Ms Teo and her Classroom

2010-03-25T06:43:00.001-07:00

Felt a little desolate walking out of class today. Don't think I taught much and they understood much.

Dejected.

Of Revival

2010-03-21T07:29:00.000-07:00

Yup, I'm back.

Was feeling kinda down and tired recently of work, that's why I chose not to post anything here. It's not exactly teaching that I'm tired of, but more of the work involved and the way some students behave.

But yes, I'm back with a vengence and I really really hope I can make a difference in some of your lives. You don't have to tell me if I made a difference in your life, but please tell me if I don't ok? =)

I've been thinking about my classes this March hols and I realised I haven't done the best I can with them.

Therefore this is what I propose:
I will have consultation slots every Monday and Friday afternoon from 2.30pm to 5.30pm (last order at 5pm!). Anyone who wants to ask me anything regarding your class assignments/tests/exam is welcome to book a slot with me.... And yes I mean you guys from 2/3, 2/4 and 3M! So don't pretend and look away... I'M WATCHING YOU.

Anyway. I really hope you guys had a good break (yes, yes, I know, what break, you say. You have mountains of homework to clear all week right?), both mentally and physically. It's going to be a short run to the exams now so please hang on and let's work together ok? =)

EL MYE ---> 30 April

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2010-02-10T03:57:00.000-08:00

I'm disappointed. At some students.

Sometimes I wonder what is it that students want out of school. Yes you study, but is that so boring such that you have to resort to stupid antics to attract attention to yourself?

I'm really exhausted.

Of Contentment and Disappointment

2010-01-29T06:30:00.000-08:00

How was your level camp guys? Fun?

I hope you had fun, because I did! :) I went to the Sec 2 camp and yup it was very heartwarming indeed to see so many of you enjoying yourselves. I hope whatever you've learnt during camp (values, skills etc) will be used on challenges you might face in your life...

As much as I like to stay happy and contented with the camp, I can't help but feel upset at a certain piece of news I heard about another level camp. I'm upset at the people directly involved in the event, but even more so, I'm extremely disappointed with a certain someone whom I would never have thought will help the perpetrator do his deed. I hope he knows what he did was wrong...

All in all, it has been a rather fun 3 days and 2 nights, so now... let's get ready for school! :)

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New Hopes for the Coming Year...

2009-12-22T02:35:00.000-08:00

Yup, the new year is coming soon... A new year of hopes, dreams and maybe even success!

I mean success for all my classes, whether of 2009 or 2010. Every class I have taught in CSS has given me memories that I will indeed treasure...

I think some of you guys are pretty happy that I won't be teaching you anymore next year. Haha, no more scoldings, no more naggings. But then, as you grow a year older, you also will encounter other people or teachers telling you "no more playing, no more fooling around".

Some of you will be in your streaming year next year, while some of you will be now known as the mighty Upper Sec seniors. I do hope no matter which class you are in, you will remember all that I've said/nagged/scolded in class because I didn't say all those things for nothing.

I said/did all those things in the hope that you will learn and grow. Some of you probably still hate me for the things I said during the year to you, but I know you will understand one day. I trust you. I trust you will grow up and understand sooner or later.

Since the holidays are ending, I hope all homework is done (yes, homework!) and all books and uniforms are bought.

And since we can't delay the start of the school term and prolong the holidays (as much as all of us want to), let's look on the bright side and await a new beginning! A new beginning of maybe new friends, new teachers and better results!

Just a note: For those who think that Ms Teo will ignore you if she is not teaching you anymore, you are wrong. Anytime you need to talk to someone, and you think I can be a good listener, I'm always here :)

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Of the End in Sight

2009-11-20T06:16:00.000-08:00

Time really flies, doesn't it?

It feels like year 2009 has just started, with new classes, new teachers and even new friends.

It has been a year of laughter and tears. Laughter every time I walk in and I see your happy, smiling faces. Tears every time the lesson doesn't go as I expected or something happens that takes the joy out of learning.

Even with tears, I still found the year extremely enriching and enjoyable for me. I love my classes of 2009 and I wish I can follow some of them up. Unfortunately, circumstances are such that they now have other EL teachers with them. The good part is, these other teachers have so much more experience than I have and so the students are definitely going to benefit.

I miss all my students, regardless of whether I've scolded/punished you before. I really care for every one of you out there, and I hope no matter what happens in future, you will remember you had this female PRETTY teacher who has tried her hardest to give you good lessons.

In fact, I hope at least some of you have learnt something from my lessons throughout this year.

Let's now look forward to the new year and rejoice! :) In the meanwhile, do enjoy your holidays!

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2009-10-06T07:42:00.000-07:00

Yes I know it's been a long time since I last posted, but where do I find the time to post when I've been busy trying to mark all your assignments and tests so that I can return them to you before the exams?

And yup, Thursday looms.

Please get ready for Thursday's papers. They're not going to be easy at all.

But in any case, I know you guys can do it! :)

2009-08-24T07:03:00.000-07:00

I'm sick, people!

Gah. Sorry for missing lessons.

Ms Tan will be taking over for this week, and I WILL know if you have been misbehaving in her lessons so... please pay attention! Plus, since the exams are coming, whatever she's doing now is way way important!

I'll drink more water and take more Vitamin C in the meantime... bleah.

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The Complexity We Face Everyday...

2009-06-07T18:35:00.000-07:00

For those who are demoralised over your less-than-average English results, do not despair yet! How could we ever master the horrendously complicated English Language when it's like this???

Another English Lesson

We'll begin with box, and the plural is boxes;
But the plural of ox should be oxen, not oxes.
Then one fowl is goose, but two are called geese ...
Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.

You may find a lone mouse or a whole lot of mice,
But the plural of house is houses, not hice.
If the plural of man is always called men,
When couldn't the plural of pan be called pen?

The cow in the plural may be cows or kine,
But the plural of vow is vows, not vine.
And I speak of a foot, and you show me your feet,
But I give a boot ... would a pair be called beet?

If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,
Why shouldn't the plural of booth be called beeth?
If the singular is this and plural is these,
Why shouldn't the plural of kiss be nicknamed kese?

Then one may be that, and three may be those,
Yet the plural of hat would never be hose;
We speak of a brother, and also of brethren,
But though we say mother, we never say methren.

The masculine pronouns are he, his and him,
But imagine the feminine she, shis, and shim!
So our English, I think you will all agree,
Is the trickiest language you ever did see.

I take it you already know
Of tough and bough and cough and dough?
Others may stumble, but not you
On hiccough, thorough, slough, and through?

Well, done! And now you wish, perhaps
To learn of less familiar traps?
Beware of heard, a dreadful word
That looks like beard and sounds like bird.

And dead; it's said like bed, not bead;
For goodness sake, don't call it deed!
Watch out for meat and great and threat,
(they rhyme with suite and straight and debt)

A moth is not a moth in mother.
Nor both in bother, broth in brother.
And here is not a match for there.
And dear and fear for bear and pear.

And then there's dose and rose and lose
-- Just look them up -- and goose and choose.
And cork and work and card and ward,
And font and front and word and sword.

And do and go, then thwart and cart.
Come, come, I've hardly made a start
.A dreadful language? Man alive,
I'd learned to speak it when I was five,
And yet to write it,the more I sigh ...

(Taken from http://www.lifesmith.com/english.html#anchor17447254)

Now you know why English is not easy to master?
Master we may not, but learn and use we definitely can!
So don't give up on learning English ok? =)

2009-05-20T06:12:00.000-07:00

I'm a little disappointed with the way some of my classes are behaving lately. They did not do well for the exams, yet they don't see the need to change certain kinds of attitude and behaviour they now have in class.

What more can I do? I'm at a loss now.

Have I not done enough?

Yahoo~~~

2009-05-13T07:04:00.000-07:00

And yes, exams are finally over!

Isn't it a relief to finally not mug night after night anymore? Of course, all of you still have your final year exams to think about soon, but then it's alright to take a breather first isn't it? =)

I've been wondering lately, what makes a good teacher? Now, there are many different definitions of the word "good". Some of you may associate "good" with "likeable", whereas others might think "good" = "teaches well/I can totally understand the lesson".

Do you have other definitions of what makes a good teacher? Do let us know by leaving a comment in this post. Tell us what you think a good teacher is like and, if possible, tell us if you have a specific good teacher in mind (either in primary school or secondary school).

I'll be waiting for your comments... =)

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Superhero Alert

2009-04-11T09:27:00.001-07:00

It's been a hectic term and I'm glad it's coming to an end. What with planning lessons, marking scripts, writing reports, doing up timetables, I don't exactly remember having the time for anything at all. Sigh.

Anyway here are some pictures of 1/3 during their hero creation. Some were actually pretty good, it's a pity the students threw them away immediately after the lesson.

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Of the grand ITE

2009-02-16T05:12:00.000-08:00

I went with my class to ITE Bukit Batok last Monday and Tuesday and it was interesting, to say the least. Many things happened, both good and bad so let's not delve in deeper here.

But I can see, at least, that my class is now on the right track. Most of them were attentive and they asked pretty pertinent and good questions about their future careers or courses they would like to attend at ITE three years down the road. I'm really glad that most of them are sensible enough to know that their route to success lies in their own hands, and I'm definitely willing to give a helping hand to any who might need it. :)

Here are some pictures (lame, funny, blur, etc) I took while I was observing them.

Hard at work...

Mug shots of Lutfi and Aziq

Guess whose shadow this is?

Mr Tay decides to show them what he's made of.

Phew. Took me some time to get these photos up, and they are not even the full set! Oh well, as you all know me, technology and Ms Teo do not go well together at all. Sigh.

P.S. All the way Jeremy! We're rooting for you! :)

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Of work and work and work and...

2009-02-09T05:17:00.000-08:00

It's interesting how things are sometimes.

I set up this blog in the hope of putting up entries that can either help some of you in your work, or inspiring in some way. Then I thought I could keep to my commitment of one post weekly at least, so you guys don't feel too bored, thinking that all Ms Teo knows is to talk (Well, yes I do know how to talk, but.. you get what I mean).

Been sick recently, a bout of flu and viral infections left me pale and breathless most of the time last week. Took a day off school on Friday, hoping that things can be better. Yup, I do feel better already, but still pale and feeling faint at times, or in a student's words, " 'cher, your face today no colour, I don't like".

Took some fun and interesting pictures today when I went with my class to ITE Bukit Batok. I'll find some time to upload them here as well as in Facebook after the level camps yeah?

In the meantime, do take care everyone, the flu bug's in town... Drink more water and oh yah, please enjoy yourself in camp! Whether you're in Sec 1 (classes I'm teaching now), Sec 2 (my class), or Sec 3 (my previous classes), you know you're in for a fun time during camp, so just have fun before the gruelling school days start again! :)

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Of Saving Up...

2009-01-10T07:37:00.000-08:00

Jun. 14th, 2005

Money is not everything. But I can't live without it, I realise. I try to scrimp and save, of course, when the GSS is on like now, scrimping and saving gets relegated to the bottom of my mind while buying that "must-get-since-got-discount" item takes top priority. I try to convince myself that I don't need that particular item any more do I need another pair of shorts to add to my growing wardrobe. "Must buy for school!" Anyway, that convincing didn't work, as I reached for that item, brushing off that angel who was on my shoulder and embracing the devil on the other side.

The GSS is definitely not for people like me, not for people who live on only their tuition pay. So that's how looking for jobs comes in. Flipping the classified ads daily became a habitual routine of mine while eating breakfast, zooming in on part time vacancies, since tuition hours are irregular. But, somehow, every one I called turned out to be either some sleazy-sounding shrine with the aim of devouring pretty, kind,caring girls like me, or they are located in some forest deep deep in the plains. What is a girl like me supposed to do? A pretty, kind, caring girl like me? No idea.

So I gave up on classified ads and turned to online job sites. Whoo, dozens of vacancies to take my pick from. I clicked on "Apply" and "Send resume" happily, clicking and sending, clicking and sending, clicking and sending...

