And, apparently, not in their house also...

Same 2-0 scoreline.

Oh well, it was good while it lasted.

Back to the drawing board...

The End of the Curse of the Bambino? OR the BIGGEST chokefest for the BoSox?

While waiting for Game 4 to start...

20 Questions to a Better Personality

Wackiness: 40/100
Rationality: 34/100
Constructiveness: 32/100
Leadership: 44/100


You are a SEDF--Sober Emotional Destructive Follower. This makes you an Evil Genius.

You are extremely focused and difficult to distract from your tasks. With luck, you have learned to channel your energies into improving your intellect, rather than destroying the weak and unsuspecting.

Your friends may find you remote and a hard nut to crack. Few of your peers know you very well--even those you have known a long time--because you have expert control of the face you put forth to the world. You prefer to observe, calculate, discern and decide. Your decisions are final, and your desire to be right is impenetrable.

You are not to be messed with. You may explode.

Of the 48196 people who have taken this quiz since tracking began (8/17/2004), 14.3 % are this type.

Exploding Lemons

Could it be because they burst into flames on the expressways once in a while, as did the one I saw on the PIE between the Toa Payoh and Thomson exits?

(Latest news on today's ST)

Oct 27, 2004
Fewer Mercs on S'pore roads now

SINGAPORE'S favourite luxury car, the Mercedes-Benz, is becoming less visible on the roads.

In the last five years, its numbers have shrunk by 30 per cent, a reduction that mirrors the decline in the population of European cars, including BMW, Volvo and Audi.

Today, out of 415,000 passenger cars on the road, only about 85,000, or 20 per cent, are non-Japanese or non-Asian. In 1999, the continentals - mainly German - accounted for 110,000, or nearly 30 per cent, of 380,000 cars here.

The wane of the continentals is typified by Mercedes' retreat - from a 1999 peak of more than 43,000 to an estimated 30,000 today.

Its slide has been accelerated by the fall in new car prices and, consequently, the collapse of the local second-hand market.

As a result, many used Mercedes were exported. And the sale of new cars has not kept up with the pace of exports in recent years, said Mr Neo Nam Heng, president of the Automotive Importers and Exporters Association.

And car dealers do not foresee a revival in the popularity of Mercedes, or other continentals, any time soon.

Besides the costly euro and improvement in the quality of Japanese cars, branded wheels also seem to be less of a driving force with most car buyers these days.

All Quizzed Out

So, we came in third (well, joint third, actually, with two other teams). Not bad considering we were shorthanded (3 players only), slightly tipsy (had to be there early since seats are a premium on quiz nights) and we were third on 31 points, second was on 32 and first was on 36.

There was a new format also last night (instead of a flat $10 per team of 4, now we pay $5 per member - to discourage people from registering one team of 4 and then having the rest of the football team sit in and play as well), new Quizmaster, new rules (each team gets to choose a 'Joker' round for which they would score double for that round). And Pat turned off the wireless connection at the pub just for the night.

In the end, it came down to a tiebreaker among the third-placed teams for the prize and I lost to someone who managed to [puppy-dog-excitedly] blurt out the loathesome answer to "Who did Ruud van Nistelrooy almost cripple in Sunday's game?" before I did.

Ah well, there's always next month.


In the meantime, thoughts since the last update:

Maids, in front of previously mentioned training centre, standing in senang diri (stand at ease) position, in three rows, watching a demonstrating on how to clean glass windows. In public.

Again I ask, how much more demeaning can it get?

***

How heavy was my beer on Sunday? Girl behind the counter had to change hands four times during the pouring of Erdinger Dark.

And seriously, in the middle of a crowded eatery with hordes of people in the throes of a faux-Oktoberfest orgy* of food and drink is not the place for anyone to be checking the contents of a baby's diaper.

* What else should I call it if someone goes to the loo, stands at the urinal [next to me], lifts his shirt over sizable man-boobs and belts out several bars of something operatic while tinkling and vigorously rubbing his torso all over?

