THE subject briefing and THE Work Review ^$%&%&*$%&#&$%

Two "important" events in ONE day, not for the faint-hearted.


Due to work in school in the morning, I went there with an empty stomache (without lunch, what is this??!! slavery???) to know about the new syllabus for the subject. Is there really a need to change syllabus every few years?? Or it is just for the benefit of those &%^&$ at curriculum planning people (if they are people at all??) because if they do not plan curriculum and syllabus, then they got nothing to do. It is just a shift of focus, more emphasis on some areas. But has anyone considered that are we producing more able people or the pupils have benefited (it must be backed by statistics and data.) by shifting the focus?? Even my Uni course in design puts a good amount of emphasis on understanding materials and technology when we are designing.

From my point of view, designing is like climbing a mountain, example Mount Everest. Of course different design problems are like different mountain heights. Some mountains are tall, the problems are difficult to solve, while some mountains are low, problems are easily solved. But the question is what do you carry during the climb??? if the mountain is low, maybe all you need is a trekking shoes, climbing shoes or running shoes and comfortable attire; these are the equipment that you need. And high mountains like Mount Everest, you will need oxygen, warm clothings, fuel to boil snow to water, sleeping bag and tent for shelter from the harsh weather. Same, designing will require knowledge of how things works, how materials behave in different conditions and technology. Many advancements in product design is a result of advancement in materials and technology. Just comparing, previously most products are made from wood and metal, but the creation of plastic revolutionise many of the products we use. I still remember when I was young, the containers for food are usually made from metal. Presently, we eat our food from plastic plates and drink from plastic cups. But that is not my point. My point is designing without knowledge, just on appearance and aesthetics is like climbing Mount Everest without equipment. The climber maybe able to climb halfway, but to reach the top, that is another thing. (Oh, for your information, people have reached the top of Everest without oxygen.)

Show u some works of teachers and the pupils are expected to produce this???








WoW, this is amazing!! Pupils at secondary level is expected to produce this??? That will be great. We will have a whole bunch of designers in no time, but not a very big industry. MNC still station most of their product designers at their home base. And pupils, i assume, are to know 3D studio max when i assume most teachers presently have not used before.

My suggestion:
Why make the present teachers' life so difficult? Why not just hire all the design students from Nanyang poly to teach design and sack all the teachers??? It is part of their course work in poly to use 3D studio max to do some work so the present teachers do not have to go for course to learn how to use the program. Even the industrial designers from ITE can do this job.

A short reflection from learning to use Solidedge during Uni.
It is suppose to be a 8 weeks project to breakdown a product into parts, draw the parts in Solidedge and assemble in Solidedge, to be printed for submission. Not much was taught to us about the program, even the instructors are quite new to it, only one attended the course for it. So my buddy and I spend about 3 weeks going through the tutorials in the program to learn about the program and the next 4 weeks everday afternoon drawing the parts of a compass into Solidedge and 1 week to get all the necessary views for printing. It was interesting for me.

BUT does it make sense to 10 weeks for the pupils to learn a program to only produce a few pages of the work(which is not even 10% of the overall marks), when the rest can be drawn?

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The next thing (work review) really blows my mind.

I never thought i was doing great because I think I still like to have abit of "free" time to relax, read papers and play PC games etc. I work to live, not live to work, ok??!! But some of the points from the review really frustrates me, I try not to complain, but look at it as areas to work on. BUT i still love my "free" time. HAHAHA! Why do so much just for that 1 miserable month of performance bonus, when I got 12 months of salary, 13th month plus 2 months of variable component, just as other civil service??? Think WIN-WIN??? (7 habits of Effective people[teachers], which they are trying to push for in myschool.)

I got "ok" feedback, but prefer to list the not so good ones, just for laughs.

A) The criteria for promotion (leadership) is Intellectual Capacity, PGS (Dun know what it means but in simple, Stamina to see things through) and Ability to movtivate.

1) Intellectual capacity....Hmm....Maybe I am not smart enough for this system, I am an idiot to join it in the first place. Hahahahaha! Or not smart enough to carry "balls".

2) Stamina...Oh.....too much Medical Certificates (MC)....Oh. So our medical benefit stated that we "can" have 30 days of medical leave, but cannot take too many??? Then our dear friend said that not saying that I come to work sick...blab...blab...blab. SO a leader has to be superman??

3) Ability to movtivate...Hmm....I dun see my supervisors movtivating me leh, how???? Always give critical review.

