Muar - A Place of Peace

I just came back from a little retreat with my church family at Muar. It was really a great place, away from all the city lights and distracting stuff like computers, internet and handphone.

Yah, we just spend a day or two in almost total peace. Really thank God for that.

Muar is such a peaceful and simple town.

Anyway, on the second day, we decide to play some kind of 食字路口. We have to find places or food that can string together in words. We started with the word Muar.

Muar House

House of Joy

Zoysia (a kind of grass)

Xia-mi (shrimp)

Mi-lo

Lo-ti (Roti)

Tea with Ice

Ice Teh-O

Otah!!

Ta-mee (eat noodles)

Mee Siput

Muar House -> House of Joy -> Zoysia (means grass) -> Xia-mi (shrimp) -> Mi-lo -> Lo-ti (Roti) -> Tea with Ice -> Ice Teh-O -> Otah -> Ta-mee (eat noodles) -> Mee Siput

小孩不笨

Last Sat night, I was watching 小孩不笨 for the first time on Channel 8. It was really quite a meaningful show, besides all the laughter. The 3 stars - Terry, Guobing & Wenfu acted really well. They brought so much life to the movie.



The movie brought about 2 things that I really felt deeply.

1. The Chinese language is no longer valued nowadays.
In the movie, Jack Neo's boss was so proud of himself that he couldn't speak a single word in Mandarin, and yet he could succeed in the advertising world.

I'm a Chinese. To me, it is very important to be able to converse in Mandarin. It is our roots and our heritage. But sad to say, many young people today dislike speaking in Mandarin. They have problems putting Chinese words together to form complete sentences. We really don't need to talk about 成语 (idioms) or 谚语 (proverbs).

I really hope that the MOE would put more emphasis on the Chinese language. They must really help promote the language. It is a scary thought to envision Chinese in Singapore unable to utter any words in Mandarin.

Let me be frank. I can't write Chinese characters well. But I'm quite confident of speaking in Mandarin.


2. Many students in S'pore have been 'marked' for failure at a very young age.
During my time, until even recently, in Primary 5, all S'pore students have to go through streaming - EM1, EM2 and EM3. Well, if you're in EM1 or EM2, you probably feel it's okay.

However, what about those streamed into EM3? In the movie, Terry and his friends were all in EM3. And sometimes, they were been laughed at by their friends. Sometimes, they just felt lousy about themselves. Even their parents also sometimes felt that they were useless.

Then, after PSLE, students at a young age of 12 are again streamed into Special, Express, Normal Academic (NA) and Normal Technical (NT). The perception is - if you're in NT, that's it. You won't have a bright future.

My personal belief is that every child has potential. Every child has his giftings. However, our S'pore education system is one such that it only emphasizes on Math, Science & Language subjects. But thankfully, we're already trying to change. That's why there's the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music at NUS.

As a teacher, I'm quite convinced my role is to bring out the potential of my students, even if their potential doesn't lie in academic subjects.

You can find out more about your strengths by doing a simple online test at this website.

Happy & Blessed Birthday to Darren, Elkan & Stephen!

Last night, we celebrated 3 birthdays!! Here's a short tribute to each of them.

To Darren:
It's really amazing how God has changed you for the past few years. I really witnessed how you changed from a young & shy guy to someone who's mature & willing to rise up for God.

To Elkan:
You finally hit 30!! Haha.. Really thank God for your input into my life. You've been a good elder brother to me, guiding me and giving me valuable advice when I most needed it.

To Stephen:
Brother!! Don't laugh at Elkan.. you going to hit 30 soon too. =) Yah, you've been a wonderful blessing to me. Your simple faithfulness in the Lord has been a great encouragement to me and others. Thank God for you!

Darren, Elkan & Stephen looking like jailbirds..

Darren, Elkan & Stephen looking like jailbirds AGAIN..

Darren, Elkan & Stephen FREE MEN

Let's Play Doubles =)

Today, we had our 3rd tennis lesson at NJC. We learned how to play doubles today. We really had tons of fun!! All of the youths enjoyed themselves thoroughly.

