differentiation

Saturday, January 31, 2004, 08:42 a.m.

A math joke from ing's blog:

A mathematician went insane and believed that he was the differentiation operator. His friends had him placed in a mental hospital until he got better. All day he would go around frightening the other patients by staring at them and saying "I differentiate you!" One day he met a new patient; and true to form he stared at him and said "I differentiate you!", but for once, his victim's expression didn't change. Surprised, the mathematician marshaled his energies, stared fiercely at the new patient and said loudly "I differentiate you!", but still the other man had no reaction. Finally, in frustration, the mathematician screamed out "I DIFFERENTIATE YOU!"

The new patient calmly looked up and said, "You can differentiate me all you like: I'm e to the power of x."

attending courses

Thursday, January 29, 2004, 03:20 p.m.

Been attending courses after school these days. Went to Woodgrove Sec (at Woodlands) on Tuesday to attend an "Excel in Physics" Workshop, and attended "GSP Basic" in ESSS yesterday. These upgrading courses felt very enriching. Even though most of the things that were taught were what I already knew, it felt good to be "students" again together with teachers from other schools. After interacting with these teachers, I conclude that teachers are generally very friendly and humorous people when they're outside their own schools.

melbourne

Monday, January 26, 2004, 07:20 p.m.

Zhisheng is back from Melbourne from his studies. Xiaopeng, Ah Bee and I met up with him before he leaves again next week. Exchanged updates, and he told us the life in Melbourne is really very, very different as compared to Singapore, where people slog like hell and get all stressed up. He also said the arts are an integral part of the lives of Australians and they go for operas the way we go for movies (hmm... how nice...). And he said he may never come back again after he goes back this time... Strolled amongst the crowds at River HongBao. Thanks to the heavy rains for the past few days (except for the first day of CNY, when it was scorching hot and I had to go around to bai nian), the crowds weren't as terrible as expected. Also went to the Esplanade, its library and its rooftop.

Then went to BH for a lame CNY performance that we had to put up. Even the organisers weren't sure about the time that we had to go onstage until the last minute. Grr.

wishlist

Saturday, January 24, 2004, 05:38 p.m.

My wishlist for the new year...

Jurgen Klier Master Stradivari Model Violin, US$5000
Emilio Slavieno Tourte Round Pernambuco Violin Bow, US$4500
Negri Diplomat Violin Case, US$2440
Pirastro Olive Violin Strings, US$64.40
Mach One Wood Shoulder Rest, US$48

The violin is so so so so beautiful!...

visits

Friday, January 23, 2004, 09:46 p.m.

Alvin, Terence, Ricky and Chee Seng from last year's 2E4 came to bai nian today. Chatted about other teachers and ghost stories. So nice of them to travel all the way from Tampines to visit me. :)

Went to Shuang Lin Temple with mom and sis to pay my respects for grandpa. It's such a beautiful place, with exquisite lanterns and pagodas and pillars... And the rain added a surreal touch to the scenery. Couldn't resist taking a few pictures with my phone.

the curse

Friday, January 23, 2004, 11:19 a.m.

CNY eve's school concert on Wednesday was quite good. The Malay dancers were really good and I felt so proud to be their teacher-in-charge - they seemed to be enjoying themselves so much when they were dancing; the Chinese dancers seemed less coordinated and less energetic.

Talked to Nazia. She apologised for her behavior the day before but she didn't seem very affected by what had happened - I am not sure if that's good or bad.

First day of CNY yesterday. Visited grandma and my eldest uncle. Now that I'm a teacher, Uncle told me his story about how he quarrelled with the principal and submitted his resignation several years ago - after tens of years of hard work and friendship, the principal showed no mercy/consideration at all for my uncle although it was clear that my uncle was not in the wrong... That's how cruel reality is. He warned me to be careful with people and relationships in school.

