Enrichment Courses To Take Up

The past few years I have been thinking of taking up a lot of enrichment classes, some a continuation from classes I have taken when I was younger, some new courses for interest, some taken half way then dropped out due to lack of time and resources.

Each time I thought of taking a class, there is always some factor against me. First was time. In the past when I was working in those out-of-the-way places, by the time I ended work was after six, and the classes mostly start around half past six or seven in the town area, so by the time I could actually reach there, the classes were already halfway through or finishing. Hence it became unfeasible to take up classes while I was so far away, and the weekend classes were always full at the good times.

But now that I am working in such a convenient area, I can work a little later and still take up classes at the same time. The best news is that, whatever courses I plan to take up, they are all conducted around my office area, so I do not even need to travel far!

These are some of the courses I intend to take up :

1. Scrapbook Making - I have always been interested in making my own cards and gifts, but my superb lack of artistic ability makes it impossible. Now with scrapbooking courses, I can figure out a way to make nice cards as well as beautiful gifts for my friends! Imagine what a handmade photoframe, album or collage will look like! The classes are conducted in the shopping mall just opposite my office.

2. Knitting - I used to have this idea that I want to knit a sweater or scarf for my loved one. In any case, knitting is a rather good hobby to take up because it is so useful and less expensive than when you go and buy a real woollen sweater of scarf! How I wish I can visit a cold place with something handwoven by myself! And the classes are conducted in the shopping mall directly opposite my office too!

3. Jewellery Making - I have a passion for jewellery, especially necklaces. Earrings too, but unfortunately my allergies make me unable to wear costume jewellery earrings, and can only wear authentic gold, silver, white gold or platinum, nothing nickel-based. Hence I thought why not make my own jewellery, then I do not have to keep buying to match my wardrobe? However I was not able to find any jewellery making classes that fit my timing and venue distance, until a jewellery shop opened in the shopping mall opposite my office, and the shop conducts jewellery making classes too!

4. Flower Arrangement - I have always liked a good floral arrangement. What better idea than to make my own flowers during special occasions or family gatherings? At least in my own house next time the place will not look too bare and boring with flowers hanging around and table centrepieces. So when I came across a shop that not only sells flowers but actually conduct classes at the shopping mall opposite my office, I got so excited! However, the shop does not seem to be there anymore, but there is another outlet in another shopping mall about ten minutes walk from my office, so it is not too far off!

5. Dance lessons, particularly Salsa, Tango, Latin, Ballroom, Tap and Ballet - These are continuations from previous lessons I have taken. For salsa, tango, latin and tap, there is this pretty good dance studio at the shopping mall adjacent to my office, so if I do take up those lessons, I can pop by after work. And the ballet classes I am thinking of taking up have a studio on the hill behind my office. Still within walking distance! As for ballroom dancing, the nearest place I found is one train station away at an established studio, but it is still relatively near and do not need to travel so far.

6. Yoga and Pilates - I have attended a trial yoga class and it really helped me to relax. As for Pilates, I heard it is good for losing weight but I have not tried it. There is a studio near my office that offers these classes so I can attend anytime I like!

7. Baking and Cooking - I have taken up some baking and cooking lessons along the way, and have always been trying to improve my own skills on baking and cooking. Recipe books help of course, but nothing beats the hands-on practical applications of actually pounding butter and cutting meat. Furthermore, baking includes cake decorating too, something I have wanted to do!

8. Music classes like Piano, Electone, Violin, Cello, Flute and Harp - I have graduated from piano and electone, and have dabbled a little in violin, cello and flute. But I always wish I can fulfil my childhood dream of being a musician, hence thinking of re-taking up the diploma in music in piano performance, advance grade in electone performance, and then actual lessons in violin, cello, flute and harp. Best news is, there are music schools just opposite my work place, or just one train station away, as well as a harp teacher near where I stay!

9. Singing and Musical Theatre - Never can anything replace my love for singing. Since my voice teacher left a few years back, I have yet to find a replacement teacher for voice. I have wanted to re take classical singing lessons and hopefully go back and sing for the Lyric Opera or some other choral group again! Recently I also discovered musical theatre lessons near my workplace where we can actually have a small performance after the sessions end. What good news indeed!

10. Diving - This is a big step for me. I know how to swim, but it is never one of my favourite things as I never like water going into my ears. I love the sea but I am scared of drowning or being eaten by sharks. It took me lots of courage before I could even go into the sea and snorkel when I was in Phuket a few years back. Despite that, my love for underwater exploration, photography and the wonders of things unknown is slowly emerging the winner, so yes, diving is one course I would like to take up! Hopefully I can be a certified diver and go underwater exploring of the coral reef, fish and beautiful marine life!