A phone call. I snatched the phone up. "Well, we DID say we have admin/customer service jobs available, but they are all taken up. How would you like to do some swimsuit modelling? The pay is very attractive.."

!!!

Which part of my resume says I have a to-die-for body suited for modelling? Even a pretty, kind, caring girl like me can have a cellulite-filled, fat-rolling and heavy-peared-shape body too. Anyway that's not the point. The point here is, I applied for an admin post, and I got a modelling stint? And the best part : "You only have to pay $200 for your portfolio, after which we will 'supposedly' give you some assignments by "some prestigious" companies who are looking for people like you." Ok, so the "supposedly" was added by me, but hey, a portfolio which costs me 200 bucks is supposed to get me some assignments? And I cant even remember which "prestigious companies" he mentioned, but it sure didn't sound like anything I've heard before. And hello, I didn't even send my photo together with my resume, they are looking for people like me? Wow, I knew I was good, but still....

Looking for jobs stinks, finding one sucks and the actual job-working is quite boring. Haha. So let's just stick with the scrimping and saving...

Aha. I knew I saw some ads on discounts for skirts...

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Of Writing Scripts

2008-12-28T06:09:00.000-08:00

Jul. 17th, 2005

(Mandy is a cool girl who is dressed in her boring, drab and utterly hideous school uniform. She is bubbly, outgoing and a little ditzy at times. Shu Yin is her best friend.)

Mandy: Did you hear about the centa.. cenna... the whatever celebrations the school will be holding in a month's time?

Shu Yin: Its centenary celebration, the school's 100th year. Yeah I heard it will be a great big event that day. I even heard they are going to change the school's uniform too, and they are holding a uniform-designing competition to get ideas from the student body.

Mandy: Great! Finally we can get rid of these boring-looking uniforms and maybe get something really cool and snazzy to wear. Hey let's join the competition together ok?

Shu Yin: Nah, you won't catch me participating in school events, I'm telling you. So pointless, why don't you spend the time more wisely by studying?

Mandy: (staring at Shu Yin) Ok, I have no idea why we are best friends but yeah ok, do whatever you want. I want to join this competition and let everyone know about my artistic talent!

Shu Yin: Your what? You have an artistic talent? Interesting... We learn something new everyday...

Another scene.

(Mandy and Shu Yin are in the canteen, Mandy gushing over her idea of the new school uniform with Shu Yin looking on in disgust.)
(Ashley, the renowned spolit princess in school, and Cindy, her faithful sidekick, walk in.)

Ashley: (stopping by Mandy's and Shu Yin's table and talking to Cindy in a loud voice) Hey, have you heard? Someone with absolutely no talent and poise whatsoever is going to enter the uniform-design contest! Isn't that a laugh? How can she compete with me? Me, winner of the 2004 National Schools Art Competition?

Cindy: Yeah! No competition!

Ashley: Exactly! Why don't she look in the mirror and realise that she will pale in comparison with me?

Cindy: (chants) Yeah! No competition!

Ashley: (looking at Cindy strangely but continues) Well, I'm entering the competition too. That way maybe some people will realise that they don't even stand a chance!

Cindy: (still chanting) Yeah! No competition!

Ashley: Ok now you are being an ass. Can you say something else?

Cindy: Yeah! Uh.. Sure! No competition...whatsoever!

Ashley: (rolls eyes) Let's just go.

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Mandy: Well! How dare she say that! She thinks she will win doesn't she? See what I've got! (Eyes gleaming)

Shu Yin: (Sighs)

Speakerphone: Will all prefects please pay attention to this announcement. All prefects are to meet in the AVA room for a meeting about the centenary celebrations. I repeat, all prefects are to meet in the AVA room now for an urgent meeting. Thank you.

Mandy: Sigh. Why am I a prefect? Prefects have so many duties that are so boring. I just want to be a normal student, someone who studies all day long, goes home straight after school and have no social life!

Shu Yin: (sarcastically) Thanks a lot for describing me. Hurry up and go for your meeting, I'll wait for you.

(In the AVA room, Mandy is still complaining about being a prefect to another friend, Peipei.)

Mandy: (blah blah blah)

Peipei: (nodding distractedly) Uh huh.. yah.. I understand.

Mandy: (finally realising no one is listening to her) Peipei! Are you listening? What are you looking at? (Swivels her head in the direction Peipei is looking at)
Gasp! Who is that?! Oh my, how dashing can someone be? ohh... Peipei you were looking at him!

Peipei: (blushes) No I was not, he was making a commotion at the back and it caught my attention that's all.

Mandy: Uh huh, I'm sure. Wow, he's really good looking though. New student I guess. And a prefect already? He sure works fast. Hmm.. If I get to wear the sexy uniform I designed, he may like me! (Drools)

Peipei: Wah can you stop dirtying the floor with your saliva? Enough already! Meeting starting!

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(After the meeting, outside the AVA room)

Mandy walks in front of the boy and dropped a packet of tissue ever-so-casually on the floor)

Boy: (Picking it up) Excuse me! You dropped something!

Mandy: (turning around as gracefully as she can) Oh! Thank you so much! (Lowers her eyelashes in mock shyness)

Boy: Yeah no problem. See you.

Mandy: (hurriedly) Hey wait! Um... I'm Mandy.. You are..?

Boy: (With a flick of his hair) I'm Alvin. Nice to meet you. I gotta go, see you around.

(Mandy stared after him longingly, and in the distance, she saw Ashley walk up to him and chatting away, they walked off together.)

Mandy: What?! Ashley and him? No way. Impossible. Must be Ashley trying to sink her claws into Alvin, that sweet innocent boy. Poor thing. I have to help him get out of that witch's clutches. And winning the uniform-design contest might be the answer...

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Will Mandy win the uniform-design contest and win Alvin''s heart at the same time? Will Alvin take a second look at Mandy? Or will Ashley thwart Mandy's well-thought plans?

Episode 2 coming up.

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Of Growing Up and Responsibility

2008-12-21T21:31:00.000-08:00

Aug. 3rd, 2005

Whatever made me think I was all grown-up and ready to fly out of the house? Whatever made me think that being 21 yrs of age has made me a woman all eager to venture outside?

Many people dream of being 21 when they were in their early teens, either because only then can they escape out of their parents' clutches by claiming to be an adult, or because they can finally watch an RA movie without dodging and ducking. I, too, dreamt of being 21 as soon as I possibly can. Looking at my sister grow up into a beautiful young lady working outside, giving money to my parents and buying exquisite yet costly clothes and accessories for herself, I wished upon many many stars to be able like her one day. Hoping that one day will be the next day I wake up.

Well it's finally here. Or at least it's going to be here in 2 months. 2 months. Flies by without anyone noticing. I will finally be 21. But it is not all I thought it to be. Sure, RA movies will still be for my taking, but I never read the fine print there on the of-age contract. It should be there in big bold letters: ALONG WITH FREEDOM AND ADULTHOOD COMES RESPONSIBILITY, FINANCIAL OR OTHERWISE.

I never knew that. Ok, maybe I do, but who will think about financial responsibility when you have sheltered comfort, warm beds and loving parents? I wish that I have never wished upon those little stars. Along with being an adult comes the duty of earning money, something which is not easy. Being a kid means I can always hold out my hand and money will be given to me for buying the stuff I want. But not now. No longer can I just hold out my hand. Not only do I have to earn my upkeep, I got to make sure my mom does not crack under all the financial pressure too. The burden on her is huge, no matter how much I try to take some off her, she is forever bogged down by the fact that bills are always on the pile.

What can I do? Find a job? Does tuition count? I can't possibly start any real work now like sales assistant or what-not since school is starting soon. The only way is to teach tuition. Sure, I could take up more students and be bugged by them, but I'll have to do it at the expense of my own spare time and the very limited time I could spend with loved ones and friends. Win the lottery? I have never supported gambling, though the lottery is not technically considered gambling. I think. This option is out.

What else can I do? Save, save and save. But, as much as I appreciate wholly the efforts of some friends to pass me some cash, I do not wish to take any money from them. Call me stubborn, but the value of friendship is always much more than monetary value. Money always has a way of hurting relationships, intentionally or otherwise. Thus it is up to me to hold myself up and "reach for the stars" without breaking my neck at the same time.

And guess what? I believe I can.

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Of Random Song/Poem

2008-12-15T05:40:00.000-08:00

Mar. 4th, 2006

Girl, I know it's been a while
Since I held and kissed you
Please believe me when I say
I never once forgot you.

We have always tried our best
To give each other all we can
But there came a time when
I got so mad I forgot
What made you sad.

You cried and sniffed over the phone
However it got me all riled up
Ready to rage and pounce on your
Every mistake, this I do.

I once told you not to cry
You look ugly when you do
But then I made you so sad
That I cried when you cried too.

The more I raged so the more you cry
Till I gave up on you
I told you I want out
Me, you couldn't refuse.

But you never gave up on me
Not once you do
I called back some time later
And to hear you say "I do".

I rejoiced and so did you
We had some happy times together
But came one day again when I made you sad
I gave up once again on you.

Girl, I'm sorry now
Please forgive me
I'll never make you sad again
let alone give up on you.

But you got to understand me
The way some other girl did
I cared for her, and I care for you
Don't leave me please.

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Of being lost and desolate

2008-12-09T06:15:00.000-08:00

April 6th, 2005

I found her. I saw her when I was walking along the path of destituism. She was smiling, ever so sweetly, at me. I looked at her and almost ran away as I did not want her to see me in this state, but her eyes drew me closer, alluring eyes with a hint of mystic. I went forward and said to her grudgingly, "Why are you here? It's too late now. Go away ok? I don't need your help, I needed it before but you didn't appear so why should you appear now? Go away."

She gazed at me and asked softly, "You really want me to go? If you do, I shall go now and never come back." I stubbornly stood with my back to her and refused to acknowledge her. She patted me on the back and kissed me gently on the cheek, her soft hair sliding across my shoulder. A whiff of nostalgia, regret, remorse and anticipation overwhelmed me but a moment of hesitation, and the feeling is gone.

She is gone too. I looked over my shoulder and I couldn't see her anymore. A deep sense of regret filled me but I shook myself and said, "Well, she wouldn't have helped anyway. She didn't appear when she should and now it is too late."

I continued on along the path of destituism, not knowing where I was headed. As I walked, and sometimes crawled due to lack of strength, I stumbled many times and each time I fell, tears of despair flooded my eyes. A single thought was on my mind during those times : Where are you?! Pls appear, I really need you now. I'm sorry I asked you to leave, I thought it was too late, but I'm wrong. Pls forgive me.

But nobody arrived. I cried and stumbled til I came to a fork. Which way should I go? Will the way I choose be safe? Can I be sure that I will choose the safer and ultimately smoother route? I stood there thinking and thinking and thinking and...

A flash of light and there she is, smiling at me with that graceful smile I know so well. I saw her lips move "Don't worry, I am always here. I heard your cries, don't think I didn't, but I wanted you to stumble and learn. I didn't leave and I will never leave you. Anytime you need help, just think of me and I will appear. But I want you to try whatever you think is right first, so I can help you achieve more when I arrive."

Is it raining? Why is my face wet? I reached up and my hand came away wet. I was crying. Touched. She is here. I found her.

Confidence.

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Of Revenge for the sake of Revenge

2008-12-03T07:46:00.000-08:00

April 12th, 2005

After a relaxing and ultimately dreamless sleep, I found myself engaging in a tug-of-war with Adrian, my friend whom I think must be the founder of What-an-idiot-is series of books. A clash of opinions ensued in the foreground while wits battled at the back. Suddenly a flash of bright light and a slash of red ink appeared on my arm. He waved the offending pen at me and smirked, with a hint of yaya-ness shadowing his eyes. I stared at him and slowly took out my OHP marker. Bright purple. Thick nib. Smudge-able. PERMANANT.

He saw the dangerous glint in my eyes and backed away slowly. Unfortunately, the seats in the lecture hall refrained him from moving any further than half an inch or so. The lecturer's voice droned on in the background while I uncapped my marker, relishing the feel of the pen like how a psychologically-insane serial killer looks at his knife before carrying out the fatal stab.