***

No food and drinks. No hazardous materals. No smoking.

But personal grooming (in the form of removing the hairs of his chinny-chin chin with a pair of tweezers) on MRT trains is allowed, apparently.

She's On Leave, For Chrissakes!

OK, it can't be a very happy morning (or what's left of it) for the missus, whose work phone has gone off 6 times in the last two-and-a-half hours.

And she hasn't even gotten out of bed yet.

Not a great way to start a week of leave-clearing.

NOT in OUR house!

2-0

'Nuff said.

Oh the irony...!

A dress code? At My Humble House?

Hmm.

Oct 24, 2004
Look what they make 'sloppy' dressers do
A Sunday Times check shows some restaurants here provide alternative clothing to underdressed customers

By Li Xueying

AT HILTON'S Harbour Grill and Oyster Bar, you have a choice between grey or brown staff trousers and jackets if you turn up underdressed.

Over at Raffles Hotel's Raffles Grill, male guests who turn up in short-sleeved shirts - a no-no - are offered navy-blue jackets.

Designer threads, designed by Allan Chai, are offered at three Tung Lok outlets - My Humble House, Jade and Club Chinois.

Rather than turn away underdressed guests, some hotels and restaurants here are providing 'more appropriate' clothes.

Oh well...

Man, that was a good series!

Yeah, so the Yankees lost. But kudos to the BoSox to have come back from 3-0 down and, against history and statistics, win the next 4 games. Said from the start that the ALCS was going to be the real Series.

Completely exceeded my expectations.

***

Word Search Update:

Done.

Completed at 15:12 pm on 21 October 2004.

Now to not look at any words for the next three days (good luck with that!).

Words words words

Too many, in fact...

I just spent the whole day (well, from noon onwards, which was about the time I woke up) going through A-I in my OED looking for all words ending with 'ism' (don't ask why - work-related, is all).

Tomorrow, I'll try to finish J-Z.

For now, I got a headache.

***

Updated at 01:19 am:

OK, after another 5 letters (J-N), and with tonight's episode of CSI: Miami playing as white noise in the background, I'm beginning to feel a bit like the Rain Man.

"Egalitarianism... the principle of equal rights and opportunities for all... yeah, finitism, belief in the finiteness of the world... oh yeah, yeah... Ow. Ow. Mesmerism, a hypnotic state produced in a person by another's influence over his will and nervous system... NO!" [whap!] NO! [whap whap whap!]"

All at once wonderful and frustrating...

Damn.

It's not so much the bad umpiring decisions (what, with the Moose's strike zone several inches square smaller than Pedro's and the strange call that Ramirez's bat didn't go around in bottom of the 9th), the strange and sudden lack of hitting from the Bronx Bombers, a dodgy bullpen and the stolen bases by Dave Roberts, but the 28 men LOB over the last two games.

So many chances to end the Series in Fenway.

None taken.

Damn. And now we're in extra innings again.

Priorities

So The Straits Times gets a new look starting today.

No real issues with the other changes (apart from the obvious cosmetic-only improvements to the paper - still too much to ask for real changes, I guess), just this one:

"We're going big on lifestyle because we know you want more than the news. You want knowledge to help you live your lives better, from how to live more healthily, to getting started with 3G phones or the latest fashion craze."

Y'know, I'd rather have a crappy-looking paper and get all the news that matter. That's what a newspaper's supposed to be, no? If I wanted lifestyle, I'd buy a magazine.

Come to think of it, I guess media competition in Singapore isn't that dead if the ST is moving in on the magazines.


Updated 09:39 am:

And now, we have to register to read the news online? Can we say BIG BROTHER?

OCT 19, 2004
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Why we're having a new look

DEAR READERS,

The Straits Times is 159 years old this year. That's considerably older than many things here, including independent Singapore.