B) Must have stamina to see things through.

Oh so I teach the pupils halfway??? Or i book bus to bring the pupils halfway then they walk for the rest of the journey?? Or do project halfway???

C) Track team to contribute more to the school.

More runners are already training 3 times a week and some of them have 2 CCAs in order to better CCA grades, according to the LEAP criteria. Then must produce results, how to produce results for track when we do not have a coach, other top running schools are training 6 days a week, without the school asking them to contribute more to the school?? And meeting the criteria of achieveing NYAA?? Service Learning, Coummunity Involvement Project(6hours)?? The whole development of a pupil?? After all that, do the pupils got time to study at all???

D) If I want to promote so badly, then fight for it. Look for gap to fill.

Hmm.....What kind of Gap???

Must be proactive, look for oppotunity to do jobs for the "boss" - hmm..either it means to carry balls or I do his job, then he does his sup's job, then his sup does his sup's job, then one on top has nothing much to do, except to come up with so "new" ideas or philosophy. So might as well sack all of them and I do everything. Pay them so much for what??? Do not forget their pay comes from taxpayers' pocket.

E) Cockpit - which area I want to take?

Bro, I am already doing almost everything, from coverpage (when the pupils come in at secondary one), the 4-5 times a year printing result slips, class allocation, curriculum setup, class list and supporting the promotion exercise. Which area????

F) Ability - developing, not competent, not exceeding.

Parents, can you imagine all the teachers teaching your child in school only have developing abililties?? They are not competent enough. You are being ROBBED! You are not getting your money worth of school fee. BUT what can you expect from the meague school fees that you pay ($17 per month?)? AS the saying goes, WHEN YOU PAY PEANUTS, YOU GET MONKEYS.

G) Form class - both two teachers, what have I done?

I did not know form teachers also have to fight for "oppotunity" jobs. I thought we just cover each other is good enough. And during the discussion about my class in the beginning of the year, by saying that I only co-teaching this class and still new to the class is also not politically right. It seems to "show" that I do not have rapport with the pupils. By not reserving my comments politely is also not right, but do they really want to hear the harsh truth???

H) What kind of boss is this?

Work for him in the morning, then go to briefing above without lunch, did not even ask if we had lunch, where got welfare?? Fortunately, my gastric did not act up or else I will be going to the hospital and not the briefing.

I) Taking a risk by giving me the whole level to teach next year.

Why not you dun take the risk if it is so difficult to trust??? And that is very movtivational for a supervisor to say this to his sub, considering he fulfill the criteria (ability to movtivate) for promotion???? Can you imagine the officers say this to the army before they attempt the Normandy:" I am taking a RISK to sent you to NOrmandy? I hope you can survive and not die at the shores of Normandy???" Or is our country taking a RISK to let our army defend our country??? Hmm......................

In conclusion, it boils down to job satisfaction. It is not the money. If the pay is low, boss is good and got commission. Because I come to realise that work hard do equal to promotion or more pay. It is abit like communism, no matter how much I work, I still get the same pay, same increment every year.

The sky here is too small for my talent.

Martial Eunuch

I know when I write this article it will thread along a thin fine line and may get bombarded for it, but please understand that I am only bring out a point for discussion and not condamning anyone.

Situation:
I came across this headline in the local paper (NEWpaper): "MArtial Rape! I love my hubby but I hate sex because it made me feel filthy."

I have not read the article but I guess this article came out because of the recent changes in martial rape. So I will only discuss based on the headline. Before I go on, I will like to state my stand that rape is wrong or all rape is wrong and it is like steal, taking another person property without permission is a criminal offence.

But the two points I want to bring up is:
1) Her love for her husband has reduced the man to a eunuch.
2) Either the sex education in her school is doing a fantistic job or there could be a emotional scar in her past that left her feeling that sex is filthy.

1) Her love for her husband has reduced the man to a eunuch.
Why do I say this? Let us find out the meaning of a eunuch from a dictionary (dictionary.com)

eu‧nuch / Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[yoo-nuhk] Pronunciation Key noun i) a castrated man
ii) A man or boy whose testes are nonfunctioning or have been removed
iii) An ineffectual, powerless, or unmasculine man
iv) a man who has been castrated and is incapable of reproduction

Now I will like to say that sex between a MARRIED (I mean married under the law or under the covering of GOD) couple is a wonderful thing under the grace of GOD. The bible also records that it is a good thing that a man takes a wife, excepts for man chosen for celibracy.