Just realised that ALL my 5 elder cousins who got married ended up in divorces - I guess that's why neither my parents nor my relatives ever asked me when I'm getting married (most people say they get such questions on CNY visits). Maybe it is fated that my generation in my family is not to be blessed with happy marriages? Among all my elder cousins, only one is still unmarried, and she's now seeing a US guy whom she got to know during her overseas studies and they're planning to get married soon - she's now applying to be a PR in US... hope her marriage will turn out to be the first successful one for my generation.

crushed

Tuesday, January 20, 2004, 10:21 p.m.

Today Nazia kept falling asleep on her table during my lesson, then when I gave out a worksheet, she only did the first question and started talking with her friends. I was so angry that I went up to her, said, "If you're not interested in the worksheet, just tell me!" then crushed her worksheet and threw it into the wastepaper basket... I must be too stressed, or I was inspired by the RJ video - I know I shouldn't have done that, but I really couldn't tolerate her attitude anymore - will talk to her about it tomorrow to ask whether she has family problems that caused her tiredness.

Gave the class 2E1 a stern speech after the incident - the class was so quiet, probably stunned by what I'd done. Told them that they need to be positive in their lessons, that they should come to class looking forward to LEARN things instead of simply shutting themselves off thinking lessons are boring. I guess some of them must hate me very much now. Especially Nazia.

On the contrary, my other Science class 2E4 is extremely positive. I always feel very energetic in their class as they're very lively and responsive and I can see that they enjoy learning new things very much - they even ask for extra info beyond the textbooks... I wish my form class 2E1 could be half as enthusiastic in studies.

Met up with Yit Siang and Teck Nam at Suntec for dinner. Realised that after a whole day of work, walking amongst anonymous people in a busy mall can be quite stress-relieving. Too bad my workplace is so far away from city, else I'll definitely make it a point to go to such places after work - it reminds me that there is LIFE out there, and life is not just about the cooped up small world in school. These few days I have been consciously walking slower and trying to do things a bit at a time - taking things easy - don't want to burn out like many new teachers did (according to statistics). I want to be like Frederick. :)

frederick

Monday, January 19, 2004, 07:25 p.m.

Frederick - Leo Lionni

All along the meadow where the cows grazed and the horses ran, there was an old stone wall.

In that wall, not far from the barn and the granary, a chatty family of field mice had their home.

But the farmers had moved away, the barn was abandoned, and the granary stood empty. And since winter was not far off, the little mice began to gather corn and nuts and wheat and straw. They all worked day and night. All - except Frederick.

"Frederick, why don't you work?" they asked.

"I DO work," said Frederick. "I gather sun rays for the cold dark winter days."

And when they saw Frederick sitting there, staring at the meadow, they said, "And now, Frederick?"

"I gather colors," answered Frederick simply. "For winter is gray."

And once Frederick seemed half asleep. "Are you dreaming, Frederick?" they asked reproachfully.

But Frederick said, "Oh no, I am gathering words. For the winter days are long and many, and we'll run out of things to say."

The winter days came, and when the first snow fell the five little field mice took to their hideout in the stones.

In the beginning there was lots to eat, and the mice told stories of foolish foxes and silly cats. They were a happy family.

But little by little they had nibbled up most of the nuts and berries, the straw was gone, and the corn was only a memory. It was cold in the wall and no one felt like chatting.

Then they remembered what Frederick had said about sun rays and colors and words. "What about YOUR supplies, Frederick?" they asked.

"Close your eyes," said Frederick, as he climbed on a big stone. "Now I send you the rays of the sun. Do you feel how their golden glow..." And as Frederick spoke of the sun the four little mice began to feel warmer. Was it Frederick's voice? Was it magic?

"And how about the colors, Frederick?" they asked anxiously.

"Close your eyes again," Frederick said. And when he told them of the blue periwinkles, the red poppies in the yellow wheat, and the green leaves of the berry bush, they saw the colors as clearly as if they had been painted in their minds.

"And the words, Frederick?"

Frederick cleared his throat, waited a moment, and then, as if from a stage, he said:

"Who scatters snowflakes? Who melts the ice?
Who spoils the weather? Who makes it nice?
Who grows the four-leaf clovers in June?
Who dims the daylight? Who lights the moon?