We are proud of our history and what we have achieved all these years. But we are not an old newspaper, clinging to old ideas and old stories.

The Straits Times has become a part of Singapore, and, we hope, an endearing part of your lives, as we have tried to be relevant to you.

We have not been afraid to change and try new ways of making the paper more useful and interesting. This latest change contains many of our newest ideas on what we want The Straits Times to be and to do for you.

Our fresh, new look, incorporating many of the latest elements in newspaper design, is the work of our own designers, who have won awards establishing The Straits Times and The Sunday Times as Asia's best designed papers.

We've put news on Asia further up front in the paper, ahead of news from the rest of the world, to reflect the growing importance of the region to our readers.

On Page 1, we have a new feature called Upfront, to showcase some of our best articles, about aspects of life here and abroad that are inspiring, moving or thought-provoking.

We have expanded our commentary pages into a new Review section for those who want to go beyond the news, with opinions, interviews and features.

Our Home section contains many new features, all intended to help you know what's really happening in Singapore. We're also giving you more Sports pages, and new features in the Money and Life! sections.

And we're especially excited about our three new lifestyle magazines: Digital Life on Tuesdays, Mind Your Body on Wednesdays and Urban on Thursdays.

We're going big on lifestyle because we know you want more than the news. You want knowledge to help you live your lives better, from how to live more healthily, to getting started with 3G phones or the latest fashion craze.

These magazines will meet the same high editorial standards that you have come to expect from your award-winning paper: our credibility, professionalism and our commitment to helping make Singapore a better place for all.

I know you'll enjoy your new daily read.

Han Fook Kwang

The writing's on the wall...

And in this case, on the Green Monster, article from ESPN, the Extra-Special Pronunciation Network.

Or I could be speaking too soon.

Two more hours... two more hours... I knew I woke up too early.

***

Updated 14:03 pm:

Oh well. Good game anyway. 5 hours' worth of nail-biting stuff.

What Are You Saying?

So, what does it mean when webmail for my local ISP has a banner ad telling me that I'm so eligible for a US Green Card? Right now. Do it. Click here.

And what's up with the banner ad anyway?

Wow

Felt like I was watching an NFL game instead, but hey, why am I complaining?

The Yanks have a 3-0 lead.

Woohoo!

Uh, seriously?

Is this really a good idea?

I mean, we're putting the fight against terror in the hands of the most paranoid* bunch of people (OK, maybe, a close second only to the elderly in Singapore) and we're supposed to feel safer about it?

Y'know what? I don't want to be manning whatever hotline they're supposed to use.

And it's really starting to get difficult for photographers to make a living, huh? I'd need a truck (a cheap one, believe it or not), eventually, to cart my equipment around. I'll probably be doing some phototaking around goverment or major buildings. There'll be times when I'll ask cabbies to circle round the block while I run in to get something from a client; especially if it's a government building and there's no parking out in front...

I guess the American paranoia is starting to hit our shores.

* Did I also mention they're also not very good with instructions?

OCT 14, 2004
Cabbies enlisted in terror fight

TAXI drivers are the latest group to be enlisted in the fight to counter terrorism, and their task will be to look out for suspicious passengers and report them to the police.

The police's deputy director of operations, Superintendent Ng Guat Ting, said the 40,000 taxi drivers on the road give the police 40,000 'extra pairs of eyes and ears' on the streets.

Cabbies were asked to help out since they come in contact with a variety of passengers.

To help them, 75,000 pamphlets have been prepared and distributed. These pamphlets list the warning signs that taxi drivers should look out for, including:

- passengers who ask unusual questions, such as where to rent or buy cheap trucks

- passengers who want to go to government or major buildings, then ask the cabbies to circle them without stopping, or who film the buildings

A video has also been prepared for the cabbies that will be played to drivers when they go for refresher courses to help them understand the dangers of terrorism.