11. Foreign languages like Japanese, French, German, Korean, Spanish and Italian - French, the language of love. Italian, the country of love. Spanish and German, two European countries who take very big pride in themselves. Japanese and Korean, the country of tasty food and polite people. What more can I say? Very useful to go travelling if I can speak more than just one language!

12. Ice-Skating and Skiing - Ever since I went to Japan to ski a few years back, I fell in love with skiing and always wanted to try again. Of course, being in a tropical country where there is sun, sun and more sun everyday of the year, there is absolutely no chance to do any skiing here. But there is a place here that offers skating and skiing lessons (very basic of course, definitely nothing to be compared to the actual mountain slopes), so it is better than nothing! Unfortunately, the place that offers these lessons are rather far away from where I stay and work, so I would need to see about the time and schedule.

13. Rollerblading - I have always been afraid of roller-blading as I am afraid of falling and breaking every bone in my body. But then again, what is life if you do not try anything once? After I finally learnt how to cycle, I have been aiming for more things, where roller-blading is top of my list! And the place for lessons are at the beach near my place, so I do not need to go so far!

14. Fencing - Ever since I read "Three Musketeers" and watched "Zorro", I fell in love with swashbucklers! Unfortunately, growing up, fencing was not popular hence there were hardly any schools or professional centres that teach fencing. But nowadays many youngsters take up fencing lessons, and some centres do conduct for adults too. One centre I know is near my office and there is another branch near where I stay too, so I can fight and poke and try my hand at being a swashbuckler to my heart's delight!

15. Horseback Riding - Being a "horse" myself, and after having rode on ponies when I was very young when my family went for a trip to Fraser's Hill, Cameron Highlands and Lake Toba, I always thought riding bareback or riding a horse is a very exciting activity. We have the Polo Club here and Turf Club that offers horseback riding lessons, unfortunately these are situated in out-of-the-way spots that make travelling there a tad difficult. Still, it is a good activity to take up and if I can ride a horse, who knows, perhaps I can go riding one day, if that is even possible!

16. Arts and Crafts, particularly Watercolour and Oil Painting, Calligraphy, Sculpting and Pottery - I am never an art person, but I do appreciate nice works of art. Unfortunately, I cannot draw or paint to save my life. Yet I have always been fascinated by pictures of artists holding a pastel and painting on canvas or a mural, and always thought what more beautiful way to capture the scenery (besides photography) than to paint the actual landscape? Besides, it will also be a nice gesture to give as a gift, and also if I can make a little plate from clay. I have yet to find a place where they give reasonable rates for adult art classes, thought, but I sure am going to continue looking and searching!

So these are the courses I would like to take up, and the good news is that most of these courses are just at the doorsteps of my office area! Ah... that is the joy of working in town! You end up actually saving money because everything is at your doorstep and do not need to spend so much travelling around!

Cultivating Readers ...

Just two weeks into my new tutoring assignment, I got an email that really made my blood boil. In case I have not mentioned, in this new assignment, I was to tutor a four-year-old Russian girl, who is in kindergarten. Each session is one hour, which is nothing much I can really do during that time. Further more, she could not sit still, like any other child her age.

But instead of ensuring the girl got all the discipline, the parents blamed me for not teaching her how to read after two lessons and wanted to terminate the class. In the first place, can any child learn to read in just two hours? In the second place, the parents speak rather good English themselves, so instead of relying on external help, why could they not start off on their home?

But this is not the only family. During my own days in the education industry, I have come across many instances where parents rely on teachers and tutors to ensure the kids do well, without the parents themselves chipping in. Teachers and tutors can only do so much, but the very people whom the kids take after and look up to are the parents. Hence the foremost educator of the children are actually their own parents.

Now in this day of outsourcing, many parents conveniently outsource their children's education and upbringing to external parties. But humans are not like a job or a machine. One can outsource a job, a machine, any other technological gadgets, but one simply cannot outsource education and upbringing of the children. Despite teachers, tutors, domestic helpers and whatnot, parents still play the most fundamental role in the cultivating of the children.

I know everyone is busy. Nowadays everyone work late. Many travel frequently for work. Everyone is struggling making ends meet. We do not even have time for ourselves, let alone for other people. I can understand a little. Which is why many prefer not to have children or have just one just so they do not get more emotionally taxed than usual.

But still, if a couple chooses to have children, then it is their responsibility to bring up the child, is it not? A parent's love is not just bringing in money and buying the best things for the child, it is also the time spent to cultivate, nurture, communicate and educate the child. What is the use of having a child only to neglect or place him in the care of someone else?