Four little field mice who live in the sky.
Four little field mice... like you and I.

One is the Springmouse who turns on the showers.
Then comes the Summer who paints in the flowers.
The Fallmouse is next with walnuts and wheat.
And Winter is last... with little cold feet.

Aren't we lucky the seasons are four?
Think of a year with one less... or one more!"

When Frederick had finished, they all applauded. "But Frederick," they said, "you are a poet!"

Frederick blushed, took a bow, and said shyly, "I know it."

fish is fish

Sunday, January 18, 2004, 10:32 p.m.

Started reading Leo Lionni's fable picture books after my sis recommended them to me. Besides the simple and colorful collages, his stories are rather thought-provoking... Here is one of the nice fables, though without the pictures you may not be able to appreciate its beauty fully...

Fish Is Fish - Leo Lionni

At the edge of the woods there was a pond, and there a minnow and a tadpole swam among the weeds. They were inseparable friends.

One morning the tadpole discovered that during the night he had grown two little legs.

"Look," he said triumphantly. "Look, I am a frog!"

"Nonsense," said the minnow. "How could you be a frog if only last night you were a little fish, just like me!"

They argued and argued until finally the tadpole said, "Frogs are frogs and fish is fish and that's that!"

In the weeks that followed, the tadpole grew tiny front legs and his tail got smaller and smaller.

And then one fine day, a real frog now, he climbed out of the water and onto the grassy bank.

The minnow too had grown and had become a full-fledged fish. He often wondered where his four-footed friend had gone. But days and weeks went by and the frog did not return.

The one day, with a happy splash that shook the weeds, the frog jumped into the pond.

"Where have you been?" asked the fish excitedly.

"I have been about the world - hopping here and there," said the frog, "and I have seen extraordinary things."

"Like what?" asked the fish.

"Birds," said the frog mysteriously. "Birds!" And he told the fish about the birds, who had wings, and two legs, and many, many colors.

As the frog talked, his friend saw the birds fly through his mind like large feathered fish.

"What else?" asked the fish impatiently.

"Cows," said the frog. "Cows! They have four legs, horns, eat grass, and carry pink bags of milk."

"And people!" said the frog. "Men, women, children!" And he talked and talked until it was dark in the pond.

But the picture in the fish's mind was full of lights and colors and marvelous things and he couldn't sleep. Ah, if he could only jump about like his friend and see that wonderful world.

And so the days went by. The frog had gone and the fish just lay there dreaming about birds in flight, grazing cows, and those strange animals, all dressed up, that his friend called people.

One day, he finally decided that come what may, he too must see them. And so with a mighty whack of the tail he jumped clear out of the water onto the bank.

He landed in the dry, warm grass and there he lay grasping for air, unable to breathe or to move. "Help," he groaned feebly.

Luckily the frog, who had been hunting butterflies nearby, saw him and with all his strength pushed him back into the pond.

Still stunned, the fish floated about for an instant. Then he breathed deeply, letting the clean cool water run through his gills. Now he felt weightless again and with an ever-so-slight motion of the tail he could move to and fro, up and down, as before.

The sunrays reached down within the weeds and gently shifted patches of luminous color. This world was surely the most beautiful of all worlds. He smiled at his friend the frog, who sat watching him from a lily leaf. "You were right," he said. "Fish is fish."

chinatown

Saturday, January 17, 2004, 11:36 p.m.

Met Kailiang and Wenjie (from my present 2E1 class) at Tampines MRT after my violin class, then met Woei Ling, Benjamin and gang (from my previous CVSS 3I class) on NEL just now... Everywhere I go, I'm surrounded by my students. When I've only taught for less than a year. Haha.

Joined the new year crowd at Chinatown with Zhiyuan, Xiaopeng and his two friends (Eric and Fauzi). Had dinner by the roadside, and squeezed through the crowdiest crowds to get into the new year mood. Eric even bought a ma gua (a traditional Chinese robe) to wear to work on New Year's eve.

mascot competition

Saturday, January 17, 2004, 09:53 a.m.

