My sincerest congratulation to all of you. You have all done well. Well one or two of you could have gotten better, but overall the results are already noteworthy.

To reminisce back then:

• We met as strangers. You standing there outside the staffroom. And I was totally new to the school.
• Your first assignment - selfportrait. I reassured all of you that it is okay. Okay I tried.
• You straggled into class. I tried to interest you in artworks by dead white males.
• Your first ever painting. Some were terrific. Some of you are still trying to hide them till today.
• Drawing and Painting Test. Horrors of horrors.
• 2nd self-portrait. I was truly amazed by your progress. Finally the light at the end of the tunnel?
• Higher Art mad scramble. Getting those reports printed was the greatest PITA.
• Coursework craziness. Some were doing great, others need to be prodded. Near the end, it was frayed nerves, irritable voices, crumbled un-ironed uniforms, sleepy bloodshot eyes and black moods. It was unforgettable, but not necessary all memorable.
• Final drawing and painting. Saw some. Advised some. Where were the rest?

It is finally all done now. I truly hoped you have achieved all that you set yourself to get. But I firmly believe the reason behind why we need to set goals for ourselves is not for the purpose of self admonishment when we failed to reach them, or just to remind ourselves what we are trying to achieve, but more fundamentally to live out our affirmation that there are things that we truly value and those that we would want to give our best to without reservation time and time again. And it is not the marks, but the motivation behind those numbers.

I have enjoyed teaching this group of students tremendously. As with all great experiences, they have their share of joy as well as pain. I see all the problems and difficulties as part of the learning process for myself and for the students. And we should all continue to learn.

All the best for your future.

Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment, full effort is full victory.
- Mahatma Gandhi

Students | 4 Comments »

Yesterday was Martin Luther King’s Day. Before his assassination, King was very much opposed to the Vietnam War and this video montage overlays a historical sermon which he gave in 1967 that is surprisingly still relevant today.

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” - George Santayana, American philosopher

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With the recent hooha on the internet over the case where a Principal was highlighted in the news for advising some of the Secondary 5 students in the school to give up on their ‘O’ Level and just go to ITE instead, I was just considering if I should make a comment and then I read Mr Wang’s well-written and insightful article on the issue.

But at the same time, we must realise that there are different actors within the school system. Different actors means different self-interests, and that means the Freakonomics info/advice problem must arise again.

What’s good for the Ministry of Education is not necessarily good for the principal. What’s good for the principal is not necessarily good for the teachers. What’s good for the teachers is not necessarily good for the students.

And what’s good for the students may not necessarily be good for the teachers, principal or the Ministry of Education.

Freakonomics is a brilliant book that will change whatever negative perceptions you have about Economics. I am first to admit I am now a born-again convert who sees economics in an entirely new light.

If you are studying or working now in a school, Mr Wang’s article will definitely set you thinking.

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Release of 2007 GCE O-Level Examination Results and 2008 JAE & JPSAE

1. The results of the 2007 Singapore-Cambridge General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level (GCE O-Level) Examination will be released on Thursday, 24 January 2008.

2. School candidates may collect their results from their schools at 2:00 pm on 24 January 2008. Private candidates will be informed of their results by post. Private candidates may also access their results through the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board website at http://www.seab.gov.sg from 2:00 pm on 24 January 2008.

For the rest of the news, go to SEAB’s website here.

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This is a painting exercise for Sec 2 Art lesson. This picture is a detail from the Impressionist Claude Monet’s painting “Regatta at Argenteuil” done in 1872.

N.B. Please click on the image to see the full size version.

Sec 2 | No Comments »