I cannot profess I am that well-brought up, but I believe my mum did a good enough job. Even though she still thinks she can control my life, but still, without her, I can never be who I am. She was the one who cultivated my love for reading, who tried to bring me up bilingually, who tried to inculcate the right values in me, who tried to bring me up as a good person.

And I think she has succeeded somewhat. I am not flawless, but at least I have no vices and I am pretty grounded in my values, because they have been inculcated since young. Even though I always wish she can be more open-minded and not the ultra conservative typical kind of Asian parent, still I think I am not a bad person per se.

Hence the parents play the most part. If they do not spend time with the kids, who can they blame if the kids grow up not being close to them? Similarly, if parents themselves do not read, how are they going to cultivate readers? I am lucky in the sense that both my parents love to read, so since young, I have been surrounded by books, but I know most of my friends do not read. As in do not read for leisure, they only read on how to make more money or how to make their investment grow instead of real fiction leisure reading, and the heavy literature I read.

And I feel sad for their own kids, because if both the parents do not read, they will not introduce books to the kids since young, and the kids grow up not knowing the joy of flipping page after page digesting a good book, and spend the time playing violent computer games, where they may grow up becoming mass murderers or shallow in their thinking.

Thus cultivating readers start from parents themselves, and have to start from young. Even if I cannot remember everything else my parents ever did for me, the only thing I can really remember is they cultivated my love for reading. I mean reading books and not reading from the internet or a computer screen. And that is something I intend to pass on, and hopefully my own future children will pass on too.

Another Tutoring Job

Recently I took up another tutoring job. The one I took up last month is still ongoing, and the mother of the child has commented the boy has improved. This new job is for a kindergarten girl whose parents are from Russia, so my job is to teach her how to speak and read in English.

I realise she did not quite know her ABCs, so I spent the session revising the alphabet and reading her books to her. From what I can see, her parents are quite supportive. It is good to have supportive parents as that makes the job easier. On the other hand it also makes the job harder because the parents will then pick on the little things more.

Today's session was rather fruitful. At least the girl got to know her ABCs and pronunciation. I only hope she can remember all these when I go over again next week!

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Spiritual Or Material?

A few days back, I was asked to take on another tutoring assignment for a Primary Six kid, guiding him in English, Mathematics and Science. It will be for twice a week, an hour and a half each for each session.

Later on, I was asked if I could also tutor his younger sister at the same time. So it would be one after another during the weekends. In other words, it will be three hours per session, six hours per week. And the parents were willing to pay. If I took it up, it will be another almost a thousand a month and I need more cash at this point in time for the near future.

However the parents could not cater to my timing. I wanted Saturday mornings and Sunday afternoons, but they wanted Saturday and Sunday mornings as they said Sunday afternoons would be their family day.

However, I will only be able to make it on Sunday afternoons as Sunday mornings is when I have Cathechism and then singing for mass later on.

My dear said I am being stupid by throwing away such a good extra income. He said I can always switch to Saturday evening Cathechism and attend sunset mass after that. Moreover I am not being paid for Cathechism.

Still, even though I am not being paid for this, I have already committed myself and nothing can replace the time with God.

Besides, just like others have their family days, I, too, have my own family time too. If both my weekends are burnt, then when am I going to have time for my family, my boyfriend and myself?

In the end, we could not come to a compromise and I had to give up the tutoring assignment. Yes it is very painful. Where else can I get another one thousand a month just by an extra six hours a week?

But I do not regret my decision. Nothing is more important to me than my spiritual and family life, and if I am to choose again, I will still choose God and family over materialism.

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Door To Door Tuition

I have not given tuition for quite a while, except for the two-month stint at a tuition centre conducting English lessons for a group of four children earlier this year. I have always been looking out for tutoring assignments and have applied for quite a lot but most of the time I have not been able to get it.

Recently, I applied for a job tutoring a kindergarten boy English. He will be going to primary school next year. A week later the agent replied and said I got the job and was asked to start the first lesson today.

So I went over to the boy's abode earlier. He seems a rather bright boy, able to speak and read well. However there are some phonics and grammar which he is still unsure about and his mother would like him to familiarize himself with the consonants and pronunciation of the words.

Today, being the first lesson, I went through some reading and common words with him, then had a chat with the mother. Overall the boy is not too bad, except he cannot sit still like a typical kid. I have come across worse kids.

The agent initially fixed the tuition day as every Saturday, three in the afternoon, once a week, an hour and a half each. However I prefer not to disrupt Saturday afternoons so I had the time switched to every Tuesday at half past seven in the evening, so I can drop by after work, and the parent is fine with it.

This Tuesday will be my second lesson. Hopefully the next session will go smoother than this first one!