So What happens if a wife refuse sex with husband?
a) Husband can masterbate, which is wrong in the eyes of GOD so he will be shooting his own feet. If caught by wife, then she will ask:" Am I not attractive enough for you? then why do you masterbate? You must be thinking of other women." Not a very good position to be in.
b) Husband can find a mistress. This is also wrong because this will make him a adulter, which is one of the unforgivable sin in the eye of GOD. If caught by wife, husband will be in a more difficult position then situation a, except this may end up in divorce with a settlement that cost you half of whatever property you own, even though it was the wife, who refuse to have sex in the first place.
c) Husband can go pay for sexual "services". The result is usually the same as situation b, except there are other health risks like sexually transmitted diseases or HIV or AIDS due to the various partners. But of course, it will not mean that situation b can avoid such health risks. And of course, it is not GODly.

SO in this sense, has it not reduced the husband to a eunuch? Even though he is not castrated physically, he, being refused of sex, has been "castrated" mentally and no sex means the testes need not function or serve its function, with or without testes, it does not matter. I do not know whether the husband is ineffectual, powerless, or unmasculine, but does it matters???? And of course, without intercourse, there is no reproduction. Hence husband becomes eunuch, true????

I will not be looking into the reasons why wife do not want to have sex with husband, but the incapacity of the law to be equal, but only protecting women in the women's chapter. Can a husband divorce his wife without losing half his property in this situation? or divorce is always considered the fault of the husband or it is duty of husband to maintain his wife, but what is the duty of the wife then?

2) Either the sex education in her school is doing a fantistic job or there could be a emotional scar in her past that left her feeling that sex is filthy.

I will not comment on this because people will have different life experiences that form their views on different matters and their discussion making.

I will still like to say that martial rape is still wrong but wives, stand in the shoes of your husbands before refusing him. GOD bless!!!!!

Annual School Dinner politicalised

I pray for peace when I made the decision not to attend this year's Annual School Dinner (ASD - Of course as usual, cannot tell you what school.)

Situation:
Cell group (CG) intend to go to the Mandai Zoo on Saturday, so no CG on friday night, GREAT, so I will attend the ASD without any problem. Of course, it is sian (meaning boring, lethargic.), been being politically right for the last three years, attending the event, but it never crash with CG before.

During Mid week, there is a change of plan, CG as usual on friday, as some CG mates cannot make it on Saturday. Oops! ( Actually I was also praying for a reason not to go for the ASD.) Praise GOD!!!! NOw I got a reason, not a very good reason, but still quite valid i guess. Because you do not tell a muslim not to go for friday prayer because of work or event, right????

Present:
I have made the decision to honour my GOD to attend CG, but I just pray for peace. Because I may have killed my chance for advancement in my career or whatever.

"Abba,[a] Father," he said, "everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will."

Mark 14:36

Next step is to inform my HOD (Head of Department), thinking he is christain, he might understand...

Me said: " I cannot attend the ASD because I have to attend CG."
Reply: "You should have arrange for a makeup CG (Hey, make up CG, why dun you have makeup church service too?)"
Me said: "HUH, but this is my situation, ....."
Reply: "You know I cannot say yes to this, so you are not asking for permission not to attend ASD, right? You are just telling me that you cannot attending."
Me said: "Yes."

Yes, as you would have said that I got a submission problem (Attitude problem). But why do we have to play politics? Are the rest of the teachers going because they want to go or if they are given a choice, will they choosen not to attend??? Are the "bosses" promoting the right people based on ability and knowledge or just promoting those who are willing to sway with the wind (without back bones and "Yes"men)???

It came into remembrance that My GOD promotes who He wishes to promote, just as my boss is promoted to put over me. I submit to him but when a choice needs to be made, I submit to the greater Him. Just as "Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. Now God had caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel" in Daniel 1:8-9 Later Daniel was promoted. Priase GOD.

Rosenthal Effect

For all our perceived intelligence of banding pupils according to their ability and teaching them at their level, at last someone who proved that by doing so, we, teachers, are indirectly "killing" them. WOW!!! This is powerful!!!