The Internal Security Department (ISD) will not stop at the pamphlet and video. It is also considering conducting training courses in counter-terrorism for taxi drivers, and may look into enlisting bus drivers to help.

PowerBooks vs PCs

In response to King Siang's question in my comments about the use of PowerBooks:

OK, for starters, I get very few games, but I knew what I was in for when I paid up for the PB. It's a chore looking for places in Singapore that carry Mac games (even the Mac-authorised shops don't carry that many - in my opinion, anyway), and there isn't a lot of accessorising you can do to your PBs to help with your gameplay. Then again, I don't play a lot of games any more... I'm happy enough that Neverwinter Nights has come out for Macs, so my spare time (ha!) is happily occupied.

As far as the use of the Mac goes, it's great for what I'm doing now. Also, no complaints about reliability, I haven't had anything crash on me so far (touch wood).

Besides, the thing just looks sexy and attracts attention in pubs.

If you want a more lively discussion, go here.

But for me, I'm happy with it.

***

On a side note:

Mega Mattress has a new ad! It's as bad as the first one! Who are the knuckleheads who've been buying mattresses from them and keeping their advertising coffers filled!?

Ball Bouncing

In response to cour marly's question:



Ahh, the ever-cynical and sarcastic speechwriter. Gutsy and not afraid to speak up or clash with authority, his dry wit is amusing. But under it all he's just a big teddy bear... and the world's biggest Yankees fan.


:: Which West Wing character are you? ::

Drat

Heresy! Look what they did to my Battlestar Galactica.

Hmm

Midday Report: no aches, no pain (except in the head from the drilling that woke me), not quite as many bruises on my arms as I had expected.

I feel quite good actually, though it's really five more hours before I'll experience the full horror of exercise on my body.

But for now, I'll say: I might really consider taking this up long-term.

On the other hand, I've completely revamped the website (that hasn't even gone online yet) last night. Give me another three days, I'll probably have a version 7 ready for the bro-in-law to work on.

Saying everything I want to before the arms give way...

"It's 1906 hours and I feel the fear of cardiovascular exercise pooling at the pit of my belly..." or so sayeth my SMS to the missus.

Back from my first kick-boxing session at Wheelock Place and, damn, I need to exercise more... After 60 punches (on each arm), then 60 combination right-left/left-right jabs, followed by sparring with at least five different partners (two of whom didn't exactly have the control I would have liked of my partners - one of them managed to land a wayward punch - a tap, more like - on my forehead), I'm ready to give away my arms to be replaced. I'll know tomorrow if this is good for me - right about the time I can't lift anything over my head. Or jiggle after I tinkle.

Just as well I don't have anything on tomorrow...

I'll eventually need to decide whether or not I want to continue putting myself through the pain week after week.

***

The day started not-so-good though. Sat through a screening of test footage from the movie. A very early screening of test footage. Very. Early.

The only perk? Eric Khoo shook my hand and introduced himself. To be fair, it was dark and he probably mistook me for someone important and not just another peon in the hall.

And that's my celebrity sighting/encounter for the day.

One last thing: we were in Hall 3 at Orchard Cineleisure and in the silence of the screening (no sound was recorded), one could easily hear the tinkle from the toilet.

Quite amazing, actually. Or embarrassing, depending on which side of the cubicle door you're on.

Let the real Series begin

Just eagerly awaiting the start of the ALCS between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox.

Chillren Nowsadays Ah...

I just couldn't resist not responding to this. Doubly so, since it was written by a student.

"However, having been in the programme for about a year, I have noticed that 'experiential learning' just seems to mean tons of mini-projects." - Uh, yeah. What did you think experiential learning was? Trips to the playground? Arcade fun at shopping centres? Tea break with the Milo auntie? It's still part of something called Education. Deal with it.

"Many students, myself included, feel that these projects are just a half-hearted answer to the promised 'experiential learning', which can be carried out by organising more field trips that suit the curriculum.

