Teachers' Day

This is a day which makes me wonder if, as Prufrock said, "would it have been worth it, after all", to stay as a teacher for long. The kids suddenly all become angelic and nice on the day, and everyone is in some sort of airy-fairy mood.

I must have the weirdest response to the day. As with last year, I start the day pondering about the significance of the day, if we teachers are really the miracle workers we are said to be (everyone will like us to be, but most of the time they are sorely disappointed). When students come up to give me cards or presents, I feel an immense sense of embarrassment, and receiving anything at all makes me wonder if I deserve it. At the same time, I am very appreciative of their small gestures but do not know how to show it except to say the obligatory 'thank you' to students. I wonder how they feel, overcoming shyness to get something for a teacher, standing up from the class line and approaching the teacher, pass over the gift and only hearing a 'thank you' and a sheepish smile from the teacher, before going back to the class wondering if it was worth all the effort.

I believe in the transformative power of teachers, and I think it is a good occasion after all, to have one day when people remember our efforts. I just think that perhaps I'm too embarrassed by such public display of affections on the day.

Guard your own thoughts

Mr Brown recently noticed that headlines in the Straits Times online portal changes real fast. On an article on the current inflation rate, there were 2 changes to the headlines within the hour or so, each sounding more positive with every revision.

A reader with real insight commented there:

"Nowadays all the bad news becomes good news.

GST to help the poors.
ERP helps u own cars.
Less pay will retain jobs.
Frozen meat is good for health.

This country is evolving to a paradise.
Deities and angels are migrating over here."

This is what Orwell warned us about in 1984, how the political like to encourage 'doublethink'. In fact, doublespeak is everywhere in our dear local paper, with the negative negated and changed to reflect a dubious positive.

I think I should start teaching students how to read newspapers critically in my classes so that they don't end up being dumb citizens without opinions and critical thought.

The limits to knowledge

Here's a piece of food for thought: Isn't it significant that most of us do not understand much of the concepts and history behind the marvels of our everyday lives like inventions and cultural ideals? What does this say about mankind in this current age and time?

I think that is the reason why people are more and more disinterested in understanding the world (urban or natural) intimately, and only interested in hedonistic pleasures and specialised knowledge that can at least comfort us and make us feel less idiotic.

On a related note, I really feel that students nowadays are less curious about things and events, and loses interest in things that they are initially amazed by. Or maybe it's just students in my school.

The weekend

The weekend might be sweet or sour, but without doubt, it's definitely short.

Saturday was sweet. Slept in late, woke up to read the papers and then we're off bouldering at climbasia. It's definitely a better place to climb, at least the tiles are placed with some thought and not done randomly. If I start to go there more regularly, think I should begin my habit of filming routes once again.

Then it was off to Ritz-Carlton, where a room is booked for the viewing of fireworks in the evening.

The view from the toilet is actually very nicely framed - it will be quite a treat to lounge in the bathtub with champagne and watching the fireworks I guess!

We had dinner at Marina Square's Azabu Sabo, which was overpriced with small portions and does a terrible teriyaki chicken bento (Please try MOF@My Izakaya instead). Owing to the light drizzle, the fireworks' smoke lingered low above the parade stands and dimmed much of the sparkle that was created. Actually, I can't say I enjoy it very much. They are just bursts of lights that comes and go, and its ephemeral nature makes it insignificant to me.

Next morning, the breakfast buffet at the restaurant was excellent. I could find nothing to complain about, and it was the most sumptuous breakfast spread I ever had.

We had a seat at the full length glass wall, and could see all the greenery outside while eating and reading the newspapers, and that is the best experience of a hotel stay IMO.

But by then, it is already Sunday. Dread came and troubled me from the moment we left the hotel. Back at home, I had to work, and didn't really feel wasting time playing my polo friendly game that night. I went nonetheless, but left hurriedly at ten.

Midway through the game, I was thinking that finally, this year might really be the last year I'm going to commit myself to polo. My alumni team doesn't go for training anymore, and I can't fit into the junior team currently due to difference in ideas. I think I lost the passion to want to go down constantly every week to train the new batch too. During supper, a teammate said that he is going to San Francisco for work for a year - yet again confirming that my team will probably play its last competition this year. Time to move on perhaps...

Planning for medical leave

I got my voice hoarse yesterday, and wanted to give school a miss later. Although there isn't much that's happening in the classroom for me tomorrow, it sure doesn't feel good to be sniffing and coughing and grunting when I want to speak to people.

But then I realised that my CCA will need help because one of the teacher has been on MC a few days for sore throat already, and my guess is that she is not going to come tomorrow. The club have to plan for an event too, and cannot run tomorrow's session on one teacher alone (my HOD is also away). I don't want to kill my colleague by throwing everything to him, and now decided that I should go after all.

And then my teacher's day dinner is happening tonight too. I would really want to skip it as I'm in no mood for fun or food or whatever nonsense that it will throw up. Honestly I hate it, because for the event I was asked to plan a stupid game which is so totally not fun and against the spirit of a Teacher's Day. Would I be able to leave school after my CCA to get an MC just to skip the dinner? Is it worth it? Is it even possible? Or should I just bear with it and grin?

