a test after many years

a tale of 3 honours year students

Story of 3 hons yr students in a class. 1 boy and 2 girls. However, their behavior and attitude towards studies are poles apart. Let's talk about the boy first.

Many might say that it is highly likely that the boy will be the one to give the biggest headache but in this case it is not so. This boy called A, is well behaved and polite towards his teachers. When it was noticed that he has the potential to do well in maths, it was always the case of trying to give him the space to display his knowledge and understanding by getting him to help the weaker ones. Even though he might need to use another language to explain a math concept, so be it. But the remarkable thing is that he is able to explain and get the message across. Put it simply, anybody teaching him will put their money on him to really score well this time round.

Now onto 1 of the girls named B. Initially, it was felt that she was able to cope with her studies but of late, it got to the school's attention that she was involved in some illicit activities outside. Something along the lines of smelling sticky gum, it was surfaced and now it seems the school is aware and are on the verge of taking serious disciplinary action. Not much is known about her background but it seems that she could be in some sort of problem which caused her to try these bad stuff. Academically, she still does not know her basics well and everybody is rather worried she will not make it again this year. Hopefully in these last few weeks b4 the PSLE, she can buck up and make a breakthrough.

The third and final student labelled C, is the worst ever. Typically that type of arrogant and 'cannot be bothered' with anything, she is a real pain in the a*se. Basically she thinks she knows everything, and assumes that she is so smart (quite the opposite rather). She is so disruptive in class such that it affects the others. She thinks that others are so amused by her words and actions, in fact it shows her extreme childish side. Moreover, she does not take anything seriously until the ultimate phrase of letting reality strike on the afternoon of the 25th Nov needs to be used. But if she decides to turn over a new leaf and make the best of whatever time is left, everybody will still try to help her clear this time round.

Coming up will be more light hearted issues observed and heard......

I m back

Apologies to my blog which has been left abandoned for such a long time. I was so tied up with school stuff together with other 'distractions' like facebook that I felt so bad. But here I am nonetheless.

I got the posting notification that I am NOT going back to LPS. Instead, I am with Boon Lay Garden PS which is not very near to where I live. Plus the fact that I need to be in sch by 0715 daily, that means Angela and Esther have to arrive at Just Kids by 0645 so that I can at least get through the terrible traffic along Boon Lay Way.

I met my ex-colleague Irene who is now an adjunct staff and she told me that if I found 2 Topaz of 2006 bad, well I 'ain't see anything yet'. True enough, the students here are much worse academically. Yes, there are some bright sparks but by and large, the school's results are below national average. But I sensed God had a plan for me to be here to make a difference. In fact, on the day of the Meet-the-Parents session, it was a confirmation that indeed, God wanted me to be here.

My task was to take double maths: P5 merged and P6 foundation. I got the really weak lot whose foundation in math is rather shocking. But I recalled my own struggles back in my AS Math days in NIE and what my lecturer (the 1 and only wise Prof Lee PY) reminded me about fully understanding the struggles and hardship my students face and help them along.

More than half of term 3 has passed and frankly, some of them are still very lacklustre in their learning especially the P6s. Did I mention I have 3 'honours year' students? I will blog more about them in subsequent posts.

Ok, let me keep you in suspense a bit...will come back and post more stuff.....

BSc (Education) in Mathematics

No honours. Not even a pass with merit. Just a pass degree. But that is good enough and I am very thankful.

I needed a miracle or rather two of it. But God is faithful. Not only did I clear all modules, I did a little better for AAM333. Honestly, I felt really awful after this paper as there were some very doable parts that I just had some problem trying to recall. In fact, some of the 'sure score' questions surfaced some doubts.

My previous post about AAM342 spoke for itself. That was 1 module which I had wanted to totally escape doing but due to my failure to pass AAM332, I needed to take whatever that was availble and was eligible in order to garner sufficient AUs. RIght from the start of the semester, I found that 342 was something quite abstract and throughout the course, I just could not see how it applied in daily life. Other modules were at least a little more alive in this aspect but I just cant click with 342.

AAM 202 was another nightmare because I actually needed to score 65% in my exam just so that I can safely clear this core module. It seemed to me that my lecturer was all about getting the final answer with hardly any regard for method marks. To him, he will award credit as if we were mathematicians. One mistake which might not warrant losing all marks he will simply award zero marks. Since he was also very fussy about writing out every single explanation, I simply piled my answers with what he wanted. So my speculation is that I scored fairly well in my exam to pull back those marks lost in the quizzes and test.

By far, my favourite module last semester was AAM343 though it was difficult in a way. My lecturer was those extremely helpful kind who would even gives us tips and hints during the exam. In fact, for the 1st time ever in my taking a math exam, I had to explain how to solve a question and draw a diagram if necessary. But all's well that ends well, I did fairly ok for 343.

It has been a very difficult 2 years since I chose to crossover to pursue my education degree. There were many times when i regretted this route and it affected my mood and emotions. Now that it is finally over and friday's results show that I have cleared, I can breathe a sigh of relief.