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First Tuition Class

I just finished my first tuition class. The class consists of only four Primary One kids, ie. about six to eight years of age, three boys and one girl. The tuition centre actually had lessons prepared and I just needed to go according to the lesson plan. There is even a reward system - the kids will get a stamp on every good behaviour and work.

Today's lesson was on a word scramble, which I played "Hangman" with the kids with in order to unscramble the words. There were also fill-in-the-blanks, a cloze passage consisting of two choices each and a comprehension.

I must say, for Primary One, the worksheet seems a bit too high standard. Or maybe the kids I used to teach were too low standard. I have had kids who when they went to school, did not even know how to write their names, their ABCs or speak any English, let alone recognise English words! But in the class I just tutored, the kids even know the difference between singular and plural, and past tense and present tense. Impressive!

These are the kids who can recognise words like "scientist" and "enclosures", and know the difference between "fortunately" and "unfortunately" at the young age of six! Really impressive! I think some adults may not even know these words! You can be surprised the kind of people I have met who think my English is too "high-class" for them when I do not even use bombastic language!

Still, it was a really enjoyable class. Maybe it was the first lesson so the kids were relatively well-behaved. Perhaps one month down the road, I would be screaming my head off at them already. But this lesson made me realise I miss bring around children. It is really such a joy being able to impart knowledge and help children this way!

Tutoring Again ....

Yesterday, I received a call asking if I would be keen to take up an assignment at a tuition centre starting this Sunday (tomorrow). Ever since I was a student, I had been tutoring and giving music lessons to supplement myself since I did not wish to take any pocket money from my parents. It started with three assignments, then two, then a brother and brother team, then a brother and sister team, then one, and finally there was none.

Still, I have never given up the thought of tutoring because I still want to work with children. Ever since I left the education industry, somehow my marketability as a tutor went down as parents prefer those who are still currently in the industry. However, if I am to tutor again, I can still command rather attractive rates because of my qualifications and experience.

I have applied to various tuition agencies and centres, but never had any assignments. So when the call came earlier, I was surprised but also glad. The timing is on Sunday early afternoon, which suits me pretty well since it is late enough to go after church, but still early enough to be able to do things after the class. Best thing is that the tuition centre is very near my place!

After the agent called me, the guy from the tuition centre called me. He asked me to go for an interview this morning to assess my qualifications and experience. When I went there in the morning, I was put through a job interview, asking about my specialisation, course of study, and the photocopying of my certificates. After that, he said I could start tomorrow, and will be paying me the rate which I commanded the last time round!

I am so happy I got this job! At least I can now do something more meaningful with my time, and can earn extra income to be able to save up more at a faster rate! I hope everything goes well tomorrow!

Exam Results : Pass!

I cannot believe it! I actually cleared all my papers! Not only did I pass my examination, I did well enough to take on the maximum study load next semester (actually should be upcoming semester). I thought I was going to fail a couple of papers, but those which I thought I would fail, I managed to get a C+ and a D+, which is a really big relief, as I can never imagine re-taking them!

The module confirmation exercise will be up this week, and I will be sticking to the four modules I am signing up for. It is really great that I passed well enough, otherwise I could only take one module next semester, which means an additional four more years, which I cannot afford the time nor the energy anymore.

Time to rejoice and celebrate until back to school in July or August! Yeah!!!

Appeal Appealed!

Remember a few weeks back, I was appealing against an appeal? Great news, my appeal finally came through! I received a call yesterday that my grade for that assignment has been reverted back. I went into the portal to check but the penalty was still there.

Today, when I went in again to check, my grades have been reverted back! So I got back my 'A'! Yeah! It makes a huge of a difference especially when I need this to pull up my grade point average, especially since I do not foresee I did that well in the recent examinations.

At least it is a lesson learnt. I shall submit my assignments slightly earlier henceforth!

Exam Progress

Tomorrow will be my last paper. I can hardly wait for it! Luckily this time round I am not so stressed studying for the examinations. Maybe because I am more comfortable with the study material or maybe because I have already done well enough to pass.

Today's paper will be on two unseen poems and Shakespeare's "Merchant Of Venice". Tomorrow's paper will be on Language Distribution, Acquisition and Acquiring Reading And Writing Skills.

That is not to say I am not nervous. Whenever an examination comes along, I am always nervous. I am always the unlucky one where even when I found the paper easy, I still do not do that well.

To others, achieving good grades and high honours are a breeze but not for me. I can be so efficient at work and do everything fast but when it comes to studies, somehow I cannot grasp the concepts fast enough.