For example, schools could organise field trips to a hydroponics farm when students are studying agriculture in their geography lessons. This would allow students to have a better understanding of the topic they are studying." - And the way to see if you've understood...? Hmm, could be it you'll get a test or mini-project based on that which you have just experienced?

"For example, our physics teacher taught us the topic of electricity in one hour!

My elder brother, who is not in the Integrated Programme, learnt about electricity in one fortnight. And even with that, he said that he needed one month to understand the subject fully." - Come now, children, play nice. Don't make the older brother feel stupid.

"I would also like to point out one major flaw of the Integrated Programme - the 'portfolio', which is supposed to be a collection of the student's best work.

However, how does it help the student?

The students I have spoken to about the portfolio take no pride in it because, to us, it is a waste of time to constantly update it." - OK, is this about not seeing how a portfolio helps or just being lazy? And seriously, it's a 'waste of time' and that's a major flaw?

"However, this 'everyday work' refers to the tests conducted after each topic is taught.

We students feel that great emphasis is still being placed on tests and examinations.

I would like to conclude by saying that the Integrated Programme is not what most schools have described it to be but rather a half-hearted attempt to try to revolutionise the education landscape." - Again, how else do you suggest making sure you really learnt all that stuff, and that you didn't spend the time playing grab-ass with your classmates at the back of the classroom?

Now the question is: who chose to take the IP?

My second question: is this a joke? This sounds like someone's answer to a Directed Question (EL1, Paper 1, Section 2).

OCT 11, 2004
Scheme not what it's cracked up to be

SEEING many schools, especially the ones that offer the Integrated Programme, organising open houses, I decided to write this letter to express my views as an 'insider' for the benefit of Primary 6 pupils who are considering the programme.

What is so special about the Integrated Programme that it has attracted so much attention?

Of course, students in the programme will not need to take the O levels, enabling them to take part in 'experiential learning'.

However, having been in the programme for about a year, I have noticed that 'experiential learning' just seems to mean tons of mini-projects.

For example, during the recent September holidays, I had to do three mini-projects - one for geography, one for history and the last for English.

I wonder how such projects allow students to go through 'experiential learning'?

Many students, myself included, feel that these projects are just a half-hearted answer to the promised 'experiential learning', which can be carried out by organising more field trips that suit the curriculum.

For example, schools could organise field trips to a hydroponics farm when students are studying agriculture in their geography lessons. This would allow students to have a better understanding of the topic they are studying.

The Integrated Programme is also teaching far too many things, making the pace too fast. The programme merely does a whirlwind tour of each topic, then expects students to understand them thoroughly.

For example, our physics teacher taught us the topic of electricity in one hour!

My elder brother, who is not in the Integrated Programme, learnt about electricity in one fortnight. And even with that, he said that he needed one month to understand the subject fully.

I would also like to point out one major flaw of the Integrated Programme - the 'portfolio', which is supposed to be a collection of the student's best work.

However, how does it help the student?

The students I have spoken to about the portfolio take no pride in it because, to us, it is a waste of time to constantly update it.

Schools also claim that they are putting less emphasis on examinations and more on everyday work, so as to ensure consistency of performance.

However, this 'everyday work' refers to the tests conducted after each topic is taught.

We students feel that great emphasis is still being placed on tests and examinations.

I would like to conclude by saying that the Integrated Programme is not what most schools have described it to be but rather a half-hearted attempt to try to revolutionise the education landscape.

TAN HAO YANG

Kamikaze?!

Who the hell does the ads for Mediabore's showing of Pearl Harbour anyway?

"The bomb that started America's involvement in WWII?" - fuck, I didn't know that the USS Arizona was what decided the US Goverment on the whole thing in the first place. So, according to Mediawhore, it wasn't the unprovoked sneak attack of that naval facility on Hawaii, just the ship? And to end that teaser trailer with "And America hasn't stopped its involvement in major conflicts around the world since then..."