Not to forget, after learning tennis, we went to Gameslab at our Cyberwellness Centre at Bukit Merah to have fun. We played games like DOTA, CS, NBA, etc. =)

Healthy Community of Gamers!

The Intense Look on Kenneth's face

Battlefield 2007

Last week, we had our church Youth Camp from Thursday to Saturday. It was really a great camp filled with many wonderful & exciting games. The name of this camp was Battlefield 2007.

The objective of this camp is to train up our youths to be able to fight the good fight, finish the race and keep their faith for God.

All the youths went through a grueling but fun camp!

Here are some photos of the camp. There will be more to come. =)

Wai Mun's Guys

Wai Mun's Guys (Funny!)

Luke Group

Luke Group (Funny!)

Our Best Camper - Mavis! (With Weng Yew & I)

I Can Serve!!

A photo of all the youths + coaches

Yesterday, I brought some youths to learn tennis from the NJC team once again. It's our second session. The purpose of this activity is to help youths balance computer gaming and healthy activities like sports.

Previously, during the first session, the youths learned how to do forehand and backhand shots.

During the second session, the youths learned how to serve. It's really amazing how fast some of the youths were able to serve like tennis professionals. Don't believe?? Check out the photos below:

A Call to Fight

Every guy looks for a fight, in one way or another. I'm not just talking about physical fights. I'm talking about challenges. Guys just like to have challenges.



Some guys fight it out at the basketball court. They really become competitive and want to win every single game.

Some guys fight it out in the classroom. They become so conscious of every single mark in their tests and exams that they always want to be first in class.

Some guys fight it out in the virtual world, either in Maple Story or DOTA or WoW. They want to be the best and own as many people as possible.

Guys, face it. We just like challenges. We like to win. And I really think it's nothing wrong, as long as the things we fight for are good. When the time comes for us to fight, we have to fight. If not, we will stand to miss out certain things in life.



For example, when I was in the BMT (Basic Military Training) phase of my National Service many years ago, I really wanted to become an officer. And to do it, I would have to fight for the limited places available. It was really time for me to rise up and fight.

Instead, I didn't really respond to the call to fight. I was a bit slack and tried to avoid doing too much stuff. To cut a long story short, in the end, I was posted to SISPEC (School of Infantry Specialists). My dream to become an officer was dashed.

Guys, when it's time to fight, fight. Don't run away. (Of course, please fight for the right thing)

Are You Balanced??

When I was in primary school, I was already quite hooked on computer games. Even at P3, I was able to hack into games using some kind of software editor. I was really way above my peers in terms of IT knowledge.

However, I wasn't very well developed physically. I was overweight and was in the then TAF Club (Trim And Fit). I wore thick glasses, and really looked like a nerd. Here's a photo of myself during primary school days... Haha..


Thankfully, when I went to secondary school, I joined NPCC. I was quite involved in it. And I was able to have a much more balanced lifestyle. Besides gaming, I also went out with my friends and played basketball with them. Haha.. And I slimmed down and became more fit. =)

Well, I don't believe that gaming is no good. It's just that we need to develope a balanced lifestyle. Besides the virtual & online world, there's still a whole real & exciting world out there to explore.

Just yesterday, I brought 11 youths to learn tennis at NJC. This is one of the pilot projects of Project CRUSH (which means Cyberspace Risks where U Seek Help) and I'm one of their volunteers. The aims of this project is to help young people have balanced lifestyles. There are more and more youths getting addicted to the virtual world - MSN, Maple Story, DOTA , friendster, blogging, etc.

After tennis, I brought the youths down to Gameslab to play computer games together. This will help them form a healthy gaming community and also healthy lifestyles.

These are the photos of our first tennis session. We will do it once every week during the June holidays.

"I will consider marrying if ..."

These are the words that I heard last night when I was on my way home on a bus. I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I was just sitting down there on the bus doing nothing. And they were talking quite loudly.

Guy A: Wahh.. We need to work very hard in S'pore leh, if not how to survive?? How to have a wife???? What if cannot find good job?

Guy B: Yah loh. But I will consider marrying if maybe the girl is like Alice. She's thrifty and don't any how spend money one...

Guy A: Cannot marry someone like Kirsten!! She spend money like dunno wat. Just now she almost wanted to make us go to a high class restaurant... Cannot afford her lifestyle man..

