Saturday, October 25, 2008
Good to be Back
I was truly overwhelmed on 23rd Oct Thurs. The feeling was back again; those feelings when I used to teach, used to talk to students & encouraging them when they feel down. It was simply more than what I had hoped for before I visited HSS again. Now that I am a student myself, I could better put myself in their shoes and emphatise with the challenges, issues and troubles they face while juggling studies with personal life. I am so glad many of them are happy with their lives and loving themselves. That, in my opininon, is one of the most important things in life: If we do not even love ourselves, who else, besides God, will come to love us? If we do not even love ourselves, how can we know how to love others?
For those of you who are reading this, perhaps you are feeling down, discouraged and dis-spirited because of your exam results. You might have put in a lot of heart and effort in your work, but the results did not reflect your labour. Some of you might have been in your slumber for most of the year, only to wake up and go on the full trottle at the last month, and you felt you could have possibly had pulled off a miracle. Whatever the reason for your less than expectation results, do not lose heart. This is the holidays now, rest hard, play hard and eat hard. Short breaks have to be taken in order to run a long race. Life is not a race to be rushed, but a race to be enjoyed and savoured.
Mr Law is currently also undergoing some challenging period, in my studies and also personal life. Somehow I just felt that things are not going the way they should be, & I am not what I used to be. It seems so easy for me to motivate others now but so tough for me to motivate myself. Ive reflected over these few days, took breaks from my hectic schedule and spent some quality time with some awesome friends. Sometimes caring and love for others are not spoken; they are done through actions. I appreciate those love and care, even from those of you who visit my blog & leave behind footprints in my tagboard. Tell you the truth, whenever I see a tag, I smile.
I was speaking to Zhang Xiao and he reminded me of a verse which I used to hinge on in the past but no longer recently. Thank you Zhang Xiao for encouraging me and pulling me back to who I should be again. And also thanx to all of you who took time and effort to catch up with me on Thurs despite it being the last day of school and to have resisted the temptation to just go out with friends to have fun. Though the time spent was short, it was invaluable. I hope to be back again next year.
Here is the verse which I had believed in since my NS days, when a sergeant I hated said that to us & that changed my whole frame of thinking. Here it is dedicated to all of you also:
"Tough training don't last, tough man & woman does."
ps: if you are reading this, Im terribly sorry for the stupidity which I had committed and the misery I brought to you. Sorry.
I am Mr Law :)
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Busy Period
It has been quite long since I last wrote. Perhaps because I had been writing quite alot lately, having completed two 2000+ words essays over 1 week. This is the period I fret since 1 month ago after I had planned out my schedule, because I knew I would be rather pre-occupied and that if any other unexpected matter crops up, I would feel the pressure. True enough, GESL is pushing me quite hard. Right now, its ventilating time.
The purpose of GESL is very clear & simple: plan a community service project as A GROUP and implement the project as A GROUP. Till now, I dont see any group effort. The leftists are trying their best to brainstorm and put up an event proper, through the contributions of ideas, opinions and even experience. But the rightists, simply can't wait for 7.30pm to come so that they can meet someone for dinner, whether or not they had contributed. Fine, if you dont wish to contribute your 2 cents worth (perhaps you have none), its ok because you may be new to community service. Hmm, but, please keep certain comments to yourself and please dont be an irritant during the meeting. You all are no longer young kids in your JCs or Polys so please, behave like what a University student ought to behave. & sorry, I dont think some of you can pass off as future teacher. I dont see anything valuable on you that students can learn from. Im not perfect but I know I am always willing to improve myself if Im not good enough.
I dont understand why the rush to have the camp, when planning has to be at the expense of our assignments submission period and also the examination time. I really find it an irony that Im so involved in this GESL's matters when I already have been volunteering for 4 years, ran 6 camps and organised countless events. Should this GESL experience be more important for those who have not done community service before or someone who is already in it? Wouldnt that defeat the purpose of GESL? Wouldnt that make those experienced ones more occupied and those fresh ones to have an excuse to skive? Seriously, I think this operation of GESL, at least for my group, has alot of room for improvement.
Another matter that irked me was when I found out that Mrs Sxxx had given students questions and answers to the examination. That was after having commented that Mr Lxx was a lousy teacher who cant teach & discipline students. I wonder if providing exam questions and answers is helping students afterall. Try giving them the false hope that teachers will know the O Levels questions. Try, & I dont need to be a genius to tell you that students will be the ones who will suffer. If doing well in an exam is so easy & important, shouldnt it be a skill that teachers should pass on to students so that during the process of preparing for the exams, they become mentally and intellectually stronger?
It is such a shame that the 18 months of efforts I put in were diminished by the action of one person. That made my sleepless nights spent preparing powerpoint slides, notes and giving consultations a joke. Why did I work so hard when someone will tell them what will be out for the exams and even telling them what answers will be accepted? Haha. Im quite tired now.
3 more essays to go. Looking forward to going back HSS on 23rd Oct, Thurs. Wait for me, Im coming.
I am Mr Law :)
Monday, October 6, 2008
Ka Hou Yu Yuen
What a nice show: captivating, heart wrenching, pulsating, turbulent, exasperating, hilarious and moving. This was the show that possesses such tenacity and temptation that took me away from my work. I did learn a few things from the show though.
Perhaps some critics may say it is cliche; corny; unoriginal. I beg to differ. Even my parents were glued to their seats and could'nt take their eyes off the google box. A must watch for drama lovers.
Im glad that my ex students would have finished their exams when they read this. I am sorry that I was not able to be in HSS to fight the battle with all of you. I really wish I could, and I told myself that I will once I graduate. Time flew, it is week 10 now. Im not sure how many marks I got so thus far as a student. Perhaps its a just pass, or even a narrow fail. There are simply too many distractions, temptations and noise in my head that is taking away my focus. I am sorry that I once promised to focus hard on my studies and be a good role model for those of you still in HSS.
The past few weeks was like a slumber. I didnt know what I was doing, what I wanted to do & when I want to do what I need to do. In a nutshell, I was quite lost. The worst is, I didnt know what caused me to lose my way. It was like a sudden.
But thankfully, I managed to wake up from my long slumber and determined to be myself again.
Lord, give me the strength, the wisdom, the patience and ability to take on everyday's challenges that come, and may you not let me falter. Amen
I am Mr Law :)