Mascot competition yesterday. Every class was supposed to get someone from the class to dress up as one of the 12 Chinese zodiac signs. Our class chose Victor to be The Chubby Jedi Pig. He protested a million times after we elected him but I told him to be sporting since the whole class supports him. He seemed quite worried for the whole week but yesterday he put up quite a good act.

Only Jane, Wenjie, Aisyah and Dalinah stayed back to support and help with the make-up. It was quite fun seeing how Jane and Wenjie enjoyed themselves putting powder and make-up on Victor's face, then we used a black cloth (intended to be the background for our noticeboard) to wrap him up so that he was jedi-like. Most classes weren't quite keen about this competition as well since it was compulsory and we didn't have much time to prepare, but some others really put in quite a lot of effort. Zul (my previous 3T1 student) dressed up as the monkey god, and he looked very convincing with all the professional make-up and props.

Couldn't stay till the end of competition. Took a taxi to attend my violin class, then called Irene to tell my class I'd be giving them a treat. Met up with them at Swensens later and let them choose whatever they wanted on the menu to thank them for helping out that day. Wenjie was a big eater despite his skinniness. Ha.

inexpressible joy

Wednesday, January 14, 2004, 06:22 p.m.

Got my students in 2E4 to write a reflection on what they've learnt and what they feel about my lessons. A few students said my lessons were too boring, some said they were very interesting (how strange - two extreme feelings about the same lessons), and many liked the "canteen activity" that I had with them.

Attended a GSP course in the afternoon. Met Seow Ling, my old colleague at Compassvale Sec, who also went to attend the course. I was so happy to see her as we used to work quite closely when I was still at CVSS but we've lost contact since then, and we talked a while before the course started. She told me the Sec 4 Normal (Tech) class which I taught last year scored very well in their exams - 32% of the class scored distinctions (compared to 16%, the national standard - that is TWICE as good as the national standard!). I was naturally very happy for those students and I felt quite proud of myself... Too bad I didn't have the chance to meet the class and share their joy when they received their results...

time no enough

Tuesday, January 13, 2004, 09:52 p.m.

Some students complained that my lessons were too fast. And some said the lessons were too slow... It seems I can never satisfy everyone.

Got to know my classes better, especially my form class 2E1. At least I think I know all their names already (that's quite an achievement, I think, 40 names in less than 2 weeks). Also accompanied and talked with some students who stayed back after school to decorate the class.

Time flies in school. After a busy morning of teaching, the afternoon is quickly used up in meetings, marking and preparation of lessons. Sigh. Time no enough.

cca recruitment

Saturday, January 10, 2004, 11:53 p.m.

CCA Recruitment Day. Both Malay and Chinese dance put up short performances. For me, I just introduced Contemporary Dance since I had no members to perform for me, and urged more guys to join so that they could impress the gals with their hip-hop dancing. Apparently my speech was quite well-received. Teachers thought it was quite witty, and a few Sec 1 students came to our booth and told me they're very interested in joining Contemporary Dance. In fact there were some Sec 2s who came to look for me to ask if they could join, but I couldn't let them join as we only accept Sec 1 students. Hope our Dance Troupe will get the number of students we need - especially the guys - badly in need of them.

i love my classes

Friday, January 9, 2004, 08:57 p.m.

Did I mention that I changed my seat location when the new year started? Now I am sitting just outside the toilet. Hmm. It may not be an ideal seat but it is better than my previous seat which was along a very 'hot' path so anyone who walked by could see clearly what I was doing. Now, at least I have a cubicle wall between me and the toilet, so although some teachers may come to use the toilet (not many though, for the past few days, surprisingly), I have this wall between us and they can't see what I am doing unless they purposely come near.