I do not think it is to do with age. I have this problem since young. It has been the same be it taking my Primary School Leaving Examinations, GCEs or tertiary. No matter how I study, I still cannot breeze through examinations or top the class.

Still, I hope I can at least pass my remaining papers. If I do better than expected, it is a time for joy. If not, I hope to at least pass.

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Three Down, Two To Go

I am done with three papers. As to how I did, I cannot say because from my experience, each time I thought the paper was easy and I could do well, I ended up barely scraping through. Hence this time round I do not wish to have any high hopes for fear of disappointment.

The paper last Saturday was an online paper of eighty multiple choice questions. Contrary to what others think, this kind of paper is the hardest to pass because the options are so similar and confusing. All I could do was to choose the most plausible answer and hope for the best.

The paper on Monday was on essays and short stories. Out of ten essays, two were tested and we only needed to attempt one.

Same goes for the short stories. Out of twelve short stories, two were tested and we only needed to attempt one. However I had to study all the essays and short stories as we were not told which would be tested.

I am not sure how well I did though. I did write some stuff which I thought was right but as far as the lecturer goes, he / she may not think I have answered the question(s).

Last night's paper was on the technical aspects of English Grammar - what is a noun, verb, morpheme, how to break a sentence down into the appropriate word form.

The paper looked easy but again I do not wish to have high hopes in case I get disappointed again. Hopefully I can at least pass.

I have two more papers next week - one on poetry and plays and the other on language acquisition and usage. I wish I will be able to do well and clear all so as to progress into the next semester!

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Start Of Exams

My first paper starts tomorrow and I am actually not that well prepared. Luckily tomorrow's paper is an online paper consisting of fifty multiple choice questions. Hopefully I can achieve a pass at least.

My other papers are on Monday, Tuesday, and the following Monday and Tuesday, then I am free! Yeah right, since when am I actually free lately?

I am so nervous now, as always whenever I have examinations, especially I never tend to do well for my papers. I really hate the stress studying for examinations then worrying whether I messed up or if I did well. And the results are another form of worry.

If I ever take up another course of study, I better make sure it is on a fully coursework basis. I much rather do assignments and research than to study and take examinations again!

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Appealing Against The Appeal ...

I wonder if educational institutions are really about caring for the welfare for the students or are they just rigid machines sticking to rules and regulations?

I submitted one of my final assignments recently. Our assignments are no longer in hardcopy but submitted in soft copy through the web portal.

When I was about to submit, the whole system was down. Because of the pressing deadline, I sent the whole assignment to my tutor via email. At the same time, I tried submitting my assignment via the web portal, but it was three days later that I finally managed to access it and submit my assignment online.

So I sent an email to the Student Relations, telling them my problem and forwarding the email which I sent my tutor with the assignment enclosed, for their information. The next thing I knew, they replied me five days later, saying the system noticed I submitted late, hence a penalty had been imposed.

They appealed for me to call the hotline and make an appeal. So I called the hotline, but the line was either busy or I was put on hold. I tried calling for the next three days without avail. Finally, I sent another email, enclosing proof that I did submit the assignment on time.

When I checked my results, I actually got an A for this assignment! But due to the penalty, it dropped to a C! So unfair! I wrote a strongly worded email about how I did submit my assignment on time, how the system was down, how I sent an email enclosing proof of submission but no one got back to me, and I find it unfair to be penalised because of this as it is not as if I deliberately submitted it late.

So finally, someone wrote back and sent me a form, saying normally they do not take appeals, but since my case is quite special, they are willing to let me appeal. Hence they sent me an Appeal Form, asking me to fill in, and then I would have to submit the form with S$35.00, which would still be subjected to approval.

I was like, what?! I need to pay S$35.00 just to get back my A?! Is this really for the student's benefit or the school's benefit? Why did they make it so troublesome just to appeal in genuine circumstances?

Hence I am still appealing. If need be, fine, I will pay the money, but if I still do not get back my appropriate grade, I am going to send another strongly worded appeal to them! And probably speak to the Dean too!

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Should Our Mother Tongues Be Dropped?

In the latest news, there is now a debate going on about the new proposed revamp of the Chinese syllabus and examination structure. This is to help those who are not proficient in their mother tongue and to give them a choice whether to take the subject into account if they do well for all the other subjects.

This is good news for the English-speakers who struggle with their mother tongues. But what about those who are more proficient in Chinese? Would it not be unfair? Or would it be because the English-speakers are generally the more affluent and better-educated, and the Chinese-speakers are not, hence the focus is on the better-educated and not on the not-so-educated?

For your information, my parents are Chinese-educated. They were from Chinese schools, when the Chinese medium still existed here before all schools became standardised into the English medium. They did all their subjects in Chinese. They did Chinese Literature. They only did English as a second language.