So damn irritating right. To be genuinely sick but cannot even take an MC because you're too considerate.

Paddle monster

I broke another paddle again! Was practicing to floop in the T1 yesterday when that happened. I bounced and jumped over, and while I pushed on the paddle underwater to force my legs over, it broke cleanly at the shaft. All in all, I killed about 4-5 paddles already. Hope my Werner will never meet such a fate. Anyway, how am I supposed to playboat now? Have to get something fixed up again - I loath to buy a new paddle just for the occasional playboat practice. I'm very near to nailing the floop in the T1, will want to keep on trying.

Had throat inflammation and seen the doctor for medication and a MC yesterday. Now I'm slacking at home not really doing anything, nor did I particularly enjoy this break. But guess it's just good to not have to shout at people in school. Man, just breathing in smoke from the kitchen already irritates my throat to no end.

Much to do before the holidays. Damn other teachers can go on leave from Nov 15, and I'll be doing CCA events and trips till end Nov. I need a good recharge then.

An ideal place

The keys to my new place will come before October!

It's pretty exciting to know that it's within reach, though I had to wipe out almost every penny in my accounts for it. We're still at the stage of conceptualising how the place should look like. For now, we know we wanna build a raised platform to elevate the balcony, have some simple shelf for the TV and show off the wall instead of having a huge TV console or having a feature wall fashionable nowadays. The utility room besides the door will be my gear room, we'll have the bedroom (she's designing it) and also a study with my books and CDs taking pride of place (I'm doing that instead).

What should I do with the extra room?

• Music room - somewhere for me to scratch my violin in?
• Bouldering gym - build a simple wall with tiles and all?
• Mess-ing room - a place for me to do any work that requires things to be sprawled all over?

Or maybe all my sporting gears will just spill over into this room haha.

Send in your suggestions to me!

Paddling the North

Last Sunday I did a paddling recce, intending to start paddling from this ulu jetty I saw just beside the causeway. But apparently there's no access to it, and I ended up starting at Sembawang park.

It is a blessing in disguise - the environment was comfortable and we have lots of space to setup the boats. We even ordered Mac breakfast and had it while we build up the boats! We attracted loads of attention from kids, adults, and some cycling groups there.

Finally, out on the water at 11am. Somehow the boat don't seem that long when I'm sitting inside it. It's great to start paddling off after some hard work on the boats!

Sembawang WaterVenture Club, supposedly an empty shell right now. Enric remarked that there's nothing happening there at the moment, but I pointed out all the anglers standing at the slipway fishing away.

He's right to point out that the green Nautiraid goes with the green shaft on the Epic. He said I'll look nicer with his hat and PFD too, but I really don't need to be colour coordinated on the water...

It's always fun to paddle in the rain! The drizzle lasted less than half an hour, but the cloudy skies made it a comfortable paddling day. Pulau Punggol Barat is on starboard, no landing there. I wonder what's on it...

We took a turn into Punggol River, and went in all the way to Fernvale. The water cleanliness wasn't as bad as I thought, and it is quite spacious out there on the river. It's always nice to paddle into the midst of urbanity. I will imagine that I am introducing surprise into the routine lives of passerbys and make them smile at seeing adventurous spirit.

And where possible, we explored small 'creeks' along the river channels, not knowing where they lead us...

It was said quite a while back that paddlers could no longer go between the mainland and Coney Island, but we decided to find out for ourselves nonetheless, after rounding Punggol Jetty. We went all the way in, and true enough, we hit the barrage. Well, no other thing to do but to go across. We cut across the construction site there wanting to go to the beachfront on the other side, but was lazy to walk the way and decided to just launch from the seawall, certainly a tricky move, and a first for me. Not before we finished a packet of Ruffles chips first!

Enric was happy that he didn't slip into the water butt-first...

We finally reached Changi at around 6pm. Took turns to pack the boats and shower, and went for nasi lemak. A nice way to spend the weekend - I really should do this more often, even if there's not much left of Singapore waterways that is left to be explored (without permissions and permits and licenses et cetera).

Parents parents parents

Well after my last post about calling parents up, it's a coincidence that I had to attend this MOE course on 'Relating well with parents in the school context' yesterday. Nothing much about it - the speaker just try to convince us that it is good to establish partnership etc. I posed my questions about what teachers should expect parents to do, and the answer is basically that we lay out the consequences of negative actions to them, and try to suggest solutions.

Today, one of my kid's parents have to come down to school for interview too. Kid feels restricted and wants to rebel, and parents feel outraged and goes down harder on poor kid. In such a battle, it is really hard for them to see the good things in each other's actions and intentions, and so the domestic battle will probably lasts. Sigh. What to do?

Again, teaching in a neighbourhood school makes me realise that there are many families in Singapore who are ill-prepared for parenthood in different ways, and the child's behaviour and academic performance reflects that.

And because of this, I think many teachers are not really supportive of the government's idea of wanting to boost birth rates, unless Singaporeans becomes more sensible parents and have the means to support their child in all ways.