Uh, you know what? I'm not too sure if that's a good thing, especially to end it with "War on Terror/Present". Good thing War in Iraq/2003 wasn't in there, eh? Not with the latest admission that there probably weren't any WMDs in there in the first place?

Rather simplistic, don't ya think?

And the one I saw tonight: "They were self-sacrificing men... they were kamikaze." Dude, did you pass your History exams? Jesus! It's Pearl Harbour! It's fuckin' 1941! They weren't even starting to lose the goddamned war yet!

Thanks a lot, Mediasnore. I'm expecting a ton of History teachers to be marking exam scripts and going, "What the f-? Kamikaze?!"

I Weel Keel You Until You Die From It

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

Today was the day...

- Of learning that getting linked by mrbrown means a sudden spike from an average 60 hits a day to 583 and 479 hits on Monday and Tuesday respectively. Not complaining though... just overwhelmed.

- Of witnessing the encroachment of capitalism upon religion. I arrived at the Thian Hock Keng Temple in time to see the Coke vending machine being moved into place.

- Of parents not being able to control their children, even in a temple.

- Of children faking a crying fit.

- Of doting grandparents who scuttle every effort by the parents of said children to instill some discipline because of the crying fit.

- Of sheepish men coming out of a nearby massage place and then noticing people looking in their direction.

- Of seeing the lighting crew chief dragging someone by the scruff of his neck and dragging him thirty metres before the latter managed to break free and flee.

- Of disappointed wedding photographers who turned up at the temple only to see it overrun by the film crew. One of them had four SLR bodies cross-strapped to him and two lenses affixed.

- Of bat guano on my clothes from the denizens of the temple, and me, not looking to cast a fireball.

The Update, As Promised

11:51 am:

At the MRT station.

If the kid says, "It's not that far," don't. Bloody. Contradict. Him and say that it's VERY far. Bad enough we have kids who probably have not walked an unbroken mile in their lives (not with those crappy heelies abound), parents don't have to them all lazier.

***

12:48 pm:

At the Post Centre, after being in line for 37 minutes, I am told, "Oh, you want the SingPass number? We can do it but it will take 5 days. You can go to the CDC upstairs and get it done immediately."

OH. MY. GOD! How much more time wasting can I expect today?

So, yes, here's the update: the CPF website does indeed royally suck. Nowhere on the damn thing does it say that there's a time lag between going to the counter at the CPF Building, or to a CDC, compared to going to a Post Office.

***

13:11 pm:

Still fuming and having left the Post Centre, I'm on my way to the HDB Geylang Branch Office.

OK, lady, if you know that the centreline of your jeans isn't lining up with your butt-crack, forcing you to adjust it every ten to fifteen steps, then you know you need to do something about the way you walk.

***

13:19pm:

"OH. MY. GOD! How much more time wasting can I expect today?

I should not have asked.

You know it's going to be a long day when there are just three numbers in the queue before you, but the average waiting time is 35 minutes (or so the bright red numbers on the electronic board says).

And 35 minutes is too much time witness how bitter and distrusting the elderly in Singapore are. There were some really raw emotions three counters over where an old lady was crying because she has to pay for the rental of her one-roomer out of her savings because she's living with two others who aren't able to pay their share.

Reason #4 why I want to leave this place. I'd really hate to grow old here, living off nothing once my economic worth to the country has ended.

***

14:24pm:

At ACRA. And resisting the urge to Alt-Tab through different windows while I wait for the registration screen to load up. Windoze XP has a lot to answer for.

***

14:50pm:

BUT.

BUT.

Finally I have a business. And it only took three hours, 75% of which was waiting time. Now how's that for a world class system?

~ismsPictures will begin operations on 1 November 2004.

Now I'm off to worry about the website...

That Other Black Hole

I just barely managed to escape the gravitational pull of that entity known as the CPF Board.