What next then? Since i faced so much difficulty in all my math modules, it enables me to fully understand the struggles my students face when learning this subject. I guess that going through a difficult journey not only moulds your character and resilience, it can only toughen you to face up to daily challenges.

after such a long while............

342 was my last paper and it was quite managable. Basically, Dr Lee was so kind to set us a paper that everyone could pass and even score provided you revised in depth of which I could not really do so because of 333 the day before. Speaking of 333, it was quite a nightmare bcos I forgot certain things at the crucial moment but I did manage to put my solutions to the best of my ability.

202 was quite a fair paper except for the fact that we needed to write a lot of things besides the detailed steps. I really wonder what does that shortie really want because he does not seem to believe in awarding method marks. Then comes the most difficult 342. That was such a tough one and I really need a miracle to be assured of a pass. In fact, I felt really lousy after this paper which incidentally was the 1st of my 4 papers. However, i felt better after a session with Dr Lee for 343 and he said some comforting words," don't bother about it once you are done with it. Focus on your next paper."

In short, I really will miss Dr Lee and all his teaching methods and wise words. In fact, he has taught many of the current maths lecturers not just in NIE but in other institutions as well. Ask anyone who teaches maths and they will definitely know this maths expert. I will certainly miss him.

Daddy & Esther bonding time

Usually when I get a favourable parking lot when I come back from campus prior to collecting Esther from her day care, I tend not to want to drive out and will walk there and back instead. Either I push the stroller or I will just walk there. For the past two days, I have been walking to her day care and we will then catch the feeder bus home. She loves the bus ride and this is a perfect time for us to bond. I will ask her what she did in school and this encourages her to want to speak in either english or mother tongue. Though the bus ride home is rather short, it is something very exciting for a 3 yr old. It is also a good way to conserve fuel as well! Oh did I mention why I do not wish to drive out? That is because I managed to park at the lower decks of which the lot will be taken once I drive out!

F1 season opening...

Fernando Alonso drove a superbly judged race to emulate Nigel Mansell and Kimi Raikkonen, as he sped to victory on his debut for Ferrari in Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix. Alonso chased Sebastian Vettel’s fleet Red Bull fruitlessly in the early stages, when both were running the super-soft Bridgestone tyres, but had an advantage after they had respectively switched to the harder compound on Laps 17 and 16.

Alonso then began to hunt down the German, whose lap times got slower and slower until the moment of truth arrived on Lap 34. That was when exhaust problems hit the Red Bull and the Ferrari dived past in the penultimate corner, to grab a lead it never lost. Felipe Massa had also closed in driving the second Ferrari and passed Vettel as they braked for Turn One at the start of Lap 35. Crucially, however, Alonso put in some fearsomely quick laps to break his team mate’s challenge, after that there was nobody left to put him under pressure.

As Massa consolidated second place, conserving fuel as a temperature problem in the cockpit obliged him to ease back, it was nevertheless a great day for the Scuderia. Vettel came under increasing pressure from Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren, which was a lot more competitive on the harder rubber. Eventually the 2008 world champion moved on to the final podium slot on the 38th lap after overtaking on the main straight.

Vettel almost fell prey to Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes GP, but hung on for fourth ahead of the Silver Arrow. Almost four seconds further back, Michael Schumacher’s return yielded a hard-fought sixth place, pressured all the way by 2009 champion Jenson Button in the other McLaren and Red Bull’s Mark Webber. Over the last 30 laps they were never more than metres apart.

A great drive rewarded Vitantonio Liuzzi with ninth for Force €ndia, while Rubens Barrichello was in 10th place for Williams, taking the final point.

There was drama from the start when Webber’s Red Bull spouted clouds of oil as the field braked for Turn One, and both Renault’s Robert Kubica and Force €ndia’s Adrian Sutil spun. They eventually finished 11th and 12th, with Jaime Alguersuari 13th for Toro Rosso. Nico Hulkenberg’s debut was marked by a wild spin early on, and the need to claw back to 14th in the second Williams.

Lotus won the race for the new teams, with Heikki Kovalainen placing 15th after a commendably reliable run. Sebastien Buemi was 16th for Toro Rosso though he stopped three laps from the end, and Jarno Trulli’s ailing Lotus was 17th, also three laps down.

There were more retirements than usual, with neither BMW Sauber making the flag, Bruno Senna’s HRT eating its engine, the Virgins of Timo Glock and Lucas di Grassi falling prey to mechanical problems (after the German had waged a great fight with Kovalainen), Vitaly Petrov’s strong early run in sight of points coming to nothing with a suspected suspension problem which was detected when he made his tyre stop on the 13th lap, and Karun Chandhok crashed his HRT on the second lap.

The result gives Ferrari the perfect start to the world championship with 43 points, ahead of McLaren on 21, Mercedes GP on 18 and Red Bull on 16. Alonso leads the title chase with 25 points from Massa on 18, Hamilton on 15, Vettel on 12, Rosberg on 10 and Schumacher on 8. And the general verdict is that the ban of refuelling, while creating a slow-burn effect initially, made the racing much more exciting.