students....sigh!

These are the kind of mistakes that I'm seeing these days...

On a late-coming form : Today I late because I overslap

In a maths class : What is 7 x 1?   Ans: 8!!!

Sigh...these mistakes make even the most mundane GP discussion sound clever!

Time

I don't usually put up stories like this, but I've learnt this same lesson over the past few months, more acutely than I've ever remembered, so this story seemed more poignant than ever....may you spend more time this year with the people who are important to you 

A young man learns what's most important in life from the guy next door. 
It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, girls, career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across  the country in pursuit of his dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with  his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him.

Over the phone, his mother told him, 'Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday.' Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days. 

'Jack, did you hear me?' 'Oh sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It's been so long since I thought of him. I'm sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago,' Jack said.

'Well, he didn't forget you. Every time I saw him he'd ask how you were  doing. He'd reminisce about the many days you spent over 'his side of the  fence' as he put it,' Mom told him.
 
'I loved that old house he lived in,' Jack said. 
 
'You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man's influence in your life,' she said.

'He's the one who taught me carpentry,' he said. 'I wouldn't be in this business if it weren't for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important...Mom, I'll be there for the funeral,' Jack said.

As busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown. Mr. Belser's funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.

The night before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time. Standing in the doorway, Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing over into another dimension, a leap through space and time. The house was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture....Jack stopped suddenly.
 
'What's wrong, Jack?' his Mom asked. 
 
'The box is gone,' he said.
 
'What box?' Mom asked. 
 
'There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside.. All he'd ever tell me was "it's the thing I value most",' Jack said. It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it.

'Now I'll never know what was so valuable to him,' Jack said. 'I better get some sleep. I have an early flight home, Mom.' 
 
It had been about two weeks since Mr. Belser died. Returning home from work one day, Jack discovered a note in his mailbox. 'Signature required on a package. No one at home. Please stop by the main post office within the next three days,' the note read. 

Early the next day Jack retrieved the package. The small box was old and  looked like it had been mailed a hundred years ago. The handwriting was  difficult to read, but the return address caught his attention. 'Mr. Harold Belser' it read.

Jack took the box out to his car and ripped open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack's hands shook as he read the note inside. 'Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It's the thing I valued most in my life.'

A small key was taped to the letter. His heart racing, as tears filling his eyes,! Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch. Running his fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched the cover. Inside he found these words engraved: 'Jack, Thanks for your time! - Harold Belser.' 

'The thing he valued most...was...my time.'

Jack held the watch for a few minutes then called his office and cleared his appointments for the next two days. 'Why?' Janet, his assistant asked. 'I need some time to spend with my son,' he said. 'Oh, by the way, Janet...thanks for your time!'

'Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away,' 
 

Exams or no exams?

Exams or no exams?? Ha, I thought this was a rather interesting take on the need for exam.... Don't rule out exams

By Ignatius Low / Feb 1 2009Even at the grand old age of 36, I have recurring dreams about school.

In the dream, I'm either in junior college or university. The exams are two weeks away and panic seizes me when I realise there are one or two exam subjects that I have completely failed to prepare for.

According to books that explain dreams, to dream about being unprepared for an exam signifies some sort of insecurity, fear of not being able to meet expectations, or a fear of failure.

I would classify this recurring dream as a nightmare because in it, I'm genuinely unsettled and worried.

But there is always a silver lining.

The exam is always some days away and so, I tell myself in the dream, all is not lost.

I may not score well, but with some last minute mugging, I should be able to pass.

It's this dream that I immediately thought of when I read that a new government committee is doing away with the usual two big exams each year for Primary 1 and Primary 2 pupils.

Instead, there will be 'mini-tests' all year round, a system that's supposed to nurture students who 'enjoy learning all the time'.

It's the latest in a series of moves, not just in Singapore but worldwide, to shift the emphasis from exams to continual assessments.

The rationale for this seems sound. In systems where exams count for everything, students become stressed because everything hinges on their performance at the final hour.

Some students cannot take the pressure and crumble, often ruining what should have been a perfectly bright future. So putting all the emphasis on exams is unhealthy and rightfully so.

But the pendulum seems to have swung to the other extreme. More than ever before, there is talk of doing away with exams altogether.

I don't know about you but I find the gathering consensus to kill exams somewhat alarming. By taking the emphasis away from any one particular thing, we run the risk of putting the emphasis on every single thing.

This will fundamentally alter the equilibrium of the universe as far as school life goes.

First, consider the fact that exams work well for people who are, by nature, famously 'last minute''.

The fact is that the world is made up of plodders - hardworking types who do well consistently; and slackers - people who take it easy most of the time and burn the midnight oil at the end.

Taking away exams just shifts the advantage from slackers to plodders.

Why on earth should this be? Why should the tortoise, in the famous children's fable, win the race just because he's been more consistent than the hare?

I was brought up to believe that you should win the race by any means. If you're a slacker who prefers to sprint at the end, well that's just your style.

Now, I recognise that there are many students who cannot take the stresses of the exam cycle. But think of the equally numerous masses that thrive on it.

Many students like the fact that they can relax, play computer games and hang out in town during the normal weeks of school term, only to shut themselves in study rooms or at home when the exams draw near.

When I was a kid, I wasted many glorious hours listening to records, watching movies in town and going bowling.

Imagine if you couldn't go bowling with your friends because your homework for the next day will count towards your grade. And the next day's, and the day after that - endlessly sapping away your youth. Horrors!

Besides, the average student isn't a clear-cut plodder or a slacker. He's usually a combination of the two.

He's usually a plodder with subjects he loves - savouring every lab session, tutorial, assessment and project.

The subjects he hates, he tends to be quite 'last minute' about. Here, exams help him paper over a bad or indifferent performance all year round - a second reason why they are important.

When I was in school, I hated Mathematics. Throughout secondary school and college, I routinely skipped lectures and paid scant attention in tutorials.

Then with one month left to the exams, I would photocopy the best notes I could buy for good money from the neatest notetaker in school.

And then I would really suffer, trying to take in 10 lessons' worth of material in one. I had to practise on past '10-year series' questions like there was no tomorrow.

It didn't matter that I didn't understand what I was doing. What mattered was that I managed to memorise the steps needed to solve the equations just in the nick of time, and because of that, I passed.

I was also very bad at Chinese. So I used to memorise 10 Chinese proverbs and twist my essay in every way possible so I could use them in the exam essays and impress the examiners.

Imagine if every week's essay counted towards my grade. I would actually have to be good at the stuff.

A final reason why exams are important is that they typically represent the biggest events in a student's life.

And climbing that Everest each year is something that builds character.

If you think about it, exams are really a test run in project management at a young age. Students have to plan when to start preparing for exams and sort out their notes.

They have to manage the stepping up of their study time and the stepping down of their social engagements.

And in the end, exams were never just about the results.

It's the priceless moments spent bonding with your friends as you go through tough times.

It's the laughter and the tears (indeed the slight hysteria) as you recite by heart useless facts you know you will never again use.

It's the emotional blackmail that gets you that new gadget or holiday from your parents when you do well.

It's pooling everyone's collective wisdom to 'spot' the right exam questions, and it's the taste of victory or the agony of defeat as you compare answers after the exam.

To me, these are precious memories and life skills that you carry into adulthood. Do away with exams and all this will disappear.

Let's think twice before fundamentally changing our school systems. Exams have their place in the lives of students, as much as the tests and homework that constitute continual assessment.

Long live exams.