Monday, March 31, 2003 @ 09:13 a.m.

The panic is getting more intense when several of the SARS victims in Singapore have been identified to be Super Infectors, and it has been found that the virus can be spread from three feet away and can live on inanimate objects for three hours. Gotta stay away from suspicious subjects/objects by a 4-dimensional radius of 3.

Saturday, March 29, 2003 @ 04:56 p.m.

Thanks to the silly SARS panic, my guitar lesson was cancelled and I finally got time to watch the 75th Oscars recorded on Monday. I have always loved movies, and I miss the time when I used to watch every single nominated movie. This year, I watched none of these excellent films (except LOTR2), but I still enjoyed the show that has always been filled with witty jokes and glamorous stars. I especially felt happy for the young actor Adrien Brody for winning the Best Actor when he was nominated alongside so many big names, and also for Eminem's "Lose Yourself" for winning the Best Song award when his rap genre had been considered crude and not-music (To those who still think rap is trash: stop being skeptical and listen - hard). Oscars is finally starting to open up from his conservative reins: He missed Moulin Rouge the last time round thinking a musical should not deserve a Best Picture, and to make it up, he presented the Best Picture honor to Chicago this year; and of course, another example would be the memorable 2 black best actor/actress wins last year! Kudos to Oscars!

Memorable moment of this year's Oscars: The winner to Best Documentary Feature who blabbered about the fictitious election that elected the fictitious president who started the war with a fictitious reason and shouted, "Shame on you, Mr Bush!" was boo-ed offstage and "escorted to the trunk of his limousine".

Friday, March 28, 2003 @ 09:46 p.m.

New song, inspired when fondling with my liuqin yesterday - Summertime (Percussion Ensemble)

Friday, March 28, 2003 @ 08:25 p.m.

Took around 7 hours altogether these 2 days to record the 7-movement "Yuan Lin Meng" (total 16 min) liuqin duet written by zew. We had several technical problems and hiccoughs, but I really had a great time. I was actually quite touched in the end when I burnt the tracks on a CD and listened to them... touched both by the melody and by our recording exeprience. Though the songs are far from perfect, they were our hard work and effort. Hmm. Should do such recordings more often.

Thursday, March 27, 2003 @ 08:33 a.m.

Went back to school to pick up my notes and textbooks. Saw a woman move away from her seat on my bus to sit somewhere else because the lady beside her was coughing. It must have been really embarassing for that lady.

I wonder if the whole of Singapore is overreacting - even the government is encouraging us to be - though it is always good to 'play safe'. For the past few days, any teacher or student in my school could choose to go home as long as they felt unwell - no questions asked and no MCs required. I thought this was a good enough measure to curb SARS - the closure of all schools just seem too drastic (even the officials admit this themselves) and may cause an unnecessarily mindless panic. And the closure was announced despite the fact that it was already known that the atypical pneumonia is not an airborne disease, and is most likely to affect people aged over 40 or those who are already suffering from chronic sicknesses. So, this measure was simply to "give parents the peace of mind". Hmm, there will be great prices to pay for this "peace of mind", in administrations and other repercussions, although I am sure the students will be very happy to have a "surprise holiday" (finally one pleasant surprise besides the surprise pop quizzes etc).

This epidemic reminds me of 'The Stand' by Stephen King.

Wednesday, March 26, 2003 @ 10:46 p.m.

School closed for 1.5 weeks to prevent the spread of SARS. Wasted my efforts booking the labs and computer rooms and preparing materials for the past few days. Also affected our Speech Day, SYF Band Competition, excursions, standard tests, etc. Hmm.

Tuesday, March 25, 2003 @ 07:35 p.m.

My right ear hurts like hell. It got so bad today that I had a splitting headache as well. This earache has been coming and going for a long time already, and I never sought medical advice as I thought it shouldn't be a serious problem. I don't suppose it's one of the symptoms of SARS, right? Maybe it's cancer. Maybe I'm going to be deaf. Isn't that cool? A deaf musician...

Monday, March 24, 2003 @ 07:51 p.m.

My NIE supervisor came to observe my Physics lesson today. I think I performed rather well. Started with a movie clip from "Pleasantville" and went on to ask what enabled us to see the myriad of colors, then led on to say that light is actually part of the electromagnetic spectrum, and used Powerpoint and questions and worksheet for the rest of the lesson as an introduction to the components of the EM spectrum. The supervisor was visibly pleased with the lesson - he said I did a great job, except that I could have spent more time on the closure to reevaluate what students have learnt (actually I already did that, but he thinks I should spend more time on this). Oh well, it's a great relief! NIE supervisors are to observe us trainees twice. And this is one down - Not to mention I still need to be observed 8 times by my CTs (the cooperating teachers in this school), that is.

