Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Finally !

Finally, seventeen magazine has decided to put an article about your's truly. Everyone should now buy a copy, as well as write in to seventeen to praise your's truly for his immaculate wit and request for more of yours truly !



Thursday, September 21, 2006

Tea and Scones

Weather:14-21
Days: 15

It comes as a great relief for your's truly that durham is not actually situated in the middle of nowhere with only cows for company. Havent seen even one cow as of yet. Being in campus so early means 2 things:

1) An opportunity to make life better for your's truly once term starts since now he's got quite the comparative advantage. Also, to rectify any problems which might occur and not be fixed if his majesty actually came as per scheduled.

• bank account(check)
• ensuite room(half-check)
• how to get around the area(double check)

2) To get to know more people. Judging by the fact that asians are generally less popular and have less friends abroad, no doubt due to the conservative environment we've been brought up by, means tt your's truly(the only singaporean fresher), has to start making friends earlier. Everyone seems really friendly and surprise surprise, your's truly when compared to these people is quiet and with a halo around my head to boot. But, it is quite boring, especially since no freshers have yet to arrive and well, it is quite difficult to get on the same wavelength as them seniors.

Interesting fact:

The room the your's truly is going to be sleeping in had someone die there of a heart attack earlier in the summer. Hence it was not allocated out, as the college waited to see if anyone would step forward to take it. Now, your's truly had been praying for a ensuite room prior to the meeting to ask to be transfered to one. On knowing that there was an avaliability, your's truly's faith was tested yet again. The question beckoned as to whether or not to take the room. The answer was, after some pondering, yes(not a very big one..) as God had provided a room as per requested and all that required was for your's truly to accept that God would protect him. And hence, your's truly will be moving in in a couple of hours, albeit with the chaplain coming over to help cleanse the room...(i am obviously not tt brave yet). Well then, its all off to an exciting start !

Stay tuned people.

Friday, September 01, 2006

One full circle.

And so, my dear students, it all comes to an end.

All the laughter, tears, sweat and sorrow will forever remain imprinted in yours truly's mind for the years to come. From the neccesant noise of the 'Bermuda Triangle' to the 'Battle of the Twerps', and on to the 'Cleopatra pose', it all added to the experience. Your's truly is glad that he was not given some proverbial scholars to teach, how terribly boring that would be...

This was an experience in which, the teacher was the student and student the teacher. You scums have no idea how much you've taught me and how much I've learnt from lessons had with you.

The measure of a person's self-worth should never be by the yardstick of mere academic results....of useless pieces of paper, of one-off examinations, because really, life is much more than that. The argument could carry on forever about ways in which to measure a person, and yet never find a pleasing conclusion to all. It is with a heavy heart that your's truly gives out lessons in how to do well in examinations(how many times have you heard me blare at you 'structure structure stucture'). Really, this should not be the way. Has it really come down to such a deplorable state? Of mere tricks and cunning being all what one needs to do well ?

How ironic it must be that the ones who profit most, a.k.a 'the proverbial rafflesian scholar'(no offense taken, you know I do so love hot rafflesian chicks), are the ones who go on to run the system, thus putting in place more checks and balances to ensure that generations onwards do not slip through the huge holes in the education system nets. Once again, despite their better efforts a maintaining equality, most once again slip through. And once again, it is the same kinds of people slipping through, mostly due to the fact that their parents have slipped through and have seen first hand the repercussions of those who do not. All your Rafflesians, ACsians, SCGS and MGS girls. Its quite simple really, the harder the exam gets, the more students fret, hence, those who can afford the best tuition(also known as system breakers) will do so in hopes of finding the formula to get past. A cheatcode or walkthrough if you would have it called that way.

So wherefore is the equality ? It is said that in 'meritocratic' Singapore, education is the great leveller, the one which all are on even footing. Bollocks ! I say. Wherefore art the equality which ought to be bestowed on thine students ? People who do not know where the loopholes are, do not have either the resources(money to hire top tuition teachers and not merely those students from uni out to make a quick buck) or the knowledge that there are such loopholes present to be exploited.

Once again the cycle repeats itself. Once again, the elite get richer, and the masses poorer because the sanctity of the system has already been breached and only those who know the code are allowed in. That is why you not see yours truly recite the national pledge. A pledge which is hollow.

Your's truly will end off now by telling all of his students to always keep fighting on. True, the odds are heavily stacked against you. But please, do not give up. At 13 or 15, if you give up now, what is going to happen to you in 20, 30 or 40 years time ? Fight on my little ones....I cannot make guarantees that you will be able to beat the system, but what I do know, is that you will not win or make it by giving up. This is the only way out. Farewell, and Thank You for teaching me.