Grades = Intelligence?

I used to have this stereotype thinking that one’s level of intelligence (or stupidity) is defined by his or her academic grades.

However, excellent academic grades can be acquired through meticulous studying by almost anyone. But, what about intelligence?

Some straight A students may not be as quick-witted or open-minded as those without excellent grades. I am not doubting the intelligence of straight A students as they definitely have a certain (high) level of intelligence in order to obtain their straight As. But, I think I’m less smart than some others who may have mediocre grades. My rigid mind simply does not twist and turn that easily. Hence, I may not be that intelligent after all.

Thus, I don’t think academic grades are a good measure of one’s intelligence. At least, not for me. What I have acquired through years of studying is just an inflexible mind good for only regurgitating regular TYS answers.

Should our society start placing more importance on intelligence rather than on academic grades? I definitely think so.

Cross, cross, and more crosses...

If there is anything that puts me off teaching, that will be marking literally, piles of test scripts and assignments. I wouldn't lament if their written work contained only correct responses that were neat and tidy. But, this is often not the case.

I found myself sighing as I was marking my classes' lecture test scripts today. Sometimes, marking can be tedious especially when you are checking for error carried forward. You have to check every single working and calculate the answers again using your student's wrong answer.

I would definitely prefer to give ticks than crosses as I deem ticks to be more asthetically pleasing than crosses and because I'm too lazy to check for error carried forward. Three more stacks of scripts are still waiting for me to mark. Sigh.

To Teach Or Not To Teach?

I didn't have any plans for my future or my career when I finished my A levels last year. I listed down several possible careers that I may pursue in the future but then, I didn't know what I wanted to do. In fact, teaching was not even one of my options.

But ever since I started relief teaching in TJ, I realised that being a teacher is really what I am looking for. Teaching is all about inspiring the young and motivating students to achieve their potential.

I pretty like the kind of life as a relief teacher in TJ now and I hope to get a teaching scholarship. I'm glad that I've finally found my goal in life now.

My Crazy Computer in School

My computer in school is up and working today! However, I’m not always so lucky every time. Sometimes, my desktop just wouldn’t boot because it couldn’t find an operating system. I would have to switch on and off the computer over and over again until it finally starts on Windows XP. And, that would be like, one successful attempt for every three to five tries. I should be glad if my computer starts on Window XP and doesn’t automatically or suddenly die on me after thirty minutes of usage.

My computer just died on me right after I had finished typing the previous paragraph. Thank god that I was typing my blog on Microsoft Word just now and my document was auto-recovered. Okay, I think I better post this post on the internet before my computer goes bonkers again. See you next time!

Annual TJC Road Run 2005

I took part in the teachers' race for TJ's annual road run today. Participating teachers who were able to complete the 3.6km route within 30 minutes were rewarded with a free 'Team Temasek' sports tee. Although I knew that I would not be paid to come to school for the road run today, I volunteered to sign up my name for the road run. Why should I be missing out the fun of running the road run especially now, when I could take part in the race as a teacher?

My enthusiasm to join the race had brought concern to several veteran teachers who were keen to obtain one of the top placings in the race. Afterall, Shera and I are only relief teachers. We shouldn't be taking away other permanent teachers' chances of winning the race. Unfortunately, Shera got the 6th placing while I got the 7th for the female staff race. Both of us ran ahead of the principal, Mrs Lim. I guess I will be getting the sack from the principal on Monday for finishing ahead of her in the road run. Sigh...

Hangover from Valentine's Day...

Here's a moving story from an email I received from a friend. Enjoy it!

When You Divorce Me, Carry Me Out in Your Arms

On my wedding day, I carried my wife in my arms. The bridal car stopped in front of our one-room flat. My buddies insisted that I carry her out of the car in my arms. So I carried her into our home. She was then plump and shy.

I was a strong and happy bridegroom. This was the scene of ten years ago.

The following days were as simple as a cup of pure water: we had a kid, I went into business and tried to make more money. When the assets were steadily increasing, the affections between us seemed to ebb. She was a civil servant. Every morning we left home together and got home almost at the same time. Our kid was studying in a boarding school.

Our marriage life seemed to be enviably happy. But the calm life was more likely to be affected by unpredictable changes.

Dew came into my life.