But I really felt good after the lesson. Though some students started to walk about towards the end of the lesson, I managed to stop them and they were generally attentive throughout the lesson, and I could tell they understood today's lesson. It's the kind of satisfaction - that you "enlightened" 40 people today with new knowledge.

Then it's 4 hours of math department meeting, on issues of exam papers and how to deal with weaker students. Though it's 4 hours, I felt the meeting was very productive, with many issues discussed and with clear objectives. Well, at least it's more fruitful than 10 BHCO meetings combined, where nothing is resolved. That's why I'll never initiate a meeting in BHCO - musicians just can't solve problems.

Sunday, March 23, 2003 @ 07:00 p.m.

We have a forum at the NIE Portal for us beginning teachers to share our problems, ideas etc. Many of my friends have really bad classes, and they are already disillusionized by students who gave them discouraging comments or those who were truly unmotivated. I feel that I am quite lucky. Though my classes are not exactly a clever bunch, the majority of the classes are still manageable and they do have at least SOME slight interest in learning.

As our lecturers have told us in NIE, it is not impossible to make all 40 in a class learn, it is sufficient to have at least half the class paying attention.

I do feel sad for these teachers whose efforts are unseen and underappreciated. And I can sense that white hairs are getting ready to sprout from my scalp from the stress of teaching. I just hope my passion can last - at least for a few years.

Sunday, March 23, 2003 @ 06:39 p.m.

Don't have time to play Warcraft anymore. Maybe the next time I find time to continue from where I left off would be in May...

Went back school yesterday to pick up some notes, and saw a brand new computer on my desk. Yay! In future I can do my lesson plans, internet searches etc at my own desk! :)

Learnt the Pink Panther theme at the guitar session yesterday. Very difficult. Lots of basses/chords (ie. Lots of pain to the fingers).

Busy day. Planned lessons for a computer lab session and a competitive quiz for Coordinate Geometry, a laboratory experiment for Chemical Reactions, a video and Powerpoint presentation for Electromagnetic Spectrum, and also prepared notes for Bearings.

Thursday, March 20, 2003 @ 04:35 p.m.

Couldn't resist the Warcraft 3 lying on my desk. Despite having lesson plans to write, I went to play 9 chapters of Human Campaign and 8 chapters of Undead Campaign.

Wednesday, March 19, 2003 @ 12:32 a.m.

Had been busy with the Algebra Camp for the past two days, teaching Sec 2 students to learn algebra with the help of algebra tiles. Wrapped up the camp with a lunch at Sakura Thai Restaurant, and had a feast of crabs etc with Serene, Lay Yan, Ruth, Dave, Ms Poon and Xiaoling.

Tired, but I really enjoyed myself. I think teaching is indeed The Thing for me.

Sunday, March 16, 2003 @ 04:08 p.m.

Prayed for a miracle when I haven't been practising guitar due to work and had hoped that an intensive session yesterday would be able to make up for it so that I could sail through today's Grade 7 guitar exam.

But, no. It did not happen. Miracles don't happen every time. My 2 solo pieces were okay, with a bit of mistakes here and there, but I totally screwed up my sight reading and chord accompaniment. For accompaniment, I got lost and didn't know which line I was at, and I simply stopped and looked at the examiners and said sorry. Hmph.

Shall keep on praying. This time for a miracle that I will pass. Though I will probably need a superduperultramiracle.

Vented my disappointment on shopping in Kinokuniya for 2 hours (that's LONG, in guys' standards). Browsed for interesting physics and mathematics books, and bought Isaac Asimov's "Book of Facts". Then went to Popular, and came across many cheap and colorful hardcover books on science. Couldn't resist the temptation of cheap, nice books, and bought a "Foul Facts of Science". Also bought a cool, big pencilcase for my markers and all.

Thursday, March 13, 2003 @ 06:40 p.m.

Escorted a group of students (participants and supporters) to the Discovery Centre together with Joy to take part in the semi-finals of an NE Quiz. Incidently, the participants were from my class: Zirong, Joel, Prija, Darren, etc. It was a close fight, but our school team lost to Deyi Sec. Darren was visibly disappointed despite consolations from Joy and I.

P.S. Had a nice chat with Angela yesterday at the staff lounge, and she told me her students actually told her on their own that my lessons were very impressionable and enjoyable... So happy... :)

Tuesday, March 11, 2003 @ 09:36 p.m.