Was on hold for the better part of the morning while I made enquiries about setting up the business (finally!), then the two women who helped me weren't the best of the lot; to be fair, the first was helpful if a bit blur (and, with the compartmentalisation that goes on in any government agency, fully understandable), but the second one was just condescending and, well, rude.

Foolishly, I got caught in an eddy of bureaucratic BS. I don't know how I got in, but I'm feeling lucky I got out:

Apparently, I was to make sure that my Medisave account is topped up as advised by EH and then confirmed by the ACRA website. Uh, ok, all right then, what is the amount I need?

First Girl (FG): "I don't know. But your account looks healthy."
Me: "But you don't know if it's enough."
FG: "No, sorry. But let me transfer you to someone who knows."

Five minutes of being on hold later, finally someone who 'knows':

Second girl (Biatch): "Use your SingPass to find out."
Me: "I don't have my SingPass. I lost the PIN a while back."
Biatch: "[audible sigh of impatience] But you tried to register your business and failed, right? If you were directed to me, then it must mean you don't have enough in your account."
Me: "Uh, you need the SingPass to register the business online. I already told you I don't have my SingPass. I couldn't have tried to register, and failed."
Biatch: "Then you should register for SingPass."
Me: "And how long does that take?"
Biatch: "About one week."
Me: "But I'm going down to ACRA this afternoon. My application with HDB for a home office lasts only until Friday."
Biatch: "You can register online. Or come down to CPF or any CDC."
Me: "Can't you just tell me if I'm topped up? I don't need the exact amount. I have the statement here with me."
Biatch: "Use your SingPass to find out."
Me: "???!!!"

And all I bloody needed was someone to say, "Yes, you have the necessary amount in your account."

I think even saying "Well, if you haven't withdrawn anything from your Medisave since you started working, then it should be fine..." would have been sufficient.

No wonder there aren't a lot of entreprenuers in Singapore. They get stuck in the black hole of red tape and no one gets out, except the bruised and battered, all the while wondering what the hell the fuss was all about.

At least the call to HDB didn't go as badly and I got ALL my answers in all of 5 minutes.

***

Update:

Leaving the flat in about half an hour to see if the information on the CPF wesbite is current. If not, be sure to expect another update in about five hours.

Thanks, Really

To the family who got out of the lift on the 5th floor after one of you had farted (loudly) and leaving me to ride the lift all the way up to my floor.

With my breath held of course.

And you didn't really have to laugh about it as the lift doors closed on me.

***

And finally, my last two posts in the series, yesterday's:


cages still life #10
Originally uploaded by Terz.

and today's:


cages still life #11
Originally uploaded by Terz.

Idiosyncracies

Y'know, I can't remember the last time I read something this sanctimonious and self-righteous in quite a while:

"Top independent boys' secondary school..." (repeated again later in the letter - ok, we geddit. Happy?)

"My eldest son's co-form teacher is a tyrant to her students. She doesn't let a day go by without scolding somebody. They wonder why she chose to teach. It has come to the point where the boys actually look forward to being sent out of the class." ('Tyrant?' Yeesh, written like a student herself. Why do you think she chose to teach? And let's think about this for a bit: the source of this information is...? And your source tells you boys look forward to being sent out of class? Hmm, something sounds fishy here. Did said source get into hot water with you recently about something and this came up? I don't know. Just a thought.)

"Is this another idiosyncrasy or the prerogative of teachers to be rude and disrespectful?" (Eh? From the actions of one example, she makes the generalisation to all teachers?)

"There are teachers who complain that students nowadays are defiant, disrespectful and difficult to handle. These teachers generally have poor rapport with students, are unpopular and are disliked." (And she knows this because she's an expert in human behaviour and especially in teachers. And certainly her children, of a top independent school, aren't ever at fault when this happens, right?)