But did my parents lose out? Definitely not. They still achieved enough grades to go to the university for English-school students, instead of entering the university for Chinese-school students. Did they struggle? Definitely. My mum told me of professors from England who speak English with a thick accent and she always had to try to follow what they were speaking of.

There were no lecture notes, no slides. The professor spoke and the students just had to take down notes. Photocopying was unheard of in those days as one sheet was very expensive. Textbooks were unaffordable. The only alternative was to camp in the library and take down notes from textbooks.

But did she fail? No. She went on the Dean's List every year and graduated with top honours, outshining even those from the English-medium schools. So who said one need to be proficient in a certain language to survive?

Okay, the context here is on the Chinese language. The thing is, this is not the only generation of students who struggled with the Chinese language. Ever since the seventies, more and more people are becoming more and more educated, thus speaking only English (the language of educated people) and stopped speaking Mandarin. Hence their younger generation grew up not that proficient in the Chinese language.

But we still survived. We struggled, we cursed and swore, we had funny way of pronouncing words, we used words in all the wrong context. But we still passed in the end. Even though our (as in me and some of my friends) proficiency of the Chinese language is still very shallow and superficial as compared to say my parents, still we did not do that bad a job out of it.

Now with modern technology and students getting smarter and more outspoken, are you telling me they cannot cope when we could?! I find this totally ridiculous. So if students then struggle with Mathematics, is anyone then going to take that out of the examination altogether? Or struggle with science, or even English, would these subjects then be taken out?

The irony is that more and more Westerners (Americans, British, et al) are dying to learn Chinese. Some even want to major in Chinese in university. Now the China market is booming, in order to carve a niche, one must be proficient in the language.

Here, we are given bilingual education since young, and people are saying they want to drop the Chinese language because they find it hard to cope? Which subject is not hard? I find all my subjects hard. I find examinations a torture. But we still gritted our teeth and went ahead. Or has society grown to such a state that people give up at a slight difficulty? What kind of message are we giving the kids? There are harder things to deal with when they grow up, if they give up over such a small thing, how are they going to achieve bigger things then?

I have a cousin who is also English-speaking. He could not speak Mandarin to save his life. His parents sent him to Australia to study before he even finished his secondary school. Yet when there was an opportunity for him to go to Shanghai to work, he took it. The last I conversed with him this Lunar New Year, he was rambling away in Mandarin. I would not say his Mandarin is that perfect, but it is much better than before, even with a bit of the China slang.

So who says one can never master a language? It only depends on how determined you are and how you choose your life. I only regret I did not take up a third or fourth language, otherwise I could at least make conversation in a few other languages instead of being almost mono-lingual.

There are so many people in the world who wants the opportunity to study Chinese. We really should count our blessings and not take the education we have for granted.

Start Of Revision

So I have come to the end of my semester. I cannot believe it has been the end! We rushed through four modules, six weeks per module. There had been assignments and quizzes. In fact, there are five more quizzes to complete by the end of this week.

After that will be examination. Come next week, I must start my revision intensively. I must start focusing, staying up late, and ensuring I know what material to cover. Not every topic will be tested in the examination, but the important thing is to study those that will be tested.

I am always a nervous freak during examinations! After all these while, one would think I would know how to handle examination questions without a glitch, but the mystery of examinations is still unsolved. I am not like those who can answer the examination questions without much effort. To me, no matter how much I study and how well I know the material, sometimes I just answer the questions wrongly somehow.

At least I have done enough to pass the modules. Now I only hope I can achieve the grades I desired! Hopefully I can finally move on to the next semester without any hiccups!

Relevant Or Irrelevant Courses?

Whenever I tell people what I am doing (work life vs study life), nine out of ten times, I will receive incredulous glances and puzzling remarks, as if it is a crime doing what I am doing. I guess for many people, they see no reason doing things if it is not work-related. I am totally sick and tired of this, since it has happened quite a few times!

I have always maintained the stance that why must we do something just because it is work-related? Why can I not do something simply for interest and not because it is for work? Like people have been bugging me to get my practicing license, but right now, I rather finish what I started (the course I am taking) and then get my practicing license after that. I think with better (and higher) qualifications, it will be easier doing what I want to do in the future, especially if I intend to go for post-graduate and doctorate studies.

Which is why whenever I tell people what I am doing for work, they go a "Wow" as if it is any big deal. But when I tell them what I am studying, they feel kind of let-down. Why so? Knowledge is power, so no matter what you do, no matter how irrelevant and useless people think of you, whatever knowledge gained will follow you throughout life. Besides, nowadays a lot of people are doing a job totally irrelevant to what they studied, and vice versa.