Had my first official lesson with a Normal (Tech) class, and it turned out to be surprisingly enjoyable. They were very responsive and asked several interesting questions when I taught them about chemical reactions and their applications. The students were also warmer and seemed more keen to get to know me as a person, unlike the Express students who almost looked at me as if I was merely a robotic information-dispenser. Or maybe it's cos this was my first lesson with them, the worse may have still yet to come... :)

Sports Day in the afternoon at Temasek Poly. I ran for the Centauras house in the 8x50m relay, but we only came in fourth. Quite bored throughout the event actually, luckily Rafi, Jonathon and several of the female relief teachers and I started chatting. The best part of the event were the refreshments. Really nice pastries.

Monday, March 10, 2003 @ 10:28 p.m.

Ok, teachers are supposed to knock off in the afternoon, but apparently this is not happening at my school. Only reached home at 8pm today cos I had to supervise some thinking-skill program, then answer one of my student's queries, and attend an 'Algebra Camp' training. I seriously don't mind working long hours, but such working hours suck my brain dry and I can't think properly when I teach... I am not the only one complaining: even the full-time teachers also complain that they are loaded with lots of 'arrows' and non-admin stuff so much so that they don't have the time or they can't give their best in teaching and marking (quality marking refers to those that indicate where your mistakes are, etc). All the teachers around me have the word STRESS written all over their faces, even though they still pretend to be lively and interested in the classes. I won't be surprised if any one of them turns bonkers suddenly.

Conclusion: Schools should employ admin staff to do admin work, and not shift all the work to us poor teachers.

Saturday, March 8, 2003 @ 10:19 p.m.

Did 5 lesson plans today (3 in Physics, 2 in Math). Also finished designing the 2nd handout for Sec 3 Coordinate Geometry. Though this is a great improvement in speed, it is actually only half of what I have to accomplish before the new week starts. And I still gotta attend an NUS concert tomorrow... So, for those who think being a teacher = easy money, please think again.

Just realized that my guitar grade 7 exam is on next Sunday. Uh-oh...

Friday, March 7, 2003 @ 11:50 p.m.

Taught the concept of Angle of Elevation to a class of Sec 3 Normal (Academic) students today. They were very enthusiastic and responsive throughout the lesson (maybe cos their favorite teacher was supervising me from the back of the class?). Before the class, I've spent hours designing their handouts, decorating them with cartoons and pictures to aid their understanding and sustain their interest. Their responsiveness showed that my efforts have paid off.

It is normal practice in this school for students to write feedback for their teachers after every lesson. I took a peek at some of their feedback: "I understood what Mr Tan has taught, although he's a new teacher"; "Angle of Elevation. No problem"; ... Rejuvenatingly heartening.

Thursday, March 6, 2003 @ 10:56 p.m.

Jacinth sms-ed to tell me that she cried today cos she found that she could not handle her Normal (Technical) class in her school and she couldn't control her emotions when she thought about her future in teaching.

Teaching is indeed a very tiring and lowly-rewarding job. Besides teaching, a teacher must also be a councillor, planner, coordinator, leader, role model, etc. He/She needs to be flexible and creative, yet he/she is sandwiched between the stringent rules of the schools/principals and the demanding clients - the students.

Today I invigilated in a Sec 4 Normal (Tech) class for an English common test. One of the boys (Paul Ng, I remember) raised up his hand and handed up the paper only 10 minutes after the paper has started (It's a 40-minutes paper). Then he began to fidget and make noises with his pen and legs and mouth at his seat. I stopped him several times, but soon after each warning, he started making noises again. In theory, there are many ways to explain this. Either he is attention-seeking, or he is really kinesthetic. I could either ignore him, or punish him. But I could not ignore him as he was clearly disturbing the class. And in this case, I could not ask him to leave the classroom cos he would actually be glad to be out of the classroom and he would very well sneak off home when I have to attend to the rest in the classroom. In the end, I got him out of the classroom and I stood by him and chatted with him by the window so that I could still see what was going on in the classroom.

Normal (Tech) students in general really do not care about studies. In fact, in today's test, THE WHOLE CLASS chose to hand in their scripts early so that they could sleep on their desks while they waited for the test duration to end. As one teacher has told me earlier, they don't study at all; no matter how much effort you put in, they can't be bothered. As I am still new and idealistic, I don't agree fully with what she'd said, but I can't deny a certain degree of truth in it. And that is very sad indeed.

Wednesday, March 5, 2003 @ 11:35 p.m.