Flexing my muscles, I leaned towards him and acting all coy, took his to-be-handed-in-today-at-2pm-coz-already-late essay and pretended to ponder over it. Beads of sweat popped out on his forehead as he imagined writing another essay in 2 hours. I hovered my OHP marker over the piece of paper and smiled angelically at him. Hand lowering. Face determined.

He was anxious. Desperate. Put his hand over his face so that he wouldn't see the result. Putting out the other hand to grab the essay back. With his eyes covered. With him sitting half an inch away. With the lecturer talking about Cartesian equations.

The sound of tearing paper was heard. At the exact moment the lecturer stopped to take a breather. Everyone in the lecture hall turned to see what was going on, some at the back even standing up to get a better look. Eyes wide, I looked at him with shock. He looked back with resignation and accusation. I decided to treat resignation as his facial expression so I wouldn't feel all that guilty about it. Seconds later, the look of resignation developed into full-fledged accusation. I sighed.

*tap tap tap* Fingers furiously clicking away, I sat hunched over the school's old and battered computer. Looking up at the clock, I saw that the deadline was only 15 minutes away.
Breathing faster.
Fingers flying over the keyboard.
Eyes blurring.

After printing that better-written-since-I-edited-for-him essay, legs pumping as fast as they would go, I ran to the tutor's office. Only to see him standing outside the office door, rejecting essays from other people, who are pleading for a redress. I looked at my watch. 2.03pm.

I could almost hear the sound of my bones breaking. Almost feel the sensation of being battered like the school's computer. Almost listen to the rantings of Adrian.

I'm dead...

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Of emo-ness

2008-12-01T06:02:00.000-08:00

I wonder if anyone is actually reading all these posts one by one.. Hmm. Oh well. *crosses fingers*

I do hope while reading, you guys can think about how to write good compos ok? :) Not that these entries are perfect (note: spelling and grammatical errors - have you spotted any? :) ), but they are examples of how writing need not be confined to "One fine day....".

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May 26th, 2005

I wonder if the world is really as we perceive it to be. We see the world as something so colourful, so vivid in its details, so true in its relations. But is it really that simple and innocent? Is everyone really up to the standard society sets for them?

Yesterday, I saw this little boy in KFC eating with his mother. He was about 4-5 years old, clad in shirt and shorts. He was so obedient, sitting quietly waiting while his mother set about preparing the pieces of chicken and fries he was about to eat. Even after his mother said he could eat, he moved ever so slowly, picking up a fry carefully, dabbing it with ketchup ever so cautiously and putting it in his mouth with the speed of a gourmet tasting a competitor's food for the first time. His face was full of anticipation and hope. His body still on the chair, he leaned forward and offered his mother a piece of chicken. his mother refused gently and urged him to eat a little faster. Throughout the sedate meal, he wasn't climbing around like the mischievous monkeys some boys his age are. He just sat there quietly, not even chattering, savouring his food.

What caught my attention, however, was how he looked. Sure, he looked every bit the handsome boy he was, but his face was filled with such maturity and depth that I couldn't fathom. He was only 4 years old, yet he gave me the impression that he had been through a lot, endured hardships and torture, which was silly, now that you think about it, but at that moment I was struck by his features. I almost stopped eating and couldn't really take my eyes off him. I was fascinated.

Of course, he couldn't have endured that much torture, since he was brought by his mother to KFC in the first place to enjoy what kids enjoy, but still I couldn’t help thinking when I got home that maybe life trials do show on one's face or features whether they like it or not. On the other hand, if you believe in past lives, then he probably was some maligned innocent worker who got convicted of some felony. I don't know what I believe. I only know that life reflects upon us, our cultures and the way we do things. Does life reflect culture or does culture reflect life?

Whichever it is, I believe that little boy was enjoying his meal, which probably does not occur often in his 4 years. That cute innocence, those child-like mannerisms, that reflective mood, has a huge impact on me. I really want all children in the world, regardless of where they are, how old they are, who they are, to enjoy their childhood years, never to experience the awful horrors some of us are going through right now.

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Comment away...............

Of a tribute to Dad

2008-11-28T05:42:00.000-08:00

July 2nd, 2005

Dad, I'm sorry.

You brought me into this world, gave me an education, and watched me grow from an awkward plump toddler to now a big, still-awkward and much-more-sensible daughter. I remember when you let me and Sis climb to your sarong you wore last time, pretending it was a swing and throwing us up and down despite Mum's desperate efforts to stop us from puking. I remember when you bought everything I liked once when I was young, just to make me smile coz you once said I have the most beautiful smile anyone could have yet I didn''t show it by having a perpetual sulk on my face. I remember you coming to my defence when Mum scolded me when I told her excitedly that I got my first temp job when I was waiting for my O'level results. She said I was too young to go out to work and that I will be bullied by older employees who are more experienced in the ways of the working world, but you gave me encouragement and even convinced Mum to let me learn. You said I had to fall in order to learn. Although you took my side only once (that time) after so many years til now, I still remember that particular incident.

You gave me an unspoken curfew without discussing it with me and reprimand me everytime I come home a little later than you want me to, though I may seem rebellious and unconcerned, I do realise that you care about me and that you just don't want to be another parent whose kid goes missing. A thing about you that may seem funny to others is that though you focus a lot on my studies and results, you didn't care much when I failed my Maths (which is almost every time), yet you scolded me harshly when I scored below 75 for my Chinese. Whenever you looked at my Maths grade, you just shook your head and said the usual things of practising more and stuff. However, the moment you saw I got a 72 for Chinese, you start to really tear into me and tell me that you were really disappointed with me. I didn't know why when I was young, but as I grew older, I realised that you saw potential in me for Chinese, and since I expressed an interest in that subject, you placed high hopes for me and wished that I can do particularly well in it. You knew I was weak in Maths, had no interest in it whatsoever, hence you didn't really push me into getting a good grade for it, a pass will suffice. I developed that interest in Chinese because of you, Dad. You were Chinese-educated, and hence you spoke more Chinese to me. When I was Primary 1, you sat me in your lap and read the Chinese newspaper out loud to me, pointed out the pictures (even the advertisements) and explained to me page by page. I really love you for that as now I know I am able to read, write and speak Chinese as fluently as the next Chinese person.

When I told you last sem I was switching from an Eng/Chn shared major to just a English single major, you didn't say anything and just told me to work hard. But I can see a little disappointment in your eyes when you turned away. I am sorry. To study honours, or to even have that little a chance to, I had to switch my major. But I assure you, Chinese will never be gone from me. That level of Chinese you instilled in me will always be honed to perfection.

We are a traditional family, hence there was none of the hugging and kissing some families do. We don't say I love you to each other, we don't hug each other, we don't even talk to each other about our problems. Your strict demeanour, straight face and stern words kept me from confiding stuff to you. Sometimes I want to tell you something that happened to me, but the moment you asked me "What?" in such a rough, gruff voice made me just want to hide under my covers. I am perpetually afraid of you scolding me, afraid of disappointing you. That's why I always choose not to tell you anything unless it's really important or unless you ask. I'm sorry.

Dad, I'm sorry for some things I've done to make you mad. I'm sorry for my poor results that always made you wonder what happened to the factory-making-process since Sis always got excellent results. I'm sorry.

And above all, I've never said that to you face-to-face, but I love you.

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Comment away...................

Of School and Assignments

2008-11-26T05:00:00.000-08:00

October 12th, 2005

A kick and off we go.

Running into the wind. Heading towards emptiness. Sprinting into wilderness.

"I can't finish! How am I supposed to do 3 essays at the same time while preparing a presentation that is worth 25%?" Tearing my hair out.

"Oh man, pls don't go weird on me. You know I'm doing the same thing, but you don't see me getting ready to be a candidate for monkhood, or nunhood for that matter." Seng Wai turned his head and looked at me.

I whacked him on the shoulder. "Hello, you do not have 3 essays, you only have 1! And that presentation of yours, you don't even need to do anything. You just talk on and on about everything. I don't have your presentation skills you know. Other people like me have to prepare."

With nothing to say, Seng Wai turned back pointedly and reverted his attention to the lecturer, who happens to know my name. The heated debate between us must have been loud. Very loud. He raised his microphone, which incidentally has been unused on the table for all his previous lectures. "Joanna, Halliday's Functional Grammer states which 2 principles, do you remember?"

I looked around me, pretending to scout for that offending person. Seng Wai, no longer my best mahjong-cum-group project-cum-slacker-cum-winniethepoohlover friend after he did this, nudged me with his foot and said in a 100 decibel voice, "Jo, asking you leh. Don't pretend can..."

Telling myself homicide is a crime, I looked at the lecturer and answered the best I could. Satisfied, the lecturer turned and continued his a-yawn-a-minute droning. Snickering, Seng Wai reached over my back to get his bag. If I hadn't moved, he would have gotten his bag. However, knowing manslaughter will also do the job, I turned abruptly and his hand landed on the leg of the girl sitting behind me. Palm down. Fingers searching for the bag. Now on the leg. Fingers still moving.

Time froze.

Seng Wai, with still a grin on his face, tried to mimick the way I answered the lecturer while searching for his bag. I heard a soft gasp and Seng Wai with an "Ahh..".

"Sorry, sorry. Really sorry. I really didn't mean to do that." With the students streaming out of the lecture hall behind us, Seng Wai apologised to the girl again. The girl stared at him and walked off, not forgetting to slam her bag "accidentally" in his face.

I laughed. Loud. With the lecturer just walking up behind me.

"Joanna, are you ok? You seemed so distracted just now and you weren't like that previously in my lectures."

"Sorry Professor."

"It's ok." Walking faster now, he called the unfortunate girl just now who was now at the stair landing. "Yu Ling! About the..." His voice got softer as they walked away.

Seng Wai, still confused, looked at me and said, "Wow, what was that? He actually knows her too. Hey she's quite pretty."

I looked at him and fluttered my eyelashes. "Prettier than me? You don't mean that."

"I don't fancy nuns. And who's supposed to go to the computer lab now to rush out a 500-word proposal for later?" Whish. The sound of dust flying behind my heels.

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Comment away................

Of the Past

2008-11-23T01:56:00.000-08:00

November 6th, 2005

20 years ago, a little baby girl was carried to a kind lady for looking-after. This kind lady took care of the little girl like she was her daughter, despite the fact she already had 4 children, 2 boys and 2 girls. The lady bathed her, fed her, played with her and patted her to sleep. When night comes, the little girl's mother would carry her back home to spend the night. The next day, she is again carried to the lady's house as the mother had to work. This carrying to and fro went on for a very long time. Even when the little girl started school, she still went back to the lady's house everyday after school and only went home at night when her mother came to fetch her. Feelings grew between the little girl and the lady, even between the little girl and the lady's children. During the day when the lady has to do housework, the little girl played with the lady's youngest son, 4 years older than her, and youngest daughter, 8 years older than her. They grew up playing and fighting together, and though squabbles were aplenty, love between them was abound. Even her other 2 older children treated the little girl just like a sister, caring for her, teaching her homework and looking after her.

The little girl knew this family so well and they treated her so well. Maybe they just treated her as a guest in the early days, but soon, when the little girl fitted in so well with them, she was just like a daughter to them. They took her on holidays abroad, paying for her full expenses and air tickets. They bought her stuffs when they went out, knowing exactly what she liked and disliked. The kind lady cooked all her favourite foods for 14 years, 3 dishes and a soup without fail. It got to an extent that when the little girl left the place, she couldn't eat her dinner for the next month due to the absense of soup. The little girl and the lady's family were so close that she called the lady "Mama" and the lady's husband, who absolutely doted on her, "Papa". She was so proud of them that she went around telling all her friends that she has 2 sets of parents, 2 Mamas and 2 Papas. Her own family was very glad that she was so close to the lady's family and not once did they think of being jealous or envious.