It was a sunny day. I stood on a spacious balcony. Dew hugged me from behind. My heart once again was immersed in her stream of love. This was the apartment I bought for her.

Dew said, You are the kind of man who best draws girls. Her words suddenly reminded me of my wife. When we just married, my wife said, Men like you, once successful, will be very attractive to girls. Thinking of this, I became somewhat hesitant. I knew I had betrayed my wife. But I couldn't help doing so.

I moved Dew's hands aside and said, You go to select some furniture, O.K.? I 've got something to do in the company. Obviously she was unhappy, because I had promised her to go and see with her. At the moment, the idea of divorce became clearer in my mind although it used to be something impossible to me.

However, I found it rather difficult to tell my wife about it. No matter how mildly I mentioned it to her, she would be deeply hurt. Honestly, she was a good wife. Every evening she was busy preparing dinner. I was sitting in front of the TV. The dinner was ready soon. Then we watched TV together. Or, I was lounging before the computer, visualizing Dew's body. This was the means of my entertainment.

One day I said to her in a slight joking way, suppose we divorce, what will you do? She stared at me for a few seconds without a word. Apparently she believed that divorce was something too far away from her. I couldn' t imagine how she would react once she got to know I was serious.

When my wife went to my office, Dew had just stepped out. Almost all the staff looked at my wife with a sympathetic eye and tried to hide something while talking with her. She seemed to have got some hint. She gently smiled at my subordinates. But I read some hurt in her eyes.

Once again, Dew said to me, Divorce her, O.K.? Then we live together. I nodded. I knew I could not hesitate any more.

When my wife served the last dish, I held her hand. I 've got something to tell you, I said.

She sat down and ate quietly. Again I observed the hurt in her eyes. Suddenly I didn' t know how to open my mouth. But I had to let her know what I was thinking. I want to divorce. I raised a serious topic calmly.

She didn t seem to be much annoyed by my words, instead she asked me softly, why? I'm serious. I avoided her question. This so-called answer turned her angry. She threw away the chopsticks and shouted at me, you are not a man!!

At that night, we didn t talk to each other. She was weeping. I knew she wanted to find out what had happened to our marriage. But I could hardly give her a satisfactory answer, because my heart had gone to Dew.

With a deep sense of guilt, I drafted a divorce agreement which stated that she could own our house, our car, and 30% stake of my company. She glanced at it and then tore it into pieces. I felt a pain in my heart. The woman who had been living ten years with me would become a stranger one day. But I could not take back what I had said.

Finally she cried loudly in front of me, which was what I had expected to see. To me her cry was actually a kind of release. The idea of divorce which had obsessed me for several weeks seemed to be firmer and clearer.

A late night, I came back home after entertaining my clients. I saw her writing something at the table. I fell asleep fast. When I woke up, I found she was still there. I turned over and was asleep again.

She brought up her divorce conditions: she didn t want anything from me, but I was supposed to give her one month's time before divorce, and in the month's time we must live as normal life as possible. Her reason was simple: our son would finish his summer vacation a month later and she didn't want him to see our marriage was broken.

She passed me the agreement she drafted, and then asked me, Do you still remember how I entered our bridal room on the wedding day?

This question suddenly brought back all those wonderful memories to me. I nodded and said, I remember . You carried me in your arms , she continued, so, I have a requirement, that is, you carry me out in your arms on the day when we divorce. From now to the end of this month, you must carry me out from the bedroom to the door every morning.

I accepted with a smile. I knew she missed those sweet days and wished to end her marriage with a romantic form. I told Dew about my wife s divorce conditions. She laughed loudly and thought it was absurd. No matter what tricks she does, she has to face the result of divorce, she said scornfully. Her words more or less made me feel uncomfortable.

My wife and I hadn't had any body contact since my divorce intention was explicitly expressed. We even treated each other as a stranger. So when i carried her out for the first day, we both appeared clumsy. Our son clapped behind us, daddy is holding mummy in his arms. His words brought me a sense of pain. From the bedroom to the sitting room, then to the door, I walked over ten meters with her in my arms. She closed her eyes and said softly, Let us start from today, don t tell our son. I nodded, feeling somewhat upset. I put her down outside the door. She went to wait for bus, I drove to office.