Long day. Woke at 5+ am as usual to go to school. Relieved my 3I class for Chemistry (in which I actually managed to answer some of their Chemistry questions, when I am not trained in Chemistry at all), revised Waves in my Physics class, then attended an Algebra Camp training in the afternoon.

Ruth and Ms Poon proposed organizing a 2-day educational camp to teach our lower sec students to use algebra tiles. I have learnt to use algebra tiles in NIE before, and I think they do help in students' understanding. The idea is good, for students to have a concrete way of learning algebra, but I think this time, the idea is carried too far cos they intend to teach quite a lot using the algebra tiles in those 2 days of Algebra Camp. I feel that this camp should just be an elementary introduction to the use of the tiles, and not a sudden overload of info for our students (just to show how powerful these tiles can be). The use of these algebra tiles should be concurrent with what is being taught, else the useful tool may become too intimidating for them and become not so useful afterall.

Anyway I am only a trainee teacher, so I didn't dare to say too much. I did correct Ms Poon though, when she made a slight mistake in her explanations (I hope she didn't take offence, thinking that I am an arrogant young brat or something).

Had a meeting with the BH comm in the evening at Centrepoint. Glad that JJ came up with the plans cos I was really too tired to think already.

Tuesday, March 4, 2003 @ 03:58 p.m.

Demonstrated how planar and circular waves may be produced on the ripple tank today. It's quite fun to play with water, only that refraction could not be easily shown from the demonstration using the glass blocks (wavelengths are SUPPOSED to be shorter).

Started marking worksheets. i.e. Started to understand how tedious it is to mark a 2-page worksheet for a class of 40. Hmmm.

Monday, March 3, 2003 @ 04:07 p.m.

I think I really prefer teaching Math. I feel more energetic and passionate when teaching it, and I can sense that the students are truly engaged in my lesson. Physics is... ok... but I just feel that the students are quite bored (either cos I AM BORING or cos the subject is quite dry by itself). I never enjoyed Physics lessons myself, so I don't expect the students to enjoy my lessons too...

The problem is, on paper, my 1st Core Subject is Physics, and Math is my 2nd CS (cos MOE thinks Civil Engineering = Physics). So I will most probably get to teach Physics for the rest of my life, when I really want to teach Math instead... Well this is only the Practicum (a trial run for trainees), hopefully I get to teach Math when I become a full-fledged teacher in July. *fingers crossed*

P.S. Isn't it nice? Today's date? 030303.

Sunday, March 2, 2003 @ 10:55 p.m.

Feeling high. Just came back from performing for the NTU-VJ concert. Though I ruined my solo part for Turkish March, Nandou Arirang had been truly, truly exhilarating. Tears filled my eyes when the song was ending. Simply loved the liuqin theme (as Quek had said, the theme could be interpreted as happy or sad, depending on your mood when listening). And the middle semi-cadenza bass-guitarish jazz/mambo-section is also very well-written: I was immersed in the music and really enjoyed the "jamming session".

Despite the fact that I still think NTUCO is disorganized (out of 6 songs that I was involved, I only got 3 of the scores TODAY) and have absolutely no concept of time and its preciousness (practice always starts AT LEAST one hour late), I actually feel a bit sad to have to part with some people: Lin Na (VJ), Weiming, Jiamin, Kailin, *many of whom I still dunno their names but nevertheless chatted with them*, etc. Maybe I'm just feeling emotional after the effects of Nandou Arirang...

But I do feel relieved. At least I won't have to travel to NTU for rehearsals anymore, and I have one less distraction now - I can concentrate on my lesson plans! Aww... lesson plans...

P.S. Thanks to Jiajia, Zewang, Yingjie, Kelly, Jiaqi and Aunt Yap for coming to support us. Yingjie, the bouquet was really nicely done! Thanks!

Sunday, March 2, 2003 @ 12:59 a.m.

As promised, a Radiohead theme. Done in a rush. But I think it conveys the feel quite well. :)

Saturday, March 1, 2003 @ 11:05 a.m.

Gasp. It's already March?! The past week had been a rush: typing lesson plans, preparing handouts/worksheets, getting transparencies and handouts printed, thinking of innovative ideas to make lessons interesting... Have been doing Physics lesson plans the whole of this morning until I took a breather and went to fox's page to realize it's already March... Hope I get some time to revamp the layout of this blog.

Oh, did I mention how cool the uniform of CVSS is? The guys wear brown jeans for upper sec and brown bermudas for lower sec. Cool ya? Too bad the teachers can't wear jeans... Though we get to wear sportswear (i.e. casual) on Wednesdays cos they're the Sports Day of the week.