"...to see teaching not just as a well-paid job, but also as a fulfilling profession?" (Er, excuse me while I laugh my ass off at the part about being 'well-paid' - sure if getting $10 an hour every day for 40 69-hour weeks - without including CCA, pointless meetings and having to come back during the holidays - is being 'well-paid'. If this is what a parent thinks of the majority of the people who get into the teaching profession, then, well, god help them all.)

Are we judging idiosyncracies now?

COUNSEL IDIOSYNCRATIC TEACHERS TOO

THE Ministry of Education has plans for more full-time counsellors to help students with various issues. May I suggest that the ministry extend the scheme to teachers, to teach them how to interact and communicate with students, particularly teenagers, and to respect students as fellow beings whose feelings are as easily hurt as theirs. Teachers should also be taught anger management.

I am a mother with four school-going children. The older two are in a top independent boys' secondary school and the younger two are in primary school.

I have noted that there is an increasing number of young teachers who lack the most essential qualification of an educator - the human touch. They have poor rapport with students; they lack interpersonal skills; they do not treat students with respect but expect respect and total obedience; they behave as if a teacher has the intrinsic right to yell, shout and scream at students whenever the mood strikes; they believe that imparting values and morals is done through scolding and punishment.

My eldest son's co-form teacher is a tyrant to her students. She doesn't let a day go by without scolding somebody. They wonder why she chose to teach. It has come to the point where the boys actually look forward to being sent out of the class.

She has certain standards of behaviour of which the boys are ignorant. For instance, when she scolds the boys, they are expected to look at the floor. When my son was scolded by her for not doing corrections, he looked at her. She took that as, and I quote her words in her correspondence with me, 'aggression' and 'defiance'.

I explained that I teach my children to look at adults when talking to them. Looking elsewhere or at certain parts of the anatomy might be interpreted as disrespect or disinterest.

However, the teacher accused him of being defiant, scolded him and sent him out of the class. In our correspondence, even though I offered an explanation for my son's behaviour, her reply was that she expects a student to look at the teacher only when the teacher is talking.

In addition, her students feel that she is self-righteous. It is always the students who are at fault. During one lesson, she held a whiteboard marker in her right hand while gesticulating to make a point. She inadvertently pointed her middle finger at the class and the boys laughed. She saw red. She ordered the boy who had laughed the loudest to stand beside her and deliberately pointed her middle finger at him and told him to laugh. It became the student's fault. His crime? Laughter.

Nobody is perfect. Students make mistakes. Teachers, too, make mistakes. Students are expected to apologise but what about teachers?

Do teachers punish students because they feel that the students had done wrong or is it out of anger?

My son's class dislikes this teacher so much that they rejoice when she is absent from school. One boy even goes to the extent of reading the obituary every morning to see if her photograph is there. The whole class is afraid of her following them up to Secondary Four next year.

Mind you, this is a top independent school. The boys are grounded in such subjects as Philosophy and Character Development. The irony is that this teacher also teaches Character Development.

I have corresponded with this teacher. She is a good teacher only in the sense that she delivers her lessons well and she chases students for corrections and late work. She says that she does not always scold the boys. She only talks to them to teach them right from wrong. Her intention is good, but her mode of delivery is obviously undesirable.

Another teacher in the school has the unpleasant habit of pulling students by the back of the collar or using whatever she has in her hands to hit the boys when they pass by her without greeting her. She would then stare at them and they are expected to know the reason for her stare and greet her. Is this another idiosyncrasy or the prerogative of teachers to be rude and disrespectful?

There are teachers who complain that students nowadays are defiant, disrespectful and difficult to handle. These teachers generally have poor rapport with students, are unpopular and are disliked.

However, at the other end of the spectrum, there are teachers who have fantastically good rapport with students, who are able to gain their trust and confidence and who have the knack of scolding without being judgmental, without harsh words and with their students accepting their punishment because they feel that they deserved it.

What can the Ministry of Education do to help teachers enjoy teaching, to see teaching not just as a well-paid job, but also as a fulfilling profession?

NG KIM YONG (MRS)