Winning Isn't Everything

How time passes. I have been the teacher I/C of Raffles Basketball for nearly 5 years. I was just asking myself this question recently - when was I proudest of Raffles Basketball as teacher I/C?

Yes, I was proud of our team when we won C Div National's 3rd in 2008. And of course, all the South Zone titles that we have won over the years - I'm proud of that too.

But the memory that I really cherish is not any of those.

It was 2011. National's round 2. Our B boys have lost our first game to Jurong Sec by 14 points. We won our second game. Still, if we want to make it to National semi-finals, we have to win our last game by 10 points or more. The only catch is, we have to defeat Dunman Sec - East Zone Runners-up, and highly rated (and yes, eventual 2011 B Boys National champions). And we have to do it without our key player - CC who dislocated his shoulder.

The game started with Dunman Sec completely outclassing and dominating Raffles. Our players couldn't find our shots and their players couldn't stop scoring. At one point, Dunman Sec was leading by around 30 points. Many people - perhaps even myself - thought that was it.

Then gradually, things began to change in the 3rd and 4th quarter. Our players did not gave up. They clawed back into the game by hustling for every single loose ball, playing tight defense and shooting the ball really well.

Finally, with 5 seconds left, the scoreline was leveled at 46-46! Our point guard BK stood at the free-throw line and missed two free throws, perhaps hoping to go into extra-time so that we have a chance to beat Dunman Sec by a larger margin. Alas! We couldn't get the rebound, and we accidentally fouled their star player who calmly put in the two free-throws.

Yes, we lost the game 46-48. But I dare say that was the proudest game for me as teacher I/C. Why? Because our players fought relentlessly and demonstrated resilience despite the overwhelming odds. They stood up tall as a team and showed everyone what Raffles is all about.

Every player contributed and gave his best. This kind of experience for the boys can never be taught nor imparted. They have to go through it firsthand themselves. And this is probably more important than winning the championship. In my opinion, that's what school sports should be all about.

Well, I particularly like it when the Dunman Sec coach told me what he thought about our basketball team - "RI 象一只打不死的蟑螂，真难搞！" (Translated: RI Basketball is like a cockroach that is really hard to kill!) Somehow, that gave me immense satisfaction.

Tuition(s)? Is this for real...?

I read about this today in the Straits Times - Parents hiring help to do tuition homework. This blows my mind - that some parents are actually hiring a second tier of tuition teachers to help their students with tuition homework of 'elite' tuition centers.

How can this be..? I am totally dumbfounded.

As a teacher, of course I believe in the importance of education. Perhaps, I can understand if parents would like to have tuition for their kids in certain subjects that they could be struggling with. But having extra tutors to cope with existing tuition homework just simply doesn't make sense. I don't want my son's childhood to be just completely about studies!

Honestly, so what if you have excellent academic grades but you do not have sound values and good character? There's really so much more to life than academic grades - and seriously, I don't think that life is going to be rosy just because you make it to an IP school (many parents will do anything to get their children into IP schools).

At the end of the day, I really believe that it is the character and values that we developed in our adolescent and teenage years that is going to see us through our adulthood.

I pray that this is just a false alarm - very few parents are engaging second-tiered tuition teachers. I hope.

A Resilient & Generous Spirit

Yesterday, I visited Madam Choy as part of CNY visitations, together with some of my cell youths, as well as my wife and Isaac. I witnessed for myself first-hand the meaning of a resilient and generous spirit.

You see, Madam Choy is blind and yet, she has to take care of her husband who suffers from dementia. On top of it, she does some kind of handicraft by making beautiful baskets from wires and beads. If this is not about being resilient, I don't know what is..

Altogether, there were about 13 of us who visited her. She insisted on giving us red packets since it's still CNY. To our suprise, she gave each of us (yes, including my wife and I) $8! That's $104 in all! To us, perhaps it's not a big sum. But I am quite sure, to her, $104 is no small sum.

She also shared with us that she gave away $1000+ to charity when someone raised some money for her. Her simply reply was that since someone helped her, she ought to help others too.

Many of us gave out of our wealth. But Madam Choy gave out of her poverty. Indeed , she's just like the widow described in Luke 21 "As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. 'Truly I tell you,' he said, 'this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.' ”

Madam Choy is truly generous and resilient. I have a lot to learn from her.

Discontentment

Over the past few months, I have been struggling with some feelings of negativity. Then I realized that the root of my unhappiness was that I was not contented.

I was not contented because I compared myself with someone else who has what I don't have.

It seems to be in our human nature to always want to compare with someone whom we perceive to be doing better. As a result, often we feel unhappy, resentful and even jealous.

When I was young, I compared myself with my friends who did exceptionally well in their studies (like those who got straight A1s). Then I started comparing myself with my friends who obtained overseas scholarships. As I get older, I compared myself against my peers who seemed to be super-high achievers in both the private industries and civil service.

What I have forgotten is that I myself have not been doing too badly either. I hope to learn from Apostle Paul, who says it plainly in Philippians 4:12 "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want."

I think that for me to overcome discontentment, I need to be thankful that I have been blessed with things that many people don't have. Also, I need to trust that God would supply all that I need.

And finally, that brings me peace, joy and contentment.