Brought 2E4 to the canteen today as I still had 30 minutes left after finishing this week's work. Told them to imagine themselves as atoms and got them to arrange themselves to form the particulate models of a solid, liquid and gas, and asked them to model what would happen if I 'heat' one student. The kids (especially the boys) had quite a lot of fun running about (when they were a free-moving 'gas'), 'vibrating' (when they were a 'solid') and hugging each other (to show the attractive forces between atoms), while the girls were quite reluctant to move most of the time. Generally, kids just LOVE to get out of their classrooms. They made some noise occasionally but I managed to stop them from getting too chaotic whenever the noise level was starting to get out of control. After the short exercise, I allowed them to take a short break at the canteen - I wasn't sure if this was against the school policy, but I didn't care much as I thought they deserved it - it was because they behaved and responded well in class that we could finish the chapter so quickly.

Also started to know my form class 2E1 better. Can now remember almost all the 40 names and faces after all the admin stuff that I had to do with my form class - selection of class committee, getting the class mascot, collection of money and report books, decoration of the class noticeboard, monitoring their behavior and outlook (no dyed or heavily gelled hair, no long hair or nails, no short socks or skirts...). After school, some of the students gathered around me and we chatted for a while. Three boys suggested getting a Discipline Head as the class's noise level may get quite high at times. One girl wrote a letter to tell me about her troubles and asked me for advice. Am really starting to feel attached to this lively and interesting form class...

There was good progress during violin class today. Everyone has improved vastly in pitch and rhythm. We learnt legato and our first scale - the D major scale. Hope this progress carries on.

bulls' horns

Wednesday, January 7, 2004, 08:50 p.m.

Work Review to be revised by Friday. CCA Recruitment activities to be decided as it will be on this coming Saturday. Contemporary Dance instructor to be confirmed. Minutes for the last Science meeting to be typed by this week. Powerpoint slides for next week's lessons (for Sec 3E Physics and Sec 2E Science) to be done. To review the effectiveness of the Environmental Science Research Workshop for Sec 3 students and present my opinion tomorrow. Photos and introduction of BHCO to be sent to a Mr Philip Tan (god knows who he is - just following Mr N's instructions - no time to ask him for details else he'll tell me another long story). At the back of my mind, I know I should be conducting a general meeting for BHCO together with the LKKs to discuss about next year's concert and committee and other miscellaneous things, but how do I find time to think of the agenda and conduct the meeting? I don't even know whether I will be able to attend the practice tomorrow cos there's a Math departmental meeting tomorrow and it usually stretches until late evenings, and I have the Work Review to be completed by hook or by crook by Thursday night.

All this rush is to end by this weekend. And a fresh new round of rush starts next week.

On a brighter note, today's short meeting with my two other CCA teachers-in-charge, Noreen and June, was very comforting. They had a lot of initiative and seemed passionate about their dance groups. I have been assigned as the overall in-charge of the Dance Troupe, which consists of three separate groups: Malay, Chinese and Modern Dance. Noreen's Malay dance troupe had been winning Gold in past years' SYF competitions and she seemed very enthusiastic about getting her troupe to join other competitions as well. June just took over her Chinese dance troupe but she was also very eager and cooperative towards the structure of the new Dance Troupe. This was a great load off my chest as I wouldn't need to worry so much for Malay and Chinese dance troupe and I could concentrate on my Modern Dance. So glad that I am working with such nice people...

P.S. Suddenly realize that people seem to THINK very highly of me. Overall in-charge of that GIGANTIC Dance Troupe. The only teacher in ESSS teaching Sec 3 Pure Physics. The chairman of BHCO. I am not sure if I am truly that capable, but I am definitely fully aware that I am quite overloaded with responsibilities.

just updating... brain not really functioning

Tuesday, January 6, 2004, 05:55 p.m.

Lessons have been very smooth these few days. The pace was good and all that was planned was carried out. Students were obedient and homework had been handed in on time. BUT this is not enough reason for joy, as this is only the start of the year - the students have probably not shown their true colors yet. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Timetable is not very good for me. I am the form, math and science teacher of class 2E1. On Monday I had four periods straight with them. So I think they were pretty sick of me by the end of those four periods...

Just ended an almost-four-hours Science meeting. So tired... If not because I had to record the minutes I would have easily fallen asleep... :p

i am vanwanov

Sunday, January 4, 2004, 06:37 p.m.