Due to this, I am always reluctant to tell people the number of courses I have taken, simply because none of the courses are work-related. I took those for myself, for my own interest, and not for anything. Like musical instruments. Like singing. Like the various dances. And cooking, baking, wine appreciation, even cycling, tennis and squash. Plus skiing and ice-skating.

I still have yet to take up photography, scuba diving, snowboarding, flower arrangement, cake decorating, scrapbooking, jewellery-making, knitting and professional make-up and nail art courses. These will be done in my lifetime, preferably before I reach middle age. But right now I have too many things on my plate.

But none of these will benefit my career. Afterall, if I am not going to make photography or cooking or baking or jewellery-making or music or singing or dancing or make-up a career, why would or must I bother taking up all these?

Again, I repeat, for my own interest. There is never a timeline to learning things, and there is never too much knowledge. Why can I not learn all these simply because I am interested in them? I may or may not utilise what I learnt, but I daresay the knowledge or skills will come in somewhere somehow.

People can go on living their lives in their own comfort zones, but at the end of the day, if they do not upkeep or upgrade, they will be the ones who find themselves obsolete. Whatever irrelevant skills I have or have not, perhaps they are the ones who keep me current? I hope to pass these on to my own children and hopefully they too will have a thirst for knowledge and never stop learning!

Systems Of Education ....

I spent the weekend rushing two assignments back to back. I have not done this in a long time. The last time I did this was when I was still a full-time student, when I was younger and more energetic and I could go around without sleeping and still be full of energy the next day. I used to have to submit three assignments on the same day.

Now age is catching up. I can no longer go without my sleep and still function the next day. I have much less energy in doing things. So rushing two assignments back to back is no easy feat for me now. But at least they are done! Now all is left are some quizzes and two more minor assignments, and then it will be the examinations!

I kind of like this system where the assignments or continuous assessments take up half the weightage, and then the other half is the examination. I believe this is adapted from the American system where whatever you do in class - tutorials, papers, quizzes, take up a certain percentage, so if you do them well, you still have a chance to pass the examination.

Whereas for the British system, everything is on the examination. Whatever work you do for the semester does not count as the examination takes up the whole weightage. So if you fail the examination, you fail the whole subject.

Perhaps that is why I never did well in law school. During my time, it was still the semestral system - examination-based. Everyone knows nothing matters throughout the year unless you pass your examination. So there were people who conveniently disappeared for the whole semester and only appeared during the examination.

I find this system only for the highly intelligent. I am never one that can manage this as I am never an examination-smart person. If all the weightage is on the examination alone, what if I did not do well? What if I failed that paper? In those days, failing one subject means you repeat the whole year and not just that subject.

But when I left and went on to do my education degree, it was better because at that point in time, the system revamped. It became the modular system where you take certain number of modules per semester and you need to fulfil a certain number of modules to pass. Within one module, there would be projects, assignments, tests, quizzes and all these would take up certain percentage of the final grade, with the examination taking up the remaining percentage.

Which means if you have been doing alright for the module, more or less you know your examination is guaranteed a pass after weighing the total percentage. Furthermore, if you happen to fail a particular module, you only need to repeat the module the next time round, instead of the whole year or semester. Plus with the modular system, you can choose to accelerate your learning by taking on more modules per semester.

Hence I am all for the modular system because that seems more flexible and not so rigid. Students also learn more in the quizzes, tests, assignments, projects, etc, and will be able to handle examination questions better.

Luckily the institution I am taking my part-time studies in, is also based on the modular system. So I just need to focus and catch up more on my examination, and hopefully I can pass and go on to the next semester without any glitch! But if I have a choice, I much rather take on all coursework - more projects and assignments, and not take any examinations altogether!

Rushing For Lessons ...

A tad belated this entry is as my lessons started last week. It will be a mad rush for the next three months.

What used to be twelve weeks of lecture-tutorial format is now replaced by six weeks of intensive seminars - one tutor will take a class and first half will be a lecture, second half will be tutorial activities. What used to be a two and a half hour lesson is now three hours.

In the past I used to be quite early for lessons, now I have a problem reaching class on time. Lessons used to start at half past seven in the evenings, in the main block, and I almost always reached around seven fifteen.

Now lessons start at seven, in the classroom block a distance away from the main campus.

I get off work at six. After waiting for the bus, changing bus, the crowd and traffic jam around that time, it was already seven when I reached, then had to walk another ten minutes to reach the classroom.

By the time I reached class, I was shagged, lessons had started and there was hardly any time to catch a breather, let alone get my mind in gear.