No wonder, pupils in EM3 (in primary schools) and Normal Technical (in secondary schools) are so difficult to teach because the pupils are being viewed to be less able, so they sub-consciencely prove to be less able and tend to be less motivated. During my first three years of teaching, I was assigned to teach Normal Technical Mathematics ( two classes). I want to set higher expectation, slightly more difficult questions to challenge them and bring teaching aids into class to interest them in Mathematics and relate it to real life applications. After a while, the pupils mentally switched off and started my "nightmare" in classroom management. While the so called "better" class react better. I am not saying that all are interested, but the few who have a better in Mathematics, raise up to the challenge, one of them even achieved a "1" in Mathematics which is rarely achievable in Normal Technical Steam. The rest become less motivated because they have little successes in Mathematics. After some self-reflection, I had to teach at a simpler level and greater depth and detail steps because previous knowledge will have been forgotten.

So my thinking: "since EM3 is now defunct, what happens if Normal Technical is "eliminated" and merge (We like the merger word in the private sector, with so many companies merging to be more cost efficient.) with the Normal Academic. So all have the oppotunity to fight for chance to take 'O' Levels and for those, who cannot will continue in the ITE ( Insitute of Technical Education)."

However, the meritocracy system that we have, will still like to band them into the last class, which also indirectly telling them that they are less able again. My take? Why not distribute them between the Normal Academic classes? Reseach has shown that when less able pupils are put in the same class as the more academic able pupils, these less able pupils show improvement in their results. Of course, this can happen if the more academic able pupils are still the majority, because the reverse is also true. It is very difficult for an academic able pupil in a less able classroom because the teacher will still preach at lower level, so learning is impeded.

I am not a principal of a school (yet) so my influence is limited, but hopeful this gives our teachers food for thought and slowly we can effect more positive changes to our school environment.

Teacher is to teach, and not spend time doing committee work, CCA (I love my CCA even though), EPMS (to show that I do lots of work), SEM (strategic thrust), meet parents (handle discipline matters, even though values should be taught by parents), submit suggestions to "improve" the school and working environment and lesson plans for the weekly submission to the HODs and Principals. Not forgetting the crappy stuffs like pupils allocation to their classes yearly, keying and submission of Edusave and EAGLES and in short, the tons of paperwork. Even form teachers have to key in the reason why the pupils is absent from school and collect Medical Certificates (MCs) and mark attendance. (Can we not put a ezlink machine at the school gate for the pupils to scan when they rach school in the morning to mark attendance? Or thumb print scan or iris scan? then pupils cannot mark attendance for each other.) HAHAHA.

Teacher, at the end of the year, give yourself a pat on the back for a job well done. AYE!!!

Valuair SUCKS!!!

To be more precise, it should be the customer service sucks big time!!!

Situation:
I booked tickets for bangkok, going next month. The webpage is idiot-proof i think because i need to "dot" the going time and the return time. So my poor wife clicked the earliest time leaving Singapore and the latest time(7:45pm) returning from Bangkok and she just click confirm, presumming that she has clicked correctly. Least that we know, when we checked the confirmation slip, the return time from Bangkok is 9:25am. What happened!!!

Hence, I immediately called Valuair and i got a recorded message:
" Our office is closed at the present moment. Our office will be open from 9-6 from monday to friday......."
On my hind sight, I hang up when I heard it, without finish hearing the whole message.

So waited till monday to call, the operator gave a whole load of bullshit about changes can be made within 24hours of the booking, sat and sun they are able to take calls from 8-5 and the change fee ($60) cannot be waive.

What piss me off is the operator is not answering the questions and solving my problem and giving standard answers as if she is a computer (What a moron!!!). Their confirmation slip gave me a wrong time and expect me to pay $60 to change (Is that how they make their money by conning their customers to pay changing fees????)

The operator further irritates me when i asked to speak to her supervisor or manager. She tells me to write in through the PO box. (Another moron answer!!!! You are not answering the question!!!!!) By the time, I write in through the PO box, I would already come back from Bangkok.

Personally, I have no problems changing flight time with other airlines (garuda, airasia etc.) and they usually waive the change fee.

This is the first time trying Valuair and I have to suffer for making the choice, then I will take my business else where. Maybe I am just a "small" customer, but with the aid of internet, through blogs, such bad customer service news travel fast. Companies like this got to wake up and take care of their customer service. What happened to basic marketing theory that it is easier to keep a customer than to win a new customer????

Now only two solutions

1) just make the changes, maybe can stay one more day to make my time worth.

2) leave at 9:25am. I will check out from the hotel the day before, leave my bags at the hotel, go do shopping till the shops closes, go back to the hotel, pick up the bags and go to the airport and spend the night at the airport. (That will be interesting- I have not overnight in a airport. hahaha)

Valuair, you are over. Budget airline so what!!?? Does that mean you can give budget customer service?????