Alas, the time came when the little girl had to grow up. Growing up entails independence and responsibility and hence when she was in Sec 2, her mother gave the little girl her own set of house keys and told her that now she is old enough to stay at home by herself and hence no longer the need to go over to the lady's place after school. The little girl was solemn throughout her mother's speech. She understood her new-found independence and responsibility, therefore she didn't resist. She went over to the lady's house the next day and hugged her tight. She played a last game of Monopoly with her "brother" and "sister" and let them win all the money. She got the newspapers ready for the lady's husband when he got home from work in the evening. 7 pm came and her mother came to fetch her back.

The little girl cried.

The kind lady cried.

The "sister" cried with her brother standing beside her looking sad.

The lady's husband hugged her with eyes shining suspiciously.

When the little girl got home, she couldn't do anything but sit on her bed. Her mother walked in and said,"You silly girl. You can visit them anytime. They stay so near us. You could go back once a week if you like, but you must remember, now you are independent. You can't depend on that Mama anymore."

For the next 7 years, the little girl went back frequently to the lady's house to sit down and have a nice chat with her. If the lady's son was there,she would play with him, or just enjoy the squabbling that always ensued when they meet. Now the little girl is already 21 years old, in university and have a life of her own. She spends less and less time going back to the lady's house, because she has no time. But she has not forgotten her life there and she knew she will be welcomed back anytime. The lady visits her at the little girl's house from time to time too, chatting with her mother and just basically catching up with each other.

Last Saturday, the lady's youngest daughter got married. The little girl was invited, of course, with her parents to the wedding dinner. When they got to the dinner venue, the first person the little girl saw was the lady. Significantly older with lines crinkling at the corner of her eyes, she still looked the same. Even though they met only recently, the little girl suddenly felt a tug at her heart. "She looked so old. But she still is as nice and caring as ever. I've grown up; she has too. In fact, she grew at a faster rate. With an ailing health and weak bones." The little girl went over and greeted the lady. When the lady saw her, her eyes lighted up with pleasure and directed them to their seats.

The dinner started and the little girl stood, shell-shocked, when the newly-weds walked in within the midst of dry ice and flowers. Is this really the "sister" she played Monopoly with? Is this really the "sister" who used to be such a tomboy, never a skirt in her wardrobe? The little girl stood dazed, watching a lovely vision walk past her on the aisle, her charming husband beside her, an Aussie no less.

The dinner went by pretty quickly and soon it was time to go. As usual, the couple and their parents stood in a line at the exit, shaking hands with everyone and thanking them for their coming. The little girl shook hands with the groom, his parents, and she turned to the bride. Impulsively, the little girl hugged her. The bride was surprised as they seldom show such display of affection with each other but tears could be seen in her eyes. Then the little girl hugged the lady and her husband. Turning away to go, the little girl felt nostalgic and happy at the same time.

The little girl knows that she is always welcomed in the lady's family. She will always be missed and thought upon. And she, in turn, will miss them very greatly.
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I love you, Mama. I used to have so many reasons for not going over to pay you a visit. Those are excuses, I know now. I can spend so much time going out with friends, yet I can't even spare a little time going over to chat with you. I'm sorry and I miss you.

Thank you.

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Of Nostalgia

2008-11-21T04:23:00.000-08:00

I suddenly remembered I used to keep a personal blog some years back, and I've written some flashbacks and short stories in it.

NOTE: Flashbacks = Personal Recounts, Short Stories = Narratives (See how I can always link anything back to YOUR English? Muahaha...)

Anyway.

I kept some of those blog posts in Word Doc form for memory's sake, and reading them again just makes me wonder at how I actually used to write (and of course, wonder at the amount of time I had, from the length of some posts!).

Some of you complained that you can't write good and interesting stories or that you have no idea what recounts look like. For the next few entries, I will be posting up some of them one by one.

Here is the first one... Oh yes, do let me know if you want to see more ok? :) And yes, any comments are welcomed! :)

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April 13th, 2006

08:15 pm

"Smile, Ah Boy, smile!"Ah Boy puckered up her mouth and scrunched her face for the camera. I laughed. The photographer took a priceless picture of Ah Boy making faces and, putting the camera down, he smiled too.

We were at Toa Payoh Senior Citizens' Physiotherapy Centre. Volunteering to help feed, push wheelchairs and attend to the needs of the elderly folk who were there due to some physiological problem. Ah Boy was an elderly woman who will always look for the chance to escape from the centre. It was amazing really, the way she walked slowly, very slowly, to the sliding door, and because she either had no strength or did not know how to open the door, she will sit on a chair just beside the door. Then she waits. If someone came in or went out without shutting the door properly, she will try her best to get out. But because she walked so so slowly, she can never manage to step outside without someone, a nurse or a physiotherapist, guiding her back with a firm hand. Once, a physiotherapist told us, Ah Boy managed to get out the door, and when she turned back to look, the people just waved at her and said, "Bye bye Ah Boy! Bye!" And off she went. Of course, someone will catch up with her in no time to guide her back. When I heard that, I laughed till my sides hurt.

I looked around me. Nurses and caregivers were bustling around tending to the old people who seem to want to do everything all the time.

It was lunch time. We queued up in the line together with other volunteers to get the plates of rice to distribute to the elderly folk. After doing that, we hung around to help any nurse who was having difficulty trying to feed porridge to two or more old people at the same time. I fed an old man who couldn't really say a word except tap the edge of the table whenever he wanted another spoonful. I used to reel in disgust when I see drool, especially that of elderly people. But that day, I quietly wiped up the drool that was dribbling down his chin, the bits of porridge stuck to his lip, the water that spilt on his clothes. I didn't mind at all. Not only did I not mind, I even feel happy doing all that.

I looked at J, who was opposite me feeding a physically disabled old lady who couldn't feed herself. Our eyes met and we smiled.

The day went by quickly and soon it was time to go. We said our goodbyes and decided to do something for their Christmas party which was coming up in a few weeks' time. We decided in the end to do the practical thing and gave some money to the kind physiotherapist who was organising this big party all by herself. She bought presents for everyone.

On the day of the party, we stepped in into the centre which was decorated in silvers and greens. Everyone seemed so upbeat, even the elderly whom some may not know what was happening but just got caught up in the mood. Some games ensued. J and I were pulled into a newspaper game where we were supposed to stand on a piece of newspaper every time the music stopped and the piece of newspaper will get smaller and smaller each time. The last duo standing that manages to both be on the smallest piece of paper wins. Both of us were extremely self-conscious at first, and we didn't dance like we were supposed to around the paper when the music was playing. Each time the movie stopped, each duo just jumped onto the paper with little shrieks and exclamations heard. We were the second last duo to lose and though we didn't win, not that we played to win anyway, we had so much fun. Both of us were grinning our faces off when the game ended and everyone clapped heartily for the duo that won.

The lucky draw segment after that sent smiles to all who had their tickets picked out. Big and small prizes were accepted eagerly by the elderly folk who, at that particular moment, made me feel that they were back to being kids again. And that was so heart-warming.

Soon the party ended and it was time for many of the elderly folk to go home. J and I stayed to help clean the place up and before we left, that kind physiotherapist gave us her most sincere and grateful thanks. She gave us a christmas card each with personalised messages that warms us right to the heart. I was touched.

I would give anything to go back there again. To see Ah Boy try to escape again in her slow and steady manner, to feed and clean up that uncle again, to talk to many of the old people there and listen to their problems, to feel useful again.

Thanks J, for bringing me there. That two days we went down taught me a lot. I learnt how to think about others instead of myself, and I learnt what giving is really about.

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Comment away.......................

Still Around

2008-11-08T22:14:00.001-08:00

An ex-student contacted me yesterday and we talked for a while. He was telling me that a lot of his friends and people he knows are having relationship problems recently. It's like a frenzy of relationship issues. Relationships consisting of friendships, couplehood and family issues as well.

I couldn't solve any of his problems, but he told me at the end that he was glad he came to talk to me because I listened.

I just want to say, to whoever's reading this now, that although sometimes you may meet someone or some people who make you upset, make you disappointed, make you angry, there are still plenty of people around you (friends or family) that have been in the sidelines, supporting you silently all this while. Just because you don't hear from them often doesn't mean they are not there.

They are definitely still around. If you would only look around.

Here is a song (an old old old old song from MY generation, but hey it still works! :P) from the long-unheard-of boy group A1: Still Around.

I find the lyrics heart-warming and touching, especially when I run into relationship problems myself. I always turn to such songs to soothe my feelings and remind myself that however unloved or lonely I might feel at that time, I still have people around me who love me and care for me. I hope this helps some of you too :)

In this life of uncertainty

There are people that we all need

Someone to face you

With no disguise

In you there's a remedy

That makes every day

Seem trouble-free

No distance and no device

'Cos you hear the words

When no one understands

When my world has come undone

And I've lost my setting sun

When all I see are clouds

You're still around

When I fall into a tear

Inspirations disappear

You clear away that doubt

'Cos you're still, you're still around

Now I've stumbled on uncertainty

Never thought this could ever be

No contradictions

Left inside

When I feel the rain come my way

You give me sun, you're my brighter day

Intuition's telling me

To stay

'Cos you hold the words

When nothing's left to say

When my world has come undone

And I've lost my setting sun

When all I see are clouds

You're still around

When I fall into a tear

Inspirations disappear

You clear away that doubt

'Cos you're still, you're still around

I find the lyrics really meaningful. What do you think?

Those who want to hear the song can go to http://www.metrolyrics.com/still-around-lyrics-a1.html, I think you can play the song there...

To all who's faltering: You're not alone. I'm still around. :)

Comment away...........

Oops, I Meant to Say...

2008-11-06T23:19:00.000-08:00

A malapropism is a a word used incorrectly in place of another, often with hilarious results. For example, in the sentence, "He is a man of great statue", "statue" is the malapropism - the correct word should be "stature".

Soooo... let's try something now shall we?

See if you can identify the malapropisms in the following letter and replace them with the correct words!

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Dear Jinny

I'm throwing a small dinner party for a few elected friends this weekend. Do say you'll come! I know you don't like to show off, but this is the perfect opportunity to suppress the other guests with your expansive brocade dress - you know, the one that makes you look so svelte and ravenous.

I've invited three other couples and two 'singletons'. Perhaps the two will hit it off - Dan is a very illegible bachelor; he's a very nice fellow and runs his own design firm. The lady, Sok Chin, is a marvellous cook and a great conversationist - she can talk about anything under the sun and put you at your ease at once. I'm hoping she'll draw out the Tans who are quite a shy couple. They were at this party where the guests were quite a raucous bunch - much to the Tans' constipation. Oh yes, I've invited Nigel - he's always got a store of amusing antidotes. Must remember to bring the two dogs over to Mum's place though - Nigel's wife is putrefied of canines.

The last couple are the Lims. As you know, they live in an effluent neighbourhood and Mr Lim talks about nothing but making money - he's always trying to make me infest in some unit trust or other. His wife is quite an auspicious woman, always giving unwanted advice. But despite all that, they mean no harm and are really quite a kind and helpful couple.

Just call me to confirm you'll be coming - don't bother to email me back. I hope you don't mind me saying that it's rather painful to read your e-mails - your spelling is quite abdominal, you know!

Cheers
Soo Chen

Funny English

2008-10-30T01:02:00.000-07:00

Grammar Rules for the Unenlightened
(Or: How to write goooooooodddd...)

Do not use no double negatives.

Don't never use no triple negatives.

No sentence fragments.

Stamp out and eliminate redundancy.

Avoid cliches like the plague.

All generalisations are bad.

Take care that your verb and subject is in agreement.

A preposition is a bad thing to end a sentence with.

Avoid those run-on sentences that just go on and on, they never stop, they just keep rambling and you really wish they would hurry up and get to the point, but no, they just keep going and these sentences, they just never stop, they go on forever... if you get my drift...

You should never use the second person.

The passive voice should never be used.

Excessive use of exclamation marks can be disastrous!!!

Remember to end each sentence with a full-stop

Do not use commas, which aren't necessary.

Do not use question marks inappropriately?

Don't be terse.

Do not obfuscate your writing with extraneous verbiage.

Avoid those despicably horrible, outrageously repellent exaggerations.

Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.