On the second day, both of us acted much more easily. She leaned on my chest. We were so close that I could smell the fragrance of her blouse. I realized that I hadn' t looked at this intimate woman carefully for a long time. I found she was not young any more. There were some fine wrinkles on her face.

On the third day, she whispered to me, The outside garden is being demolished. Be careful when you pass there.

On the fourth day, when I lifted her up, I seemed to feel that we were still an intimate couple and I was holding my sweetheart in my arms. The visualization of Dew became more vague.

On the fifth and sixth day, she kept reminding me something, such as, where she put the ironed shirts, I should be careful while cooking, etc. I nodded. The sense of intimacy was even stronger.

I didn t tell Dew about this. I felt it was easier to carry her. Perhaps the everyday workout made me stronger. I said to her, It seems not difficult to carry you now.

She was picking her dresses. I was waiting to carry her out. She tried quite a few but could not find a suitable one. Then she sighed, All my dresses have grown fatter. I smiled. But I suddenly realized that it was because she was thinner that I could carry her more easily, not because I was stronger. I knew she had buried all the bitterness in her heart. Again, I felt a sense of pain. Subconsciously I reached out a hand to touch her head.

Our son came in at the moment. Dad, it's time to carry mum out. He said. To him, seeing his father carrying his mother out had been an essential part of his life. She gestured our son to come closer and hugged him tightly. I turned my face because I was afraid I would change my mind at the last minute. I held her in my arms, walking from the bedroom, through the sitting room, to the hallway. Her hand surrounded my neck softly and naturally. I held her body tightly, as if we came back to our wedding day. But her much lighter weight made me sad.

On the last day, when I held her in my arms I could hardly move a step. Our son had gone to school. She said, Actually I hope you will hold me in your arms until we are old.

I held her tightly and said, Both you and I didn t notice that our life was lack of such intimacy.

I jumped out of the car swiftly without locking the door. I was afraid any delay would make me change my decision. I walked upstairs. Dew opened the door. I said to her, Sorry, Dew, I won't divorce. I'm serious.

She looked at me, astonished. The she touched my forehead. You got no fever. She said. I moved her hand off my head. Sorry, Dew, I said, I can only say sorry to you, I won t divorce. My marriage life was boring probably because she and I didn t value the details of life, not because we didn t love each other any more. Now I understand that since I carried her into the home, she gave birth to our child, I am supposed to hold her until I am old. So I have to say sorry to you.

Dew seemed to suddenly wake up. She gave me a loud slap and then slammed the door and burst into tears. I walked downstairs and drove to the office.

When I passed the floral shop on the way, I ordered a bouquet for my wife which was her favourite. The salesgirl asked me to write the greeting words on the card.

I smiled and wrote, I 'll carry you out every morning until we are old.

I’m Wired…Finally

I finally have my own personal desktop at my work station in the staffroom! Being a relief teacher, I definitely do not have the special privilege of loaning spanking new tablets or laptops for my personal use. But fortunately, my wonderful colleague and friend, Lisa, offered to move her desktop from her workstation to mine. She had little use of her desktop as she has access to a brand new tablet. But, having a computer without any internet access is almost useless to me in this internet generation. Then, I figured out that I could actually share the internet access cable with Lisa whenever she’s not around or not using it! Hehe.. This means that I can blog in school from my very own desktop at my workstation in the staffroom from now onwards. Great! Another incentive to make me blog more often :)

Ms Blur Queen …

I went home at around 4pm today feeling like a blur queen. I had used my ez-link card to take a bus home today but I didn’t realize that I had left my wallet and handphone in the staffroom until I couldn’t find my house keys at my doorstep. I even questioned myself why my bag was exceptionally light when I was leaving college today but I chose to ignore my sixth sense.

That decision proved to be an unwise one. I had to return to the college after I had reached home to fetch my belongings back in case someone tries to contact me via my handphone. So, in order to make my trip back to the college a more meaningful one, I went to take a dip at Bedok swimming complex too. The sweltering weather these few days is causing me to lose my senses. At least the water in the pool was able to take away some of the heat in my body. Hope that it rains tomorrow. Please.

Prelude To Valentine's Day

Here's a nice sweet article that I want to share with all of you... Happy Valentine's Day in advance :)

Say I Love You..

The meaning OF the 3 magical words((I LOVE U))!!

