Adjective Chain

Instead of teaching grammar the usual way (i.e. drill and practice), I made use of a game 'Adjective Chain' (credits to the 'All about English' team from Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd!)

Anyhow, the game goes like this...
(1) Get the entire class to stand up.
(2) Students would be called out at random.
(3) Once called, they have to provide an adjective each before they are allowed to sit down. [The adjective must be a word that describes a person's physical appearance, personality or feelings (focus of this activity)]
(4) (Catch to this game is that) the adjective provided must begin with the last letter of the adjective given by the previous student. [Challenge students by having them give an adjective that belongs to a different category from the previous word.)

I made use of mywebspiration to 'record' the words as the students give them:

(Click for larger view)

What touched me most about this class was how they thought for each other and helped each other with the words; all to the very last point when there was only one boy standing, and they helped him give a word in unison.
Appreciate their great display of class spirit! :)

I used 'Wordle' to beautifully capture what the students came up with...


P.S. Just a casual sharing of 2 ICT tools I used for the first time. :)

Life ain't about the certs, but the soft skills from school

It was the release of the GCE O Levels results today and sad to say, most of my students got killed in their English and Combined Humanities.
And of course, this means that their chances of getting into JC are low.
Most of them didn't get it too good from their parents.

Well, I hope they don't get upset with their parents.
At the end of the day, parents just want us to be selected for in the society.

Yes, IMHO, that's how the Singapore society is.
You're from JC, 'oh good!'
You're from Poly, 'uh, ok...'
You're from ITE, 'hmmmm...'
You dropped out of school, -silence-.

Well, to me, I don't think LIFE is about certificates.
At the end of the day, it's whether you can adapt to the society.
Yea, and of course they say it means being more educated. But seriously, I've met really educated people who're totally NOT street-wise or have zero (or maybe even negative) human-skills, and the list of nonsense goes on.

What we go to school for, isn't just getting knowledge to sit for exams.
If so, everyone should just stay home and get private education.

We go to school so we not only get knowledge, but we also get to interact and learn soft skills.

Really, how many people eventually graduate from wherever and do a job that directly involves knowledge of their studies?
At the end of the day, it's application of your soft skills - presentation, designing, PR, etc.

Okay, I think I've digressed.
Anyway kids, it's ok if you screwed your O Levels and can't make it for JC.
Don't look back in regret and go, "If only I studied harder...", "If only I played less computer games...", "If only I...", "If only I..." ... ...
O Levels is over.
You didn't do sooooooo bad that the school would allow you to re-take.
Choose your next step well, and work hard there so that you don't have regrets!

Remember, your parents just want the best for you.
They thought JC was best, but you didn't think it is (hence you didn't do well enough to go JC), so next stop, Poly or ITE.
Choose the course of your interest, cuz you'll need to stick with it for 3 years.

To those who did well enough for JC, but not a 'good' JC, go study reeeeeeeally hard in JC cuz A Levels is gonna reach you faster than you think.
Study hard hard hard hard hard! :)

My Poly/ITE kids gotta study hard also ok!
You'll eventually make it to Uni, just a bit later.. but yaw are young, can take longer route! ;)

Wherever you're going, remember to be humble and always be keen to learn.
Knowledge is never-ending.
Let's all be half-empty cups instead of half-filled cups! :)

Miss Tay is here if you needa talk, good luck kids! :)

life = risk

"If you've never failed, you've never lived."

Gokusen

I think every teacher should watch Gokusen.

From what I think, there aren't stupid students, only lazy students;
there aren't hopeless students, only un-guided students...

I can't guarantee I am a good teacher, but I promise to be a good teacher.
Students can be "rotten apples", but I believe that it is a teacher's responsibility to remove the "rotten parts".

Don't you agree with Jack Neo?
"“烂苹果”....只要把不好的去掉...其他的还是好的。" (Read: A rotten apple - remove the rotten parts - the rest is still fine/edible...)

Go watch, and be inspired...

What do you teach?

This is a very touching video.

I'll strive to teach students, instead of Biology/English.
You?

Be Child Friendly

... Make your influence positive.

Baumrind's Parenting Styles

In Educational Psychology tutorial today, I learnt about four parenting styles.

1. Neglectful
Parents are uninvolved. Children have poor self-control, don't handle independence well, and low achievement motivation.

2. Authoritarian
Parents are restrictive and punitive. Children tend to be socially incompetent, anxious and exhibit poor communication skills.

3. Indulgent
Parents are highly involved but set few restrictions. Children have poor self-control.

4. Authoritative
Parents are nurturing and supportive, yet set limits. Children are self-reliant, get along with peers and have high self esteem.

My parents were authoritative, they still are.
I'm thankful for that. :)