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Can anyone tell me why this piece is funny? Try explaining by either leaving a comment on this post or on the tagboard, and use examples to explain. :)

Comment away..............

The English Language - oh so good!

2008-10-24T07:18:00.001-07:00

Hi!

Ahh.. last day of school yesterday.. am missing all my classes already. Just wondering, is anyone from 2/5, besides Stacy, reading this? Comment if you are! :)

Thought I'll post up some interesting and funny stuff about the English Language... Enjoy!

1. There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.

2. Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend?

3. When the stars are out, they are visible, When the lights are out, they are invisible.

4. If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught?

5. If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?

6. C'mon, let's polish the Polish furniture.

7. The wind was too strong to wind the sail.

8. Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.

9. How can 'A Slim Chance' and 'A Fat Chance' be the same?

10. How can 'You're so cool' and 'You're not so hot' be different?

11. Why are 'A Wise man' and 'A Wise guy' opposites?

12. A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.

13. The bandage was wound around the wound.

14. I did not object to the object.

15. The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

16. Boxing rings are square.

17. A guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

18. The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

19. There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple.

20. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat.

21. The farm was used to produce produce.

22. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France.

23. If brother becomes Brethren, why doesn't mother become Methren?

24. If tooth becomes teeth, why doesn't booth become beeth?

25. If one goose becomes two geese, why doesn't one moose becomae two meese?

26. If I speak of a foot and you show me your feet, And I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?

27. How come Writers write but Fingers don't fing? And Grocers don't groce and Hammers don't ham?

28. A hat in the plural doesn't become hose. And a cat in the plural doesn't become cose.

29. A box in the plural becomes is boxes. But an Ox in the plural never becomes oxes. (It becomes Oxen).

30. A lone mouse can transform into a whole set of mice, But it's impossible for a single house to become a whole block of hice. (It becomes houses).

31. Although the masculine pronouns are he, his and him, we must be grateful for small mercies of the language that the feminine pronouns after 'She' don't become 'Shis' and 'Shim'.

32. If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?

33. A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

34. How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

35. He could lead if he could only get the lead out.

36. They were too close to the door to close it.

37. I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

38. When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

39. You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which an alarm goes off by going on.

40. It is only in the English language that people recite at a play and play at a recital.

41. No sooner had my eye fallen upon the tear in the painting, then this eye of mine began to shed many a tear.

42. I was given a number of injections to make the pain number.

43. It's not ridiculous, but entirely sensible to ship by truck and send cargo by ship.

44. We are a strange lot to have noses that run and feet that smell.

45. The buck does funny things when the does are present.

46. I was proven right that I had the right of way.

47. How come you never hear of a combobulated, gruntled, ruly, or peccable person?

48. Why is it that whether you sit down or sit up, the results are the same?

49. Shouldn't there be a shorter word for "monosyllable"?

50. If you take an Oriental person and spin him around several times, does he become disoriented?

51. If people from Poland are called "Poles," why aren't people from Holland called "Holes?

52. If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, doesn't it follow that electricians can be delighted, musicians denoted, cowboys deranged, models deposed, tree surgeons debarked, and dry cleaners depressed?

53. The human race has been running for a great many centuries now - but we're not tired yet.

54. "I am" is reportedly the shortest sentence in the English language. Could it be that "I do" is the longest sentence?

55. The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.

I am particularly tickled by numbers 3, 4, 9, 17, 19, 25, 39, 44 and 49. Tell me which ones you fancy! :)

Comment away.............

2008-10-19T05:15:00.000-07:00

Had a pleasant surprise early this morning. I immediately thought of sharing the pics with you guys...

Cute? Those who've been to my table in the staffroom would remember seeing this Pooh plush cushion I use to hug whenever I'm doing work at my table. Yup, I love Pooh... I have soooo many of them at home!

And in case you're wondering, nope it's not my birthday today haha! *wink* Will let you know when it's over!

Comment away.................

Feedback for feedback

2008-10-18T00:31:00.000-07:00

Heya!

Long time no write, STC girls, how are you? :)

Ok before I start to post any El or SS stuff, let me start by responding to some feedback I've gotten from 2/2 and 2/5 yeah? Hence, feedback for feedback. Heh. Ok. Never mind.

"Ms Teo has a good sense of humour."
Yes, well, I actually see that as my weakness. I tend to speak without thinking, so I offend people often without knowing. But then, if you like it, I guess it's something to be proud of. :)

"I love her creative lessons!"
I've been through secondary school life before, and we all know how boring lessons can be, especially for a subject like English, where it is not content-based. I try to make it interesting so that you will listen and hopefully learn something at the same time. I do also get comments that lessons are not serious enough, too much play is involved. I'm still trying to find that balance as I'm still inexperienced, so do give me some time ok? I'll try my best! :)

"I don't like writing essays during lesson time."
Yes, ok. Got it. Which means essays will be left for homework then. Which also means I would require the WHOLE class to hand in. Which also means my homework submission rules would be stricter, and might possibly include parents' involvement.

"Can I still continue to consult you/write journals next year etc?"
Yup of course! :) If it helps you in any way at all, please continue to do so. I love reading your journals and awaiting your consultation times.. Just make sure that if next year your English teacher also requires you to write journals, then it's to him/her already ok? :)

"I don't like how Ms Teo walks in to class with a black face everytime."
Ok! Noted. :) Will try to smile more often!

"I learnt more about sentence fragments among other things."
YES YES YES!

"I hope we can watch more movies!"
Sure no problem. :) The only thing restricting me is the rushed syllabus that I have to complete, but still, I will now definitely try to insert in more movies and videos for your enjoyment!

There, these are some of the common feedback answers I received from your feedback forms. Thank you very very much for all the responses! Really, I appreciate every single one of them. The compliments, I accept graciously and hope I can live up to them. The complaints, I take every single one of them seriously and have since drawn up a list of changes I can make in the coming year.

So, in short, THANK YOU! :)

Comment away...............

Close Shop?

2008-08-21T06:44:00.000-07:00

Heya,

I set up this blog originally to help you in your SS, because I know it can be tough to study for, especially with the skills involved.

But the response has been bad. I'm discouraged and demoralised, really. I keep wanting to post new material up, but whenever I see previous posts and I get reminded of the lukewarm responses I got, my fingers froze up.

I don't know, should I be ending this blog? Maybe it's time to let go. Maybe you guys don't have the time anymore to check out this site, with upcoming exams and all. Maybe this site wasn't useful even in the first place, but you're too polite to tell me so.

I guess this time I shall wait for a certain period of time. Let's make it a month. By 21 September, if no one comments, tags or emails me to tell me you want this blog to continue, then it's probably time to let you fly on your own. =) I'm sure most of you can...

Comment away...............

10 July Graduation from NIE

2008-07-10T06:49:00.001-07:00

Hey,

here are some pics I took with my friends in NIE. We finally graduated!

Yes, Ms Teo has grown fatter. Don't ask how and why. I look horrendous, I know. Sigh. Oh well. It's the memories right? Haha, self-delusional. Anyway, I've graduated! =)

SEQs

2008-06-29T04:01:00.000-07:00

Heya,

how's the first week of school so far? I hope it's better than mine. I've been really busy, running here and there besides lessons. Hopefully things can settle soon =)

So. I've been going on and on about SBQs, lets try something on SEQs now. I will be posting up random SEQs , but WITHOUT answers yet. You need to practise, so I will ONLY provide answers to those who actually tried the questions. Do try any (or all!) question (I will state a simplified version of the LORMS required) so that you can get enough practice for the exams.

I know you girls must have started or going to start Chapter 5 Bonding Singapore really soon, so don't worry, I'll put up a few articles on that chapter after this series of SEQs. I already have some on hand, but because I've been so busy that I don't even have time to eat, I shall save those for a later time. Yes, Ms Teo is still the Great =)

Ok. Questions, questions, questions.

How important is good leadership in the government in sustaining good governance in Singapore? Explain your answer. [12]

- State the given factor and two other factors.
- Explain the given factor - good leadership, provide details.
- Explain a second factor - reward for work, provide details.
- Explain a third factor - stake for everyone, provide details.
- Explain why one factor is more important and why other factors are less important.

To what extent did the ALS manage to control the flow of traffic in Singapore? Explain your answer. [12]

- State the given factor and two other factors.
- Explain the given factor- ALS, provide details.
- Explain a second factor - ERP, provide details.
- Explain a third factor - vehicle quota scheme, provide details.
- Explain why one factor is more important and why other factors are less important.

Is social cohesion more crucial than effective political leadership in ensuring that good governance will continue in Singapore? Explain your answer. [13]

- Explain the positive impact of social cohesion - provide details.
- Explain the positive impact of political leadership - provide details.
- Give two reasons to explain why you disagree with the statement.

To what extent is the government's role an important one in preparing for an ageing population in Singapore? Explain your answer. [12]

- State the given factor and two other factors.
- Explain the given factor - role of the government, provide details.
- Explain a second factor - role of citizens/indivduals, provide details.
- Explain a third factor - role of the 'many helping hands' approach, provide details.
- Explain why one role is more important and why other roles are less important.

To what extent did the three-child policy promote population growth in Singapore? Explain your answer. [12]

- State the given factor and two other factors.
- Explain the given factor - three-child policy, provide details.
- Explain a second factor - foreign talent, provide details.
- Explain a third factor - pro-family measures, provide details.
- Explain why one role is more important and why other roles are less important.

The aged can be a valuable resource for 'resource-scarce' Singapore? Explain your answer. [13]

- Explain why the aged can be a valuable resource - provide details.
- Explain why the aged cannot be a valuable resource - provide details.
- Give two reasons to explain why the aged can be more of a valuable resource.

How important is the role played by self-reliance in the provision of healthcare services to the general public in Singapore? Explain your answer. [12]

- State the given factor and two other factors.
- Explain the given factor - self-reliance, provide details.
- Explain a second factor - healthy lifestyle, provide details.
- Explain a third factor - community support, provide details.
- Explain why one role is more important and why other roles are less important.

Do you agree that Singapore's healthcare policies have met the needs of the people? Explain your answer. [13]

- Explain the reasons why you agree - provide details.
- Explain the reasons why you disagree - provide details.
- Give two reasons to explain why you agree more than you disagree.

Was the welfare state policy on health in Britain successful? Explain your answer. [13]

- Explain why the welfare state was a sucess - provide details.
- Explain why the welfare state was not a success - provide details.
- Explain why the welfare state is now more a failure than a success.

Were the Tamil Tigers more a help than a hindrance to the Tamil cause? Explain your answer. [13]

- Explain why the Tamil Tigers was a help to the Tamil cause - provide details.
- Explain why the Tamil Tigers was a hindrance to the Tamil cause - provide details.
- Explain why the Tamil Tigers was more a help than a hindrance.

'The Catholics had no choice but to use violence through the IRA in their fight for more equality.' Do you agree? Explain your answer. [13]

- Explain the reasons why you agree - provide details.
- Explain the reasons why you disgree - provide details.
- Give two reasons to explain why you disagree with the statement.

What is the most important lesson that can be learnt from ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka and Northern Ireland:
- avoidance of foreign intervention
- avoidance of discriminatory policies
- racial and religious tolerance?
Explain your answer. [13]

-Explain the negative impact of each given lesson - provide details.
- Do a comparative ranking of the lessons to explain why one is more important than the other two.
_______________________________________________________

Go ahead and try, girls. They are questions you normally will see in your exams. Always remember, practice makes perfect ok? Do try answering them if you have a little spare time and send me your answers so that I can look through them and guide you along. I have many more questions with me, so if you need more, feel free to let me know. =)

Comment away................

How to Deal with Decontextualised Source-based Questions

2008-06-22T06:40:00.000-07:00

Yoz,

part 3 now. It's all about decontextualised source-based questions, what are they? Read on to find out... =)

1. Decontextualised source-based questions deal with case studies which you have not studied.

2. The issues and controversies surrounding decontextualised case studies would have been covered in the themes you studied.

