Changed Outlook: Dont endure, embrace the challenge!

Im going for the NTU x-physique on 16th march, an adventure race of about 40km with 3 of my other friends from church. Just came back from training at NUS with them, did some intervals and fartlek. It was good training.

We adjourned for dinner and had a good conversation with an older team member. We were just talking generally and he asked me how is teaching? Wow! i thought there's just so much to say since its such a general question.. So i talked about alot of things of which i told him about my heavy load of 40 periods a week.(yes u read it right) that works out to 8 periods a day.. 4 hrs. So i mentioned that im thong-ing this heavy load until another PE teacher comes back from course to share my load.

This is what struck me: Dont thong, embrace the challenge that God has placed in your path. If you take it as enduring.. then u will be suffering until that guy comes back. Take it as a challenge and let God stretch you.

WOW !

That really hit me quite hard. Because the past week i have been like indulging in some self-pity that oh poor me.. so much work and so many periods.. After this conversation i really should change my perspective.. I really should take it as a challenge and do it well! If i can overcome this obstacle then i think it will put me in good stead for future ones. Thank God for that placing him at the right place and time to tell me this. Praise God.

The World's coming to S'pore.. Youth Olympic Games 2010 !

Great news! Singapore won the bid to host the first ever Youth Olympic games for 2010!

My oh my.. i went down for the announcement ceremony and the atmosphere was electrifying!

There were cheerleaders from JJC.. doing all those OGL cheers and celebrities singing and stuff! We waited with bated breath when the IOC president announce the winner and when he flipped the card which said "Singapore 2010" my goodness the place just erupted with euphoria!! At that moment my face swelled with pride and i could see many ppl shedding tears of joy. Even the minister Dr Vivian and PM Lee teared a little as they could hardly contain their joy. IT was really a moment to remember.. winning the bid and thinking that 2 years down the road i'll be in PESS and i think my involvement with the games will be massive and thats really great news!

A sea of red with the Green Cheerleaders

Guess who's this?!

Thats me!Doing their ra-ra ing of the crowd..

With banners and all.. ultra enthu eh.. im estatic with our win!

Just ended a conversation with a former student.. Its really encouraging. Im just posting it to remind myself that i can make a difference in the kids' lives.

Here's the conversation:

aLeX says:
this is a tough job..
aLeX says:
always got emotional attachments
aLeX says:
with students that is.
JIALE; the coast is clear. says:
ya i can see that. we all also miss you.
JIALE; the coast is clear. says:
your lessons were the best.
aLeX says:
thanks
aLeX says:
Its really encouraging.
JIALE; the coast is clear. says:
you 're welcome. i was just simply telling the truth. (:
JIALE; the coast is clear. says:
JIAYOU. you will be a great teacher in evergreen.

" Why Teachers Quit? "

Told you i was reading this book entitled "why teachers quit?". I was reading this book with anticpation as i did not want to go down the same path as the author who quit the teaching service. Guess i am disappointed. Verydisappointed in fact.

I take back my words on saluting the author in the previous post. This guy is just lamenting on all the faults of Singapore Education and still claims that he "livens up" when he discusses about education and went into teaching with "unbridled passion". Right. He was a contract teacher for only 7 months before he threw in the towel and decided not to sign a bond with MOE.


He states 5 "Whys" that he quit:

Why #1 : Students

Why# 2:HODs and Principals

Why# 3: Other teachers

Why# 4: Parents

Why# 5: The system


And he went on to lament that the kids' discipline is bad. HODs are monsters giving him unreasonable amounts of work.Other teachers not good to work with. Parents are delusional creatures for persistenly believing their kids are angels(this point i agree). The system being crazy as teachers are bound by a colossal amount of work(i agree too)

This statement irked me the most: I have decided to leave as i feel that i cannot contribute fully within the system .


Yes the system has its flaws.. any working environment has its downsides as well.. If every committed teacher leaves the teaching service then what will happen to our future generations?
Im not being noble here or something i just feel that somebody's gotta do the job. If you went to the interview panel claiming that you have passion for teaching then you jolly well show it! Not just using your mouth to say but to show it through action.


In short, this guy's "passion" can be fizzled out in such a short while then his passion in the first place is questionable. Passion in teaching is not enough. I believe its a calling. You know that you have to be there. Teaching to me is not the dishing out of syllabus or academic pursuits. I joined teaching to see lives grow and formation of personal character.


Thank God i know why i am teaching.

Two of my favourite classes: 2E1 and 2E5 of AISS 2007

Down.. but not OUT!

Im down...down with flu, that is.
Felt sick on wednesday but didnt take MC till thursday afternoon when i went to see a doctor. I had to conduct a topical test on thurs and didnt want my class to miss it because i was absent. So i persevered till thurs noon to make a trip to the clinic. Really felt so weak. Thank God for sustaining me and giving me strength. Otherwise i would have collapsed trying to control those monkeys during PE lessons.

Now that im better, i thank God for this period of rest that he has given me. Went to the library just now and borrowed a book entitled " Why teachers quit?" No.. im not thinking of quiting even before signing the bond. Its a really interesting book that tackles all the issues in the education system. A very daring book that touches alot of raw nerves where few would dare to venture. I salute the author, enzo liow for his attempt to address the issue. I'll tell you more when I finish the book.