WHEN U R ONLY 5 YRS OLD, I SAID I LOVE U.
U ASKED ME: WHAT IS IT?

WHEN U R 15 YRS OLD, I SAID I LOVE U.
U BLUSHED... U LOOK DOWN AND SMILE...

WHEN U R 20 YRS OLD, I SAID I LOVE U.
U PUT UR HEAD ON MY SHOULDER AND HOLD MY HAND... AFRAID THAT I MIGHT DISSAPEAR...

WHEN U R 25 YRS OLD, I SAID I LOVE U.
U PREPARE BREAKFAST AND SERVE IT IN FRONT OF ME, AND KISS MY FORHEAD SAID:U BETTER BE QUICK, IT'S GONNA BE LATE.

WHEN U R 30 YRS OLD, I SAID I LOVE U.
U SAID: IF U REALLY LOVE ME, PLEASE COME BACK EARLY AFTER WORK.

WHEN U R 40 YRS OLD, I SAID I LOVE U.
U R CLEANING THE DINING TABLE AND SAID:OK DEAR, BUT IT'S TIME FOR U TO HELP OUR CHILD WITH HIS/HER REVISION...

WHEN U R 50 YRS OLD, I SAID I LOVE U.
U R KNITTING AND U LAUGH AT ME :-D

WHEN U R 60 YRS OLD, I SAID I LOVE U.
U SMILE AT ME :-)

WHEN U R 70 YRS OLD. I SAID I LOVE U.
WE SIT ON THE ROCKING CHAIR WITH OUR GLASSES ON. I'M READING YOUR LOVE LETTER THAT U SENT TO ME 50 YRS AGO...WITH OUR HAND CROSSING TOGETHER...

WHEN U R 80 YRS OLD, U SAID U LOVE ME!
I DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING BUT CRIED...
THAT DAY MUST BE THE HAPPIEST DAY OF MY LIFE! BECAUSE U SAID U LOVE ME!!!

PLEASE APPRECIATE YOUR LOVED ONES..

SAY "I LOVE YOU" TO THEM TODAY!

[i love you] means really care for you......say it out but not to expect the return or anything....
[i love you] is said because there is a pure thought.. that was hoping this magical 3 words can bring you happiness and futurity......
and because of having such pure thoughts...ppl which have true heart to a person. gives out all his/her courage to tell : I love you...

Me? A Professional Teacher?

Hi people! Sorry for being M.I.A. (missing in action) for more than a week. Though I was not exactly busy all that while, I was too indolent to lift my fingers to type for my blog. Marking of my children’s homework started for me quite some time ago and I now have acquired a new hobby of creating exciting and challenging homework/worksheets for my children. Cool right?

While I managed to obtain several questions for my worksheets from the TYS and past year examination papers, I had to invent new questions of my own to cater to the needs of my children’s class tests/lecture tests. In the chemistry department’s initiative to alleviate the stress imposed on children taking such class tests, the official name of chemistry ‘class test’ has been changed to ‘diagnostic exercise’. When I first analysed the difficulty of the questions and the pathetic time allocation for my children’s first ‘diagnostic exercise’, I had an ominous feeling that the number of casualties for the first ‘diagnostic exercise’ would not be small. I had such great confidence (that none of my children would score a perfect score) that I promised them a treat for the one who scored full marks. Haha. Their ‘diagnostic exercise’ will be carried out next week.

I wish them all the best for their very first ‘diagnostic exercise’!

Incompetence Or Psychological Barrier?

Can diligence compensate for experience? Though I am familiar with my stuff, I am still a greenhorn at teaching chemistry. I am currently taking 4 classes, of which, one class is a triple science class.

I wonder if it is my incompetence or is there some psychological barrier about this, I always feel pressurized to teach well whenever I am with my triple science kids. I am afraid that my (lousy) teaching may discourage or put off potential chemistry-loving kids from taking chemistry as their ‘A’ level subject.

I don’t want to ruin my children’s bright and promising future in the world of chemistry but I just cannot teach my triple science class as effectively as I have wanted it to be. I want to rid this psychological barrier that I am not worthy (or smart or old) enough to teach deserving students in my triple science class.

I think I messed up my tutorial with my triple science class today. Not really a very good start for the week I guess. But, I believe tomorrow will be a better day :)