3. Decontextualised source-based questions are always accompanied by background infomation. The background information might look like the one below:

Theme: conflict and cooperation
Issue: The Tibetan issue
Background information:
Tibet was a Buddhist state controlled by the lamas (priests) of Tibetan Buddhism. In 1720, the Qing dynasty established control over Tibet which lasted until the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty in 1911. Tibet declared its independence but in 1950, Tibet again fell to the Chinese. An uprising in 1959 was suppressed and the Dalai Lama, the leader of the Tibetans, fled to India. Tibet was subsequently subjected to Chinese influence and demands for its independence still continue.

BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE AND THEME IN DECONTEXTUALISED SOURCE-BASED QUESTIONS

1. Compare what you know about the theme with the background information.

2. Ask yourself two questions:
- What case study did I do for the theme concerned?
- What do I know about the case study?

3. The theme was on conflict and cooperation. You studied about why countries go to war. You studied that economic reasons, water, ideological disputes and border disputes were responsible for conflicts.

4. You might jot down the key words which come to your mind if you think this will help you focus on the issue better.

5. Your key words could include words like 'water supply', 'economic', 'ideology' and 'border dispute'. These words will give you an idea on the issues regarding Tibet-China relations.

How clumsy can I get?

2008-06-20T07:45:00.000-07:00

Sigh. Yeah.

I fell down again.

Luckily, it's not as serious as the previous fall where I had a dislocated ankle. This time, it was only scrapes and bruises, but it happened to be the biggest scrape I ever got since young. It hurts badly, even now...

I used to joke to my friends that I have a "daily quota" of falling down, at least once a day. Little did I know that I can predict the future... =(

Oh well. Ms Teo the great is not so great after all. Haha, right?

How to analyse textual sources

2008-06-20T07:22:00.000-07:00

Right, this is Part 2: Analysing textual sources. =)

The Audience
1. Always remember that texts are written with a specific audience in mind.

2. When evaluating sources, be mindful of the following questions:
- Who is the audience?
Who would be interested in the topic?
Which age group does the audience belong to and what educational background would the
audience have?
- Who is the author?
Who wrote it and what is his or her background? Does his or background reveal any clues?
- When was the source created?
Do the dates reveal any clues?
- Where does the source come from?

Purpose (Ooh, my favourite! "Who said what to who to do what?")
In general there are 3 main ways that text or speech can be analysed.

(a) To inform or report objectively
Purpose: To inform and leave judgements to others

(b) To express something passionately
Purpose: To show and persuade by direct means

(c) To be careful and measured in what we say
Purpose: To be diplomatic and show or persuade by subtle and indirect means

The Linguistic Devices used in Texts and Speeches
In order to analyse textual sources, we sometimes have to analyse the linguistic tools of texts and speeches. This means we have to look at how language is used to reach out to the target audience.

Emotive words
1. In any speech or text, the choice of 'verbs' used sometimes tells you how the speaker or writer feels about a certain subject.
2. If very graphic or emotive verbs are used, they reflect the passionate attitudes of the writers or speakers.

Use of Metaphors
1. Metaphors can also be used to convey emotions.
2. Metaphors are figures of speech which draw comparisons between unlike things. They usually compare 2 things by using the word 'like' or 'as'.

Sarcasm
1. Sarcasm refers to remarks which clearly mean the opposite of what is really intended. They are usually made to belittle somebody or to hurt and criticise a situation or person in an amusing manner.

Ok, that's about it for now. Look out for the third part. =)

Comment away...........

Revision for SBQs

2008-06-18T09:56:00.000-07:00

Hey,

how's your holidays everyone? It's ending soon, bleah. I feel as if I didn't do anything constructive during the hols at all. What about you? I hope you at least did something you wanted to do. =)

Since school is starting soon, and I bet most of you didn't touch your SS textbook/file one bit, let's try to go through some of the basic skills you have learnt before the hols so that you can proceed on from here quickly to new skills you're going to learnt, shall we? These revision notes that I'm gonna write here are taken from a book "Definitive Guide to Social Studies". It's an excellent book for revision of SS, with appropriate examples and worked out solutions. Plus, it has sections on exam skills too.

I will be touching on different skills in my different entries from today. Let's start with SBQs yeah? The killer of your paper, isn't it? (And by the way, your mid-year exam was easier than I thought it would be! So it puzzles me why most of you didn't do well, based on your high standards. Oh well. Let's start anew. =) )

HOW TO ANALYSE SOURCE-BASED QUESTIONS

How to understand questions?
1. Whether you are answerin source-based case studies or structured-essay questions, you need to be able to understand the questions before you can answer them.
2. Understanding questions can be difficult, especially when the questions are long and complex.
3. Always remember that the questions are made up of two aspects:
- They give you information; and
- They ask a specific question. What question are they asking?

Inference questions
1. Inference questions require you to read between the lines and support your answers with concrete evidence from the source.

2. Inference questions usually have the following instruction words:
- What does Source A tell you about the situation?
- Do you think the author of the source is for or against ...? EYA.
- Do the sources support the view that...? EYA.

3. Use the tools and devices you know to help you give details to your answer. (This means all the stuff I have taught you: purpose, tone, content, etc. Remember that big big table you filled in?)

4. They do not require you to use other sources or have background information.

5. Here are some ways to begin your answers:
Opening sentences
- Source A tells me that...
- From Source A, I can tell that...
- Source A supports/does not support the view that...

Inferring sentence
- I can tell because... (use evidence from the text)

6. Remember that your answers require evidence from the text or speech. (Yes, it's time for Ms Teo to nag again. I really cannot stress this point enough! Many of you give valid points WITHOUT evidence from the source, be it textual or pictorial. The teacher cannot give you the marks you deserve if you don't give evidence! Must remember ok? Just like how you remember Ms Teo's egoistic manner in class, pls remember what she says about this too. =) )

Comparing Sources
1. Are such questions just asking for a comparison of differences or similarities? Or, are the questions asking you to compare BOTH differences and similarities? (Ahh... doesn't this point look SUPER familiar to all of you? I repeated this in class at least 3 times, and answered some of you individually at least twice when you came to ask me. This is the LAST time ok, GO AND READ THE NOTES ON COMPARING SOURCES THAT I HAVE GIVEN YOU. ON THE FIRST PAGE, IT SAYS EXACTLY WHAT KIND OF QUESTIONS REQUIRE WHAT KIND OF ANSWERS. Phew. Must have seemed I'm shouting my head off right. Nah. Ms Teo is cool. She doesn't shout. )

2. When comparing your sources, always begin with a general statement which tells the marker what you are comparing. Then give your evidence from the source. (If you remember, I wrote in an earlier post that you can actually do it the other way round. State your evidence first, then say what it means. Basically, the order can be reversed as long as you state your points clearly without overlap.)

3. Use paragraphs to organise your points. Here are some opening sentences which you can use for your comparison. Remember to use evidence from the source to explain your answers.

Paragraph 1
- Source A is very different from Source B in terms of the attitude of the author. (general statement)
- The author of Source A has an attitude of... (evidence)
- In contrast, the author of Source B has an attitude of... (general statement)... We know because... (evidence)

Paragraph 2
- Source A is similar to Source B because they both say... (general statement)
- For example, Source A says... (evidence)
- Similarly, Source B says... (evidence)

Ok. I almost died.

If no one reads this, I am so going to come after you. But then, I won't know if you read it anyway, you don't comment! I wish some of you can comment/email me questions or try to answer some questions I always pose up here. At least make me think I did the right thing in setting up this blog for you.

Right. Adios then, everyone. =)

Comment away............

Noted with pleasure

2008-06-08T01:48:00.000-07:00

Hey hey...

I'm really happy that some of you really came and told me you want the extra lessons. I can see how determined you are to score for SS!

To those who came today: I hope you learnt something about inference and reliability. =) Remember to do your homework ok? Of course, it's the holidays, so play first before you work! But must do ah.. Like I said, there won't be any model answers from me if I don't see any effort on your part. Doing it halfway because of reasons like no time, lazy, etc doesn't count as effort too...

Yup, I just hope you can take something away from these extra lessons so that you can be better prepared when the school term starts. =)

Comment away.......

Little Laid Raiding Hoot

2008-05-29T08:59:00.000-07:00

Hey,

it's the hols, so let's just put SS aside for the moment and take a breather yah? Here's a Singlish version of Little Red Riding Hood which I used for my Sec 2 English classes. They loved it, so I thought I'll post it up here for you guys.

See if you can correctly decipher the whole thing ok? Enjoy! =)

Wans a porn a time, god wan litter ger — Litter Laid Raiding Hoot. She wan 2 go 2 Grandma house, moarning oredy she go out. She god tek come wan basket 2 put flower 4 Grandma.

"Ah Ma! I cum oready, open der door leh?" she tok.

Den Grandma oso say bak, "Cum in lor, I nvr close!"

Litter Laid Raiding Hoot open der house n go inside der door.
When she go inside, she c Grandma on top of der bed. She go ask, "Ah Ma, how cum ur eye big-big wan?"
"Like dat, den I can c ur fat juicy legs mah!!!" Grandma tok bak.

"Ah Mah, how cum ur tooths is so sharp wan?"

"Den more easier 2 bite ur chubby cheeks laah!!!!"

"Ah Mah, how cum......."

"Aiyaa! So mang-nee question ah u! Wan 2 die izzit? I better faster it u! I not Ah Mah, I air-nee-mer u noe?"

"Wah! Litter Laid Raiding Hoot vary scared wan. She screem vary loud, but laid oredy ah, der air-nee-mer oredy it her!
Sar-den-lee god wan peeper — kad wood wan — go inside der house. He go kad der air-nee-mer stomach n tek out evryting, but he 2 late, Litter Laid Raiding Hoot bcum pangsai oredy......~

Dee End (… really wan!) ~

Try writing this in Standard English! =)

Comment away................

Of the dreaded SS paper, and hols!

2008-05-25T06:32:00.000-07:00

Hey girls,

heard that the SS paper wasn't done very well across the board. I didn't get to see your scripts before they were marked, so I don't really know how you have done.

I understand that the holidays are here, and who wants to mug during hols? Not me. But I do realise that in order for your grades to improve, there has to be some sort of consistent practice. Especially for SBQs, you know that.

So this is what I can do: I am willing to give tuition/remedials/extra lessons/whatever you want to call it, to those who think they want to get some extra practice during the holidays. I have with me some practice SBQs and SEQs that I will give to you, if you need it.

Those who want these extra lessons, pls email me asap ok? I will gather responses latest by end of this month and probably come up with some sort of a schedule in June.

Of course, it's really ok if you girls don't want it or you think you don't need it. No problem at all =). Ms Teo thinks you girls can score, and you definitely can. Just more practice ok?

And yay, it's the holidays! =D

Sri Lanka (Not again!)

2008-05-16T02:25:00.000-07:00

Yo~

Watched the news recently? Sri Lanka got bombed again! And this time, it's interesting because the government is blaming the Tamil Tigers for the violence when no one was caught. It's a suicide bomber again, remember I showed you girls the billboard which depicted suicide bombings (people dying, etc)? Yup, this is it again. Here's the link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7404147.stm

Now, who says bad guys can't turn good? But when they DO turn good, does society believe in them at all? A very interesting link here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7391752.stm
Ex-Tamil Tigers are trying to get into election polls. Note that they used to be Tamil Tigers, do you think the citizens of Sri Lanka will believe in them and vote for them? Why or why not? =)

In class, I showed you the terms of the Good Friday Agreement between the Northern Ireland government and the IRA remember? Now, here are the terms and conditions the Tamil Tigers proposed in 2003 (How do I know it's 2003? Provenance, people... look at when the page was updated! ;) ). One particular term I find it especially amusing:

Being aware that the history of the relations between the Tamil people and the Sinhala people has been a process of broken promises and unilateral abrogation, by successive governments of Sri Lanka, of pacts and agreements solemnly entered into between the government of Sri Lanka (GOSL) and the elected representatives of the Tamil people.

