What do people want in an education?
Recently, minister outlined what he felt to be the essential outcomes of Singapore's education.
Do you know what they are? What do you want from an education?
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Friday, July 15, 2011
Plain words
A scrupulous writer in every sentence will ask himself...what am I trying to say? What words will express it?... Could I put it more shortly? By George Orwell
How obvious but true! It is all about putting across our ideas in ways that are easiest for the recipients, conveying exactly the meaning the way we want it, not more, not less.
In the essays I have read, many had interesting ideas but they made the readers worked hard. To be concise, one needs to rewrite chunks of sentences, with the aims of using fewer words, accurate grammar and richer vocabulary.
Practise by keeping a journal. On a daily basis, craft and redraft sentences and paragraphs. You will grow as a writer if you keep doing it.
The spirit is most succinctly put across by Winston Churchill: Never never never give up!
Ps: you may discuss this using the comments function.
How obvious but true! It is all about putting across our ideas in ways that are easiest for the recipients, conveying exactly the meaning the way we want it, not more, not less.
In the essays I have read, many had interesting ideas but they made the readers worked hard. To be concise, one needs to rewrite chunks of sentences, with the aims of using fewer words, accurate grammar and richer vocabulary.
Practise by keeping a journal. On a daily basis, craft and redraft sentences and paragraphs. You will grow as a writer if you keep doing it.
The spirit is most succinctly put across by Winston Churchill: Never never never give up!
Ps: you may discuss this using the comments function.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Time
Why does time fly? It used to crawl when I was 5 years old.
Perhaps our perspective of time is proportionate to our years of existence. If we grow older, one year is seen as less compared to the number of years we have spent in this world.
But what about the New Zealand farmer sitting on his armchair sipping away his favourite Earl Grey in a lazy afternoon? And what about the retiree waiting for his children to return from work?
More probably, this has to do with how we live. As we grow older, we have more things on our plate. While sitting at Starbucks, with my favourite vanilla latte on New Year day, I am suddenly saddened by the amount of work I have to do: meetings on Tuesday, lessons to prepare, people I need to talk to, plumber to call, bills to settle, pest control to hear from, refinancing to settle, dinners at in laws... God help me.
The bible tells us that God sometimes uses trials and tribulations to help us grow in stature and maturity. But surely we can do without the anxieties (of not meeting the expectations, especially my own). If we let any ball drop, hours need to be spent on damage controls and relationship management.
I am reminded again that God has instructed us to seek first his kingdom, to lay captive every thought and to renew our mind daily. My prayer on New Year day: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. (Ps 23:1)
The cost of us losing this battle is time and ultimately ... life itself.
Perhaps our perspective of time is proportionate to our years of existence. If we grow older, one year is seen as less compared to the number of years we have spent in this world.
But what about the New Zealand farmer sitting on his armchair sipping away his favourite Earl Grey in a lazy afternoon? And what about the retiree waiting for his children to return from work?
More probably, this has to do with how we live. As we grow older, we have more things on our plate. While sitting at Starbucks, with my favourite vanilla latte on New Year day, I am suddenly saddened by the amount of work I have to do: meetings on Tuesday, lessons to prepare, people I need to talk to, plumber to call, bills to settle, pest control to hear from, refinancing to settle, dinners at in laws... God help me.
The bible tells us that God sometimes uses trials and tribulations to help us grow in stature and maturity. But surely we can do without the anxieties (of not meeting the expectations, especially my own). If we let any ball drop, hours need to be spent on damage controls and relationship management.
I am reminded again that God has instructed us to seek first his kingdom, to lay captive every thought and to renew our mind daily. My prayer on New Year day: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. (Ps 23:1)
The cost of us losing this battle is time and ultimately ... life itself.
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