a better understanding of the story)

Funny or not...it's your call...

This is apparently one of the most watched Youtube clips now. This is meant for the MDA (Media Devt Authority - best known for censoring programmes) annual report and they managed to get the senior management to do a rap. There's a debate over the purpose of this rap and whether it's done well, but I think the management was pretty game to do it and some of them look as if they are enjoying themselves :)...the things people have to do today to re-invent themselves...glad they don't ask teachers to do such things...yet...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksw2UqTyhhc

When this clip came out, some pp compared it to the Royston Tan film 'Cut', which parodied one of the censors in the MDA (see if you can figure out who!)...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ON2_iucOlXk&feature=related

This link has the longer version of the song in 'Cut': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeMAGETY2hs