Notice how they "conveniently" left the blame to the government and the people? So it has nothing to do with them, eh? Like how Ms Teo has nothing to do with 3A and 3C besides the fact that she taught them SS Chapter 4 which came out in the exam. Bleah. :

I asked you in class if you thought that the conflict in Sri Lanka/Northern Ireland will ever be resolved. Some said yes, some said no. Let's have a look at what other people say, shall we? http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?forumID=4021&edition=2&ttl=20080516102501

Any thoughts on this? =)

Comment away..............

Sad

2008-05-13T06:54:00.000-07:00

I just gotten news from my Sec2 English classes that many of them failed their English paper.

Sigh.

Apparently I'm not as good a teacher as I thought. Girls, I really really hope you do ok for your SS paper. Will you let me know once you have gotten your marks please?

If you don't wish to comment/tag here and let everyone see your marks, then email me ok? kavgal@gmail.com

Saddened. =(

sob sob

2008-05-11T08:15:00.000-07:00

Ok. Sorry for the act-cute-title above, but I'm really sad!

It's confirmed, girls. I won't be going back to STC when term starts. =(

Sigh.

In case you are wondering, I'm posted to Commonwealth Secondary School, am pretty excited and nervous all at the same time. I've never been there before so it's a fresh new start for me, just like it was a new start for me at STC 10 weeks ago.

I remember 10 weeks ago, I was apprehensive before I stepped into your classes for SS lessons. Firstly, I wasn't sure that I actually had enough content to teach you girls. Secondly, I came from a girls' school myself so I can somewhat vaguely recall how I felt last time when a trainee teacher came to teach my class. Not good.

But I'm glad I taught your classes. Really. You have taught me so much. Thank you. =)

And girls, like I said, this blog will not end with your SS paper. It will continue on to chapters 5 and 6, and even your Sec4 syllabus as well. There will be a hiatus (short break) for the time being as I have to go back to school (yes, to study!) for about a month or so before I report to the new school proper. Anyway I bet you don't want to read anything to do with SS in your June holidays right? =P Of course if you INSIST, I will continue to post up relevant and interesting stuff. Muahaha.

Remember to let me know how you fared for your SS paper, won't you? I'm really pretty anxious for every single one of you from both 3A and 3C. And because I marked your daily assignments, I know precisely what you girls can achieve. A lot.

So do take care in the meanwhile won't you? =) Keep in contact with me ok? I'm not some ghost teacher who floats by for a while and floats off again when not needed (too heavy to float though, more like plod). I'll always be here, you know my email, you know this blog.

Comment away.....................

2008-05-06T06:46:00.000-07:00

Hey girls,

I'll be online till about 11pm to answer any queries you may have. But pls don't start sms-ing me in a frenzy ok? Do email me at kavgal@gmail.com or comment here and I'll reply promptly ok? =)

Happy studying!

Comment away.............

Of clumsiness and SBQs

2008-05-05T04:30:00.000-07:00

Sigh. Had a tumble just now down the stairs while on the way home and sort of dislocated my right ankle. I'm going to have a slight limp tomorrow, but doubt that's gonna mess up my exquisite demeanour *laughs evilly* Don't ask me how I rolled (yes, rolled!) down the steps but I remember thinking of how to explain SBQs to you girls when I fell.

Nah. Just joking. As in, I really have a limp now, but I wasn't thinking of SBQs then. Kinda sad, isn't it, if I think of SS all the time.....

Anyway.

I think I need to make some things clear about SBQs. Some of you have asked about whether the "who what who what" tag is only applicable for inference questions, some asked about whether comparing/contrasting questions require you to follow strictly the table I gave you. Maybe it's my fault for rushing lessons so much that you sort of lost the main points you were supposed to take away from the lessons. My apologies....

OK. First things first.

There WILL be both inference and comparing/contrasting questions in the exam, be sure of that.

In inference questions, the common question format would be "What is the main message of this source?", "Why do you think the cartoonist/author/artist/etc drew this picture/wrote this source?", "What do you think the author is trying to say?". Now, the minute you see questions like these, a "Ding Ding Ding!" (bells ringing) should sound in your head. This is an inference question and immediately you should look for the purpose of the source.

How do you answer inference questions? First, let's assume it's a pictorial source for convenience sake. Look at the picture and see if you can see anything that is out of the ordinary. For example, in the Sri Lanka SBQ I've given you, the sleeping tiger is not alarmed at all by the sound of the alarm clock. This is something out of the ordinary, as you would expect to be erm.. alarmed by the alarm clock. =) Next, look at the provenance. The provenance normally tells you a lot about the source, tells you stuff that you can use as EVIDENCE in your answer. In this case, the author is a third party from Thailand right? So is he involved in the conflict directly? What does this mean then? You go figure.

Next, go on to the general content of the picture. State what the picture shows (the duh part) and then say what it means. OR you can always say what something means first and then point to the part of the picture which is the evidence for it. Whichever way, you have successfully done inference for content.

Last, but the most important, PURPOSE. This is, of course, where the tagline that I hope you will remember for the rest of your SS studies comes in.

WHO SAYS WHAT TO WHO TO DO WHAT?

Now, obviously there will be small overlaps between the first "who" and "what", as well as what you have already answered about content above. It's fine. If there are overlaps, then skip those and move on to the second "who" and "to do what". So who's the audience? Look at the provenance again. Does it say anything? Is it the international community? Or is it a local publication meant only for locals? Recall the source I gave you about the Indian man being cornered up on a tree with sharks swimming below. It was published in the Hindustan Times, which probably means only the Indian Tamils will get access to it.

The minute you know the audience, you can then infer what the author wants the audience to do. There are some critical words that are usually used for this part: criticise, accuse, defend, praise, inform, persuade, etc...

And guess what? You're done for inference! Easy? =)

Now I'm actually not going to say much for comparing/contrasting, mainly because I actually think I've done enough by giving you the table format for you to fill in. The 5 common factors you see in the table are things that you HAVE to be able to know when you are comparing or contrasting. Look again at the first page of the comparing/contrasting notes I've given you, the one with the points you need to know for comparing/contrasting. At the bottom, the different variations of comparing/contrasting question forms are given, together with whether you need to answer only similarities, only differences or both. So don't ask me again!

In case you missed out what I've told your class previously, if for example, you look at the clock during your paper and you realise you have not enough time to finish your comparing/contrasting question, dive in straight to the last 2 common factors in your table: tone and purpose. You can leave the rest out if you are short of time.

Now, girls, please note: you WILL NOT get full marks for your answer if you only answer the tone and purpose because the other 3 factors are important as well for a full mark. I only asked you to zoom in straight to tone and purpose ONLY IF you have no time to finish the question. If you do have the time, pls answer ALL 5 common factors in order to score a higher mark. The tone and purpose carry about half the marks, that's why I rather you leave out the other 3 factors and concentrate on these 2 factors.

Phew. I think that's about all I can think of for SBQs. Any questions?

Comment away.......

Healthcare notes

2008-05-04T18:11:00.000-07:00

Right, I understand that some of you are getting agitated about Chapters 2 and 3, specifically Chapter 3 Healthcare.

I have here with me some short notes and information on Singapore's healthcare policies, for eg. means-testing, etc. If you want it, do leave me a note or give me an sms to tell me so I can prepare a copy for you.

I don't entertain last minute requests for notes ok (actually it's because I'm too lazy to do last-minute print jobs haha), so let me know before Tuesday 1pm, or else your requests will not be entertained.

Comment away......

Questions?

2008-05-03T23:51:00.000-07:00

Ok, apparently you have been reading but not commenting. I wonder why though.

The posts and questions here are for you to practise your SBQs, I know it's boring, but one has to start somewhere isn't it? If you girls really are too shy to post your answers/questions here, then I guess I can't force you. But I do hope you get enough practice on your own. Try going on the internet and comparing/contrasting sources you see. That should be enough practice.

Anyway, I'm sorry I'm not able to meet up with some of you after school for consultations. My timetable has been hectic due to the MYE and other consultations as well. So the other thing I can do is, let this post be a "Questions" post ok? Do post any questions you have about SBQs or SEQs and girls, do try to answer your friends' questions if you can. Pls don't worry about getting the wrong answer because I'm here remember? :) You do need to experience answering questions yourselves so that you will remember.

Girls, this blog is for you, not me, and I do hope you can utilise it to the max. Some of you asked me if I'm going to stop this blog after MYE.

OF COURSE NOT.

Hello, I'm Ms Teo ok? Of course I'll continue posting relevant stuff up even after your MYE. Even if I may not get posted back to STC, you girls were my students and forever will be yah? I'll be continuing my blog posts with Chapters 5 and 6 too, things you would need to know for your final-year exams. =)

Let us work together ok? And oh yah, do tell me how you have done after you have completed your SS paper won't you? I'm nervous and excited for all of you as well. I just hope I don't manage to "destroy" some of you because you guys said I don't teach as well as your original teacher. But do let me know how you fared ok? Then I can improve my teaching too! =)

Comment away..........

The darn SEQs

2008-05-02T23:49:00.000-07:00

Ok, since I didn't go through SEQs very much in class, I shall talk about them here then...

Some people have asked me what to study for SEQs and if certain topics will be tested in the exam. Girls, girls, girls. Sigh. You have 3 chapters to study for, and I told you that all of them are important didn't I? Yes I understand that you have a lot to study as well for the other subjects, especially for those who have another exam on the day of the SS exam, but then if I had a choice, I wouldn't be saying that.

Girls, the 3 chapters are really important, so pls try not to skip studying any chapter ok? Don't worry, just read the notes I've given you in class and you'll be fine. Really. If any of you has somehow lost (!!!) your handouts, let me know and I'll see if I can give you another copy before Wednesday.

Now, SEQs. Remember the template I've given you on answering SEQ questions? That is precisely the template you HAVE to follow for the exams ok? And pls don't forget, PEEL. Any of those 4 important categories left out in your answer, and you will not get the full marks for your answer.

Point
State your point as clearly as you can. For example, How far do you agree that Ms Teo is the most beautiful woman in the world?
How do you state the first point?
"I agree that Ms Teo is the most beautiful woman in the world to a great extent. (Muahaha) Her sense of fashion is something that inspires everyone whenever she goes for her lessons."

Evidence
Any evidence to prove your point?
"Once I saw her wearing this gorgeous navy blue dress, which actually sort of looks like our school uniform. It is a pinafore-like dress, except without our white shirt inside."

Elaboration
Explain your evidence further to show how it proves your point.
"That dress Ms Teo wore has this certain stunning effect on her naturally beautiful silhouette. It emphasises her classic beauty whenever she wears that dress to school. This shows that Ms Teo, without doubt, is the most beautiful woman in the world."

Link
Always remember to link it back to the question!
"Therefore, from the above evidence, we can see that the clothes Ms Teo wears contribute to her natural beauty and thus making her the most beautiful woman in the world."

Ok, you can stop puking now.

Anyway, this simple example is just a simplified version of how your SEQ answer should look like. Comprehendo?

Comment away........

Governance in Singapore: Ageing population

2008-05-02T09:29:00.001-07:00

I don't ever want to hear my name being associated with the "ageing population" is that clear?

Here are two short articles about policies taken by the Singapore government to tackle the ageing population here. If this is not related to your exam, then what is? =P

Both articles are taken from the Straits Times September 19 2007.

S'pore has 'unique software' for successful ageing
by Sue-Ann Chia

Singapore has developed unique software for successful ageing - the Central Provident Fund (CPF) scheme and proposed re-employment law, among others, labour chief Lim Swee Say said yesterday.

But in the same way that software can be hit by viruses, good policies can be stymied (Ms Teo: stymied means foiled, stopped, destroyed) if people do not believe in them, he told the House.

Citing examples of how this could happen, he said there could, for instance, be ageist employers who believe they will be better off with younger workers - and so not hire older workers.

There could also be older folk who do not believe they will live longer, and so opt for early retirement instead of staying on in the job.

But Mr Lim, who is Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, is confident Singapore has what it takes to successfully help people build up their retirement savings.

"We're setting the pace of breaking new ground. We've every reason to believe that if there's one country in this world that's going to be able to succeed in this active ageing and successful ageing, then I think Singapore stands a very good chance," he said on the second day of the debate on reforming the CPF to boost retirement income.