The topics covered are essays, analysis, structure, morphemes and syntax. I was supposed to do some prior reading before class, but at times I am just so tired that I went to class without any preparation. Luckily I am not totally unfamiliar with the subject matter so it is not too bad trying to follow the class.

There are two quizzes due in the next couple of weeks. I must admit I am a little behind in my lessons. I really must try to catch up and be well on top of the subject matter before the next class so as to be well prepared for the quizzes!

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Bookworm Deluxe : How To Get Better Grades And Have More Fun!

I believe every student wants to find out how to spend less time studying yet get better grades. Since secondary school, we have to struggle with numerous subjects, take part in school activities, enter tournaments and carnivals, and still be expected to do well in our examinations.

These struggles went on all the way to tertiary level. I am never a straight A student, unlike my smarter relatives. My cousins are those who studied in top schools, watch television, play the piano, take part in school matches, exercise, read a lot, and yet still able to top the school. How they did that I can never fathom, up to now.

During school days, my mum forbade me from watching television. I could not read as well, nor play musical instruments, nor take part in many competitions. I could not even go out with my friends nor hang around after school. Immediately after school, I had to go home and start on my homework, and she would come home and quizzed me on the things I studied in school. If I so much as answered one wrongly, she would flare up and accused me of not paying attention in class or not revising my work after school.

It was not as if I did not pay attention. The trouble was that I could not follow what the teacher was saying. Furthermore I was in the science class, and doing subjects which I do not have aptitude for. If I was in the Arts class, and my mum quizzed me on History or Literature or Physical Geography, I would have answered all the questions rightly.

But she quizzed me on Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Elementary Mathematics and Additional Mathematics, subjects which I was totally confused over. I did not even know what I did not know! Just for that, I often ended up in shouting matches with her - she accusing me of not paying attention and caring about my studies, me telling her to get off my back and let me lead my own life.

Things changed when I reached tertiary level. This time, I was doing Arts and Humanities, and Law, subjects which I like and have more aptitude for. Even then, I did not do that well. Better as compared to when I did science, but still no straight As or A-averages. It would already be very good if I pulled a B-average, which I had to struggle like mad just to achieve it.

For a while, I did contemplate, am I cut out to study? Am I an academic person? Why is it that others can breeze through their academics so well, and it takes me forever and lots of sleepless nights just to even pass?

I tried many methods. I attended lessons faithfully. I made notes of every topic and lesson. I did mind maps. I made summaries. I made colourful notes. I am a visual person, so the colours do help a bit. Things got a bit better, but still not as good.

My ex could skip classes, played computer games the whole day (even during examination revision), sleep all the time, and yet still achieve straight As. I attended all lessons, dutifully took notes, spent sleepless nights, consulted seniors, studied everything thoroughly, and still struggled to even pass the paper(s).

I was starting to despair of ever graduating. Then in my final year (or before that), I discovered this book by an American called "How To Get Better Grades And Have More Fun!". The book gave tips on how studying need not be time-consuming, the trick is to study the right content and not just everything.

The book gave tips on how to focus on the important points that would come out during the examinations, like knowing the objectives of the course, listening to intonation of the lecturer on whether the topic is important, how to take short candid notes and not long essays as the more candid the notes, the better they are for memory. After all, it is proven that notes of one page are more effective than notes of eight pages!

Since then I tried to adapt the techniques. By going to class regularly, focusing on the right content, do coloured notes and mind maps, and ensuring understanding and analysis, not just plain rote learning. Somehow my grades in my final semester improved a lot! I still did not get A, but at least there were more Bs than Cs or Ds!

This is a really useful book, not just on study methods and exam tips, but how to manage one's time, how to be organised, and how to make good decisions that will enhance our lives. How I wish I had come across this book earlier!

Hopefully I can remember enough tips to help me in my studies, so perhaps for once, I can do really well in academics!

Stressed Up!

I got my full timetable on Monday. I was just looking through it and got really stressed. I know I will have a busy semester, but I did not realise just how busy it is! My lessons are on every Monday and Tuesday.

Since I am taking four major subjects, two subjects will be done every half a semester. In other words, from January to March, I will complete two subjects, and from March to May, I will complete the other two. The examinations will be all in May.

Which means, from January to March, I have to finish three textbooks, ten essays and fifteen short stories, plus two quizzes and two papers. And from March to May, I have to finish another two textbooks, two plays and thirty-two poems, plus one quiz and two papers. Not to mention the various assignments for my two minor modules. Arrrggghhhh!!!

I always wonder how people study and work at the same time, plus struggling with raising a family? I am already thinking whether I can actually cope with these plus the other commitments I have this year. I hope I do not break down and cry one day!