Guy B: Hey, actually Helen also not bad. She's quite caring. She's seems like the type who will get along with my parents.

Guy A: Come to think about it, Alice like not very caring one leh.. I think she probably will get into all kinds of arguments with your parents loh.

Guy B: Wah.. really hard to find leh. A girl who is caring to me, to my parents, to my family and can save money.. Oh okay. I better get down. That's my stop.

At this point, Guy B alighted the bus, leaving Guy A.

It was quite an interesting exchange. The two guys are about 20 years old or so - older teens. They spoke with a bit more maturity than younger teens. They looked out for girls beyond just looks. They were looking for something called 'Character'.

However, that's not the case with most teenagers. People are now getting attached at a younger and younger age. They want to go steady because they are looking for ...

1) Love.

Many teens just want to have a feeling of being loved. To them, it doesn't matter if the other party has got a bad-tempered or other bad things. So long as they feel loved, it is okay.

It may be due to the lack of family love at home because many parents are busy working. Teens need someone to validate them and make them feel important. If they can't find it from their parents, they will look for someone of the opposite gender outside.


2) Something to show off.

Often, teens want to get attached so that they can show their peers that they have pretty girlfriends or handsome boyfriends. They feel real proud about it. And this becomes some kind of peer pressure. Everyone goes looking for BGR because their friends are doing it. They don't want to lose out or lose face.


I'm not saying that BGR is not good. Afterall, I myself am attached (but only when I was 25 years old). It is just that the timing and motivation to find a bf/gf has to be good.

The more BGR breakups you experienced, the more wounds and scars that will be left behind in your heart. This is especially so for ladies. Be radical. Only go for the one that you think you can marry in the future! =)

My sister's ROM Photo

TLLM = Talk Less Listen More???

Yesterday, we had our last Maths Class in NIE. Our tutor, Dr. Ng went through with us what it means to do TLLM in teaching Mathematics.

TLLM is NOT students Talk Less Listen More.

TLLM is Teach Less Learn More. It is one of the newer education initiatives that MOE is pushing for in schools.

Here are some photos of what we thought TLLM means:




TLLM, to me, basically means something like this:

1. Students are interested in what they are learning.
2. Students take ownership in their learning.
3. Teaching becomes less directive (teachers talk less)

I think in theory TLLM is pretty cool. Teaching less and yet students learn more. Who don't want that? However, the key is that students must be motivated & interested. And it is the role of the teachers to make students love the subjects. Then TLLM can take place.

Anyway, at the end, my class had a farewell pizza party. It is afterall, the last time we would be gathered as a class. 1 year of NIE has passed by so so fast..

I wish all my Maths class' teachers all the best in teaching. And may each of us find joy in any school that we're posted to and make a difference to our students' lives. :)

Happy Birthday to Venelyn, Joanne, Gabriel & Kenneth

Venelyn, Joanne, Gabriel and Kenneth - these are 4 wonderful wonderful youths.

They are really such blessings to Kelly and me. I'm so amazed at how God changed and transformed their lives.

From left: Me, Joanne, Gabriel, Venelyn, Kenneth & Kelly

Venelyn - always helpful and there when you need her. Really really responsible and multi-talented. First girl to get her hands dirty during the BBQ that day.

Joanne - her ability to talk almost non-stop is really amazing. She can cheer you up any time, any where. We really need more people like her around us.

Gabriel - his simple faithfulness is really worth mentioning. When he commits himself to do something, he will go all the way out for it. A man of his word.

Kenneth - the one who's always steady. He's the one who catches my heart the most and tries his best in all that he do. Really great guy.



We celebrated Kenneth, Gabriel, Venelyn and Joanne's birthdays at East Coast Park last Sat. We had a BBQ cum birthday party for them. There were almost 40 people that day. Here are some photos that I took:

The birthday stars

Kelly's girls getting jumpy..

My guys. What's Jarrell doing...

Kelly & her 2 adorable spiritual daughters

My 2 spiritual sons & I

Handsome Joash & Dun Lin

The Kenneth & friends having fun

Adlar working hard at the BBQ..