Mr Lim recited a Chinese saying, "You hao de kai duan, yi jing cheng gong le yi ban". It means a good beginning is already halfway to being successful. (Ms Teo: or like I like to say, a good background knowledge is already halfway to scoring in your exams. Ain't that so true?!)

The labour movement supported changes outlined on Monday by Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen as these were necessary and would benefit workers, he said.

Among the changes are enhancing CPF interest rates, a new national longevity insurance, and re-employment legislation.

But Mr Lim also reflected concerns from the ground, recounting conversations he had with union leaders.

What people did not appear to accept was that one in two workers today who reaches the age of 62 will go on to live beyond the age of 85.

And because of this belief, some do not see the need to work longer, or to buy longevity insurance that will provide monthly payouts after age 85.

Mr Lim also noted that many people did not realise the impact that working longer would have on their retirement savings.

For every year they work after age 62 - and so delay drawing down on their CPF Minimum Sum - they will be adding two more years' worth to what is in their retirement savings, he said.

Noting that workers were worried about having enough savings to tide them through their golden years, he reminded them that the Government, labour movement and employer groups have already started the process of helping workers.

"Over the next two years, we are going to move very fast because we have thought of the solution, now we must focus on implementation," he said.

"And we hope that the next two years, we'll be able to move so fast that, in fact, more and more workers will be able to look forward to living longer, having good jobs and, at the same time, have sufficient savings for their retirement."

___________________________________
Right, you can let go of your breath now. Go look at some other website before reading on to the next article, I know it can be taxing on your eyes, especially when the topic isn't all that interesting....

Ok ready? Let's go!

_____________________________________
Govt cares for the elderly - here's the proof
by Li Xueying

The Government does help provide for the elderly - and the evidence is in the extra one percentage point in interest on the first $60,000 in their Central Provident Fund (CPF) accounts.

So said Minister of State for Health Heng Chee How, who yesterday put up a defence of the CPF changes, countering those who argued that the Government should do more, particularly in underwriting the annuities scheme.

Noting that the extra interest costs $700 million a year, Mr Heng said: "The way some are arguing is as if it was not a cent in there."

He suggested that the extra payout be placed in a separate sub-account. CPF members can then use that when they turn 55 for the annuities.

This will help Singaporeans be "more aware" of the extra help rendered by the Government, said Mr Heng.

The NTUC deputy secretary-general also raised three concerns on the re-employment law.

First, that the companies may substitute ageing workers with, say, foreign workers way before they reach 62 so that they do not have to offer re-employment.

Second, that offers of re-employment will be for just a few months or up to a year.

Third, that "structural adjustments" will need to be monitored because, when there is a cyclical economic downturn, "the stickiness of the employment may be weak".

Mr Heng called for a public database of companies' re-employment arrangements. Companies that actively pursue re-employment should be rewarded.

"To spur companies to move faster, there must be a difference in outcomes for those who move fast versus those that do not," he said.

______________________________________

Girls, what do you notice about these 2 articles? Can compare and contrast? Try it out! =)
No prizes for correct answers, BUT how can you risk not scoring well for your SBQs if you don't try? Give it your best shot ok?

Comment away...............

Healthcare in Singapore: Self-reliance?

2008-05-02T07:55:00.000-07:00

Yoyo,

as mentioned, here's an article from the Straits Times October 30 2007 about Singapore's healthcare system. (Girls, this is the provenance, you know what to do...)

Sidetrack: Towards the end of the article, there is actually something on governance (land and road transport). Remember your ERP, COE, etc?

PM signals tough measures ahead
by Goh Chin Lian

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday served notice that some major policy measures which may be tough or "painful", likes means-testing for hospital care and further steps to deal with car ownership and usage, are on the cards.

He cited these as some of the initiatives that will be taken in coming months to help Singapore tackle problems.

Noting that it is time to implement means-testing in hospitals, he said this is one way to make sure lower-income Singaporeans get a higher subsidy than those who are better off.

The Health Ministry is studying the idea and will consult the unions when it has firmer ideas on what to do, he told some 1,000 unionists and guests at the National Trades Union Congress National Delegates Conference.

He was speaking on the first day of the three-day conference at Orchid Country Club in Khatib. The conference is held every four years to chart the labour movement's future direction.

In a speech that outlined the unions' role in economic progress and government policy-making, Mr Lee said that Singapore must keep adapting to change to stay ahead, which means, at times, more major policies.

Health care is one area where many initiatives are being rolled out to improve the system and ease fears about its affordability.

Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan, who was present at the conference but declined to speak to reporters on the issue, gave notice in April that means-testing will start in a limited form in public hospitals within a year.

He said then it may include checking a patient's finances if he exceeds the average five-day stay in hospital.

In step-down facilities like nursing homes, patients get a 75, 50 or 25 percent subsidy if their family income divided by the number of family members is $1,000 a month or less. Public hospitals have no such income criteria.

Mr Lee said yesterday the idea is to target government subsidies at the lower-income group "who need these subsidies most".

"It's not easy to do. It's very sensitive... How to implement it fairly and simply, without making hospital care unaffordable for the middle-income group?"

The unions, he noted, are also working towards a portable medical benefits system that it has talked of for nearly 10 years. "It's something which we should pursue with some urgency," he said.

Land transport is another major policy area under review.

Recounting his drive to the conference that morning, he said: "I was watching the trains going down into town along the Central Expressway. Every carriage was packed. I think we need to improve the public transport. We've got some ideas."

Roads also need to be free-flowing: "Driving out from town, the roads were fine. Driving down in the opposite direction along the CTE was not so good."

There is no easy way to implement road traffic and "painful measures" like Electronic Road Pricing and certificates of entitlement are "necessary and we have to do more with them."

"We are working out schemes and I think they'll be ready to be worked out... early next year, in January."

Mr Lee said that, on all such major issues, the Government will keep in close touch with unions. He added that ministers Lim Boon Heng and Lim Swee Say will speak for the unions and "ask the other ministers very tough questions".

____________________________________________

*phew* That was finally done, I was typing like some mad person just now. Don't ask why I can't just put up the article here, remember how I said I'm a tech-idiot and that my knowledge of technology is limited? Scanning is out too, long story...

Right, girls, having read the article, what do you think about means-testing? Do you think it is feasible in both the short term and the long term? Why or why not?

Notice that this article was written in 2007, just last year. Singapore is always on the move to further her healthcare system, hoping to cater to the masses as well as she can. Compare this to Britain's healthcare system. What are the similarities and differences you see in both healthcare systems?

Comment away..................

Britain and her healthcare

2008-05-01T06:43:00.001-07:00

I know I didn't teach Chapter 3 to you girls, but then since it's included in the exam syllabus as well, I might as well show you this (last entry of today, I promise!). You can of course still comment/ask questions regarding Chapters 2 and 3, and I'll help out if you can't get any answers =)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7367806.stm

Right, will post up some stuff related to Singapore's healthcare system soon, do take note!

Comment away........

Everything you need to know about Sri Lanka

2008-05-01T06:37:00.000-07:00

Hey girls,

sorry for the Sri Lanka information overload, but then I chanced upon this site which basically sums up EVERYTHING you need for the exams! Is that cool or what? Sri Lanka's history/background (remember how I emphasised the importance of that in class??), Tamil Tigers, the conflict in general (Black July), etc... All can be found here. Do take a look, of course preferably before Wednesday! You know why...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/country_profiles/1168427.stm

Comment away............

Tamil Tigers roar

2008-05-01T06:25:00.000-07:00

Another one from BBC (it has really good articles!).. Do look at the few related links on the right of this website too: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7377179.stm

More time to quiz Tigers suspects

The men are being questioned at Paddington Green police station
Detectives have been granted extra time to quiz three men arrested as part of an investigation into the Tamil Tigers.
Officers can now hold the men until next Tuesday. They are being held as part of a long-term investigation into the Sri Lankan-based group.
Two of the men, aged 39 and 46, were arrested in raids in Powys, Wales and a third, aged 33, in south-west London.
All three are being held on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.
They are being questioned at the high-security Paddington Green police station in central London.
The arrests were made during early-morning raids at residential and business addresses in Newtown in Powys, Mitcham in south-west London, and Harrow in north-west London on Tuesday.
Two charged
A Scotland Yard spokesman confirmed on Wednesday the arrests were part of a long-term investigation into "alleged funding and procurement activity in support of terrorism overseas".
Two men from south London have already appeared in court charged with terror offences in connection with the investigation.
One is accused of arranging meetings of the Tamil Tigers and addressing an event in Hyde Park, central London.
He is also accused of amassing military equipment including machetes, combat boots, camouflage clothes, spades and handcuffs. He denies the offences.
In November, the leader of a breakaway faction of the Tamil Tigers, Colonel Karuna Amman, was arrested in a joint operation by British police and immigration officials.
No details have been released of where he was detained or whether Sri Lanka will begin extradition proceedings.
In Sri Lanka, the Tamil Tigers have fought for a generation for an independent state for the Tamil minority.
At least 70,000 people have died since the civil war began in 1983.

_______________________________________________

Remember how I said the conflict is still on-going today? Now, people suspected of being involved in the LTTE are being arrested. Is this too little, too late? What do you think? Will the conflict be solved anytime soon, you think? Why or why not?

It has been going on long enough surely! Look at the number of people who died! 70,000. That's like almost one-third of Singapore's population (pardon my maths if I'm wrong, there's a reason why I'm not a Maths teacher).

Comment away................

Chapter 4

2008-05-01T06:04:00.000-07:00

This is taken from BBC website http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7372512.stm

E Timor rebel leader surrenders

Gastao Salsinha handed in his weapons at a formal ceremony
The leader of a group of rebels accused of trying to assassinate East Timor's president has surrendered.
Gastao Salsinha and 11 other rebels handed themselves in to Deputy Prime Minister Jose Luis Guterres at the government palace in the capital, Dili.
Mr Guterres described the surrender as a "historic moment" for East Timor.
President Jose Ramos-Horta was seriously hurt in the February attack, which triggered fears for the stability of the newly-independent nation.
He underwent weeks of treatment for bullet wounds in an Australian hospital and only returned to East Timor earlier this month.
'Harmony and stability'
Gastao Salsinha took over the leadership of the rebels from Alfredo Reinado, who was shot dead in the attack on Mr Ramos-Horta.

Surrender ends rebellion
His decision to surrender followed days of negotiations with officials in a house in the west of the country.
Mr Gutteres confirmed that the rebels had turned in their guns.
"So officially the rebellion is over, and now what we have to do is bring all of them to justice," he said.
"It's a historic moment for the country, and a historic moment for the people of East Timor.
"We believe that from now on the Timorese development will start and people will have a better future, as well as living in peace, harmony and stability."
Mr Ramos-Horta witnessed the surrender, as did United Nations mission chief Atul Khare.
Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, who escaped unhurt from an attack on the same day the president was shot, is in Indonesia on an official visit.
The rebels - former soldiers - had been on the run since violent protests in 2006 that left more than 30 people dead.
The protests were triggered by then Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri's decision to sack 600 striking members of the army.

Girls, what do you see in common here in E Timor and Sri Lanka/Northern Ireland?

*hint* surrender of arms... did it happen? If yes, how? If no, why not?

Comment away..............

A starting place...

2008-05-01T05:54:00.000-07:00

Hello hello...

Welcome to the SS blog I specially created for you guys. =)

I always have the idea that we can sustain our interest in any subject/topic if we look to our daily lives and what is happening around us. I realise that I can stay interested in SS as long as I relate what I have learnt to daily events and happenings, so you can too..

I will be posting up some healthcare related plus Sri Lanka material soon, so stay tuned ok?

And one more thing, this blog can also be used as a form of communication and interaction for you people from 3A and 3C, so do comment away and discuss whatever SS topics you want to ok?

You know what will happen if I see offensive and personal remarks right? I behave here exactly how I behave in class *grin*, so if you want to try, then go ahead........ =P

Ok, will be posting up something real soon, look out for it!