My elven name is Vanwanov the Scholarly Wizard, according to The Middle-earth Name Generator. :)

Busy day. Couldn't even go for the Integral practice in the morning but stayed at home to do Powerpoints. Also had four hours straight of tuition with Darren and Fiona. Totally exhausted now.

zaoxday

Sunday, January 4, 2004, 01:05 a.m.

Did Say Yes today for my guitar lesson. It's a duet version - Jieying and I played the melody and Lily played the arpeggios - it sounded really nice.

Then rushed to PS to meet Zaoxiong (the birthday boy), Enji (he passed to me a big bag of Physics books and notes and a Romeo & Juliet guide which he didn't need anymore - The Physics notes are going to be very helpful... THANKS!), Eugene, Yunfei, Timothy, Nicodemus and Yiwang to watch Good Boy!. We got the first row, so instead of torturing our necks to maintain the look-up position, Yunf, Zaox and I laid on the floor with our heads resting on the seats. Erm, I still had to look up quite a bit, but at least I could stretch out my legs and move about quite comfortably. :)

The show was really meant for CHILDREN, with many puns (Sirius/serious), corns (Canine Recall, Mind Fence) and stereotypes (a fat man with cream on his mouth and sandwich in his hand) on top of the kiddish plot. It was not too bad from the family-movie perspective and was in fact quite fun to watch - at least I didn't fall asleep (spotted a blooper: a mistake on the calendar - August should have 31 days instead of 30).

Then went to Swensens. Zaox gave me a treat (THANKS!) to thank me for the present. Dinner was fun though we had a fat Malay waitress (oops, discrimination not intended) whose attitude was quite bad and I felt so tempted to fill in the feedback form with "Bad attitude and body". Food was good and the talk was enjoyable nonetheless (can't remember the specific topics except for the Black Magic). Learnt that Eug and Yunf are strictly carnivorous, Eug loves all things salty and Zaox likes sour stuff (and cheese). Stayed till the shop closed and we were the last the leave. Zaox, being the birthday boy, was entitled to a free Kodak print and we took the photo a few times cos the machine screwed up.

first day of school

Friday, January 2, 2004, 06:43 p.m.

Went to bed at 11pm last night and just couldn't get to sleep, thinking of how I was going to manage my first form class, what a tiring day the next day would be, the limited edition LOTR soundtrack that consisted of all 3 soundtracks... plus a lot of other nonsense that simply showed my anxiety for the first day of school.

The first day went very smoothly actually. My classes didn't give me any problems at all. Laid down ground rules, set routines, settled some administrative stuff (collection of money, checking of particulars, indentation of lab equipment, updating the record book, etc), and managed to successfully match some faces with their names. Brought home a big bag of textbooks - I am going to be SO busy preparing lesson plans and Powerpoints this weekend.

new year

Thursday, January 1, 2004, 03:35 a.m.

Spent new year's eve performing at Foo Chow Building for a Budhhist function with Jiajia, Youxia, Zhiqiang, Yingyun, Mi'er, Shuinan, Zewang, Yingjie and Jianyuan. Chuhe was there to help out as well (surprise!)... Anyway we only performed a few crappy songs and the microphones weren't working so we sounded quite pathetic but the audience was quite nice and they clapped at the end of each song even though they most probably couldn't hear us.

Then Zew and Shuin left and Kelly joined us. Went to Cafe Cartel at Serangoon Gardens and had some really sinful desserts. Then Jj and Mi left and the rest of us wanted to sing karaoke, but to our dismay all KTVs were F*U*L*L, so we decided we'd go to Bishan for a movie. On the way to the busstop, we walked a long stretch and sang songs to satisfy our urge for karaoke - from Hwa Chong songs to evergreens like Yesterday.

Our first minute of 2004 was spent at the busstop along Lorong Chuan, and when we finally got to Bishan, we realised the only movie that was showing was LOTR3, but all of us didn't feel like watching this long show again that night, so we just loitered around for a while before we figured we might as well go home... A rather uneventful way to spend the first minutes of a new year, but it was nice as I spent it with this group of friends whom I feel most comfortable with. :)