Got a table to Buko Nero on 14th march, chose that date coz its the march hols! a good dinner during the hols would do me world of good.

Update you again and i hope to say it with conviction after reading the book as to why i WONT quit teaching. Ciao

CNY- a good time of rest

[Me with my part NZ part SGP niece.. Super Cute la.]

CNY is a time where...

1. You catch up with relatives and kiddos(like the one above) that you meet once in awhile or once a year.
2. You collect your favourite red packets though we're yet to get hit hard by inflation soon.
3. You get harrassed by inquisitive aunties asking whether you're attached or not.
4. Go for countless lunches and dinners and gorge yourself on the good stuff.
5. Stay up late and get a hangover when the next working day comes(thats monday!)

Typical new-year routines..

I took this time off to rest and recuperate. Managed to get my work done in time. Thank God for that. I was at the botanic gardens on saturday and it was really a good of relaxation and i felt that the clocked slowed down and really could let my soul rest.

Its back to work for me tomorrow.

• Need to complete setting my CA1 test paper
• Send in athletics team registration
• Call CCAB to settle MOE labrador campsite Recce
• Settle X-physique matters
• Complete NOLS registration

Wow.. quite a handful to deal with.. Pray that the Lord will grant me strength and wisdom for this week.

Ciaoz

Team XPA member: Natalie Cheong Xing Ern

This post is dedicated to my teammate from team XPA, my adventure racing team girl who is going off to Canberra to study in ANU. Its been a great 3 years knowing her and here's what she wrote to us in her farewell email :




Hi GUYS! Im so glad we had a team dinner / catch up on our lives meeting.Its been really great knowing you for three years now. This team means alot, especially to me;as it is the only racing team i have. Its pretty difficult to find non-Odackers who are willing toget muddy, smelly, and totally gross with :) the more people reject this idea, the more XPA becomes special to me. Ive learnt much about adventure racing, esp cause all of you had more experience than me in that area. But more importantly, ive gotten to know 3 really great guys, who are extremely talented in their own ways; and i really thank God for that. Thank you all for the dinner, and the really sweet card :))Its coming with me to australia! Hope you guys keep learning, have passion and will be successful in whatever you do! <3>

A great meal at Vines to catch up on our lives.

Jamin and Jeremy whilst waiting for the food to be served. Jeremy looks sleepy.

We adjourned to spinelli for some drinks and chatted somemore..

Will really miss Nat as she's one gutsy and gung-ho girl that dares to trash it out in the outdoors with us guys! Her determination and grit when racing is really second to none and always tries to match the guys stride for stride. I wish you all the best girl! Study hard and race hard down under! =)

NUS BikeQuest '08 Team Su Reto Lo-se

Alright, so we did become a self-fulfilling prophecy. But hey! i think we did very well considering the bikes that we have and the amount of training that we had for this event (or the lack thereof)

For the unitiated, I joined this cycling competition with 3 other Church dudes (GT,JVR and KING).

Its organised by NUS and we have to cycle around Singapore from 9pm-6 am and solve clues to each checkpoint. The more checkpoints you visit the more points you get. Simple. And we called ourselves Su Reto Lo-se. It really puzzled some of the officials.Haha

The Clues to the checkpoints were really interesting man.. they included anagrams.. and funny riddles and pictures.We even had to play some game at minds cafe at 2am. Not the best of times to work your brain cells. Cycling was shiong even though we had sleeks, the top teams had full road bikes.

Here's how the race panned out:

Stage one: We balloted for the east side and had to go to places like 1.Tampines CPF building
2. Bedok Blk 85 hawker centre.3.Eastshore hospital (this was tough to find)4. Mac at national stadium.

Start of the race: We brought transistor radios to boost morale! haha.. it worked!

Block 85 at bedok food centre and Singpost paya lebar.

Bonus cp at chung cheng high main. Looks kinda ghostly at that hour.

Stage 2: Central Area

1. Minds Cafe(prinsep st) 2. Esplanade3. Fortcanning 4. youth park 5. Laupasat

Top picture was of us at minds cafe@purvis street then the one directly above is me at esplanade and i had to pretend to pinch my nose to simulate that im dying from the stench .im next to the giant stinking durian. Nonsensical but fun.

Stage3: It was crazy. They made stage 3 such that all the checkpoints were so far from each other. This is where all the road bikers use their brawn to their advantage. Anyway, we covered botanic gardens, balmoral plaza and united square.

One team that did not impress me was the team wearing the Blanc(think french) Shirts.. They tried to exchange answers with us when we were leading at the first stage but we refused. So they cut our queue during the checkpoint at Lau Pa Sat. Shameful for a bunch with technically-superior road bikes but not using much of their grey matter i suppose.

All in all im glad the we all had fun and bonded through this race. Thank God the GT is safe and had only minor abrasions despite getting hit by a car. Yupz, a shagged but fun-filled weekend. Great! Thank God for this opportunity once again.