Of Fathers and Sons.

Ref: The little thief in my class.
The little bugger did it again. He stole this other boy's collectors' cards and was caught doing it. That already pissed me off quite a bit but I let it go. It was the last day of school and it was a Parents / Teachers Meeting. I felt good and all was well...birds were singing and I was going to get some serious R&R over the weekend.

Then I met the thief's father.

The son of a bitch totally ruined my mood. I was done with all my interviews and I was packing up to go when he came and saw my CT. I joined the conversation, hoping to see what he was going to do with the kid and maybe suggest that he really needed to sit down with his son and have a good talk with him. (After the spanking he would never forget of course...The kid, not the dad...)
Anyway, the dumbarse m*********** had the audacity to defend his son's actions as "He's just being a boy..." That's when the alarm bells triggered in my head and I kept my mouth tightly shut.
He went on to accuse the two teachers of labeling his son a thief...well if the bloody shoe fits...He then went on to put together some demented argument about how his boy was just misunderstood and thieving was all part of growing up as a boy...
Uhm...no...Thieving is part of growing up as a criminal you moron!

And one wonders why we have kids like that in our education system. What an @$$hole. The worst part is he hid behind the veneer of christianity and claimed that we had to forgive his son for his mistakes as something that is part of the growing process...what a crock of sh*t. He ended up trying to guilt trip me by asking me if I had children. So bloody what? If my kid stole, he'd be in for the whooping of his life.

Bloody stupid parent.

On the other side of the spectrum, I talked to a divorced mother today whose son was in so much need of a male role model that he took me as said role model. That's a scary thought really, but also kinda sad. I was asked to mentor the kid and I didn't have the heart to say no...unfortunately, I don't know how to do this mentoring shtick so I don't really know what to do...

*igh.

Danger Will Robinson! Danger!

Packrat may explode without warning

M EXPLOSIVE

Username:

From Go-Quiz.com

Blog Drought.

Sorry...been busy.

Updates: My lesson ob went horribly wrong. Think up caca creek sans oar.

Other than that, the holidays are coming and I'm feelin' fine.

Aaaugh.

Got a lesson observation in 20 minutes...my stomach's doing flips and I feel sick.
*igh.
Life blows when you've got lesson observations. Considering that this is going into my six monthly report, I really hope nothing screws up. Shyeah, right...that never happens.
Bleagh.

So this sucks...

The Lakers took the Spurs in six games. So much for the idea that the Lakers aren't ready for another title. The thing is that the Lakers took the series despite losing the first two games, something that doesn't happen often. *igh.
On the other front, the TWolves are stuck in a quagmire with the Sacramento Kings. I thought the series would be closed in six games to the TWolves but alas, that was not to be.
Also the Nets are embroiled in a grueling 7 game series with the Pistons. At this rate, there might be a chance that none of my ravefave teams will be in the finals this year.
Keeping my fingers crossed. X

Before Sunset.

There's a sequel and it's coming this summer.
The sequel to my all time favourite romantic movie is coming this summer! I just managed to get the trailer off the net the other day and I've been playing it over and over all through marking. *igh...
I'm actually of two minds about this movie because the original stands on this pedestal in my mind...and I really hope that this film doesn't suffer from sequelitis. On the other hand, the trailer's got me all goosebumpy and I like it!

*Melt* *Puddle puddle*
*Drip*

Only Love.

By Heather Nova.
First heard on Buffy Season 7 Episode 20, Touched.
Also Song D'annee.

Love.
I used to think that I knew what we needed.
Just assumed you would always be fine.
Now I don't think that we've lost the feeling.
But we
let everything build up inside.

It's only love, but love should make us strong.
It's only love, but love has been hurting so long.

What a challenge, honesty.
What a struggle to learn to speak.
Who'd have thought that pretending was easier?

It's only love, but love should make us strong.
It's only love, but love has been hurting so long.
And it's all part of me, tearing my heart,
only love.
And it's all eternity, hoping to learn,
only love.

There's a part of you I'm tryin' to reach.
Still a part I don't know.
Tell me,
is devotion a gift or a thief?
Do you wish I'd let go?

It's only love, but love should make us strong.
It's only love, but love has been hurting so long.
And it's all part of me, tearing my heart,
only love.
And it's all eternity, hoping to learn,
only love.

Road Trip Music.

I'm presently taking in ideas on music to burn onto CD's for a long drive. Well...long enough anyway.
Preferably songs that aren't too fast paced (due to the report that I read saying that listening to The Prodigy and other techno-rock bands tend to result in more accidents...or might incur the wrath of the wife which will end up in an accident of a different sort) or too slow (the report also stated that people who listened to Nora Jones tended to get into less accidents...but that'll just put me to sleep) so I'm looking for songs that are just right.
I googled road trip music but the hits that I got didn't really help. Either that or they were from bands I never even heard of...So no go there. Any suggestions?

I'm thinking U2 meets Dire Straits.

Groan.

I'm in school at 7:30 in the morning after waking up at 6:30am. Now usually I won't be as badly hit as I am now but I'm paying my body back for staying up to catch the West Wing season 4 finale last night...and my body's really whacking the sh*t out of me for the abuse I've heaped on it for the past couple of days...
Truth is that the bloody weather has made it nigh impossible to sleep...Singapore sucks this way...it's hot, it's humid and I hate it...

*Grump*

Pack(rat)ing list.

Well...since my esteemed cousin has begun her packing list, I'll start on mine.

Essentials:
1) Ventolin Inhalers. 1 for the main luggage and 1 for the travel pack.
2) Bermudas. (Hopefully the weather stays at a fantastic 26 degrees, otherwise my legs'll turn into popsicles.)
3) My trusty Giodarno cargos.
4) T-shirts galore...unfortunately my list of t-shirts that don't smell bad grows thin.
5) Underwear...I think that the 2nd will be laundry day.
6) Socks. (See point 5...although I doubt I'll be wearing shoes too much during the school holidays...)
7) Boots. I've got to decide which ones I'm going to bring...my present work boots, which are comfortable but should be saved for work I guess...or my heavy boots...hmmm.
8) Sandals.
9) Basketball shoes (?) I'll be in Canada and Seattle. Maybe I can get my arse kicked by someone other than Singaporeans and Aussies.
10) Basketball gear (?) (See point 9.)
11) My Timberland fleece thingy that tends to charge me with enough static to blow a wig off a person, x2
12) My Adidas sunnies.
13) A pair of wrinkle free khakis for more "formal" dinners.
14) Some shirts.
15) Some CD's to listen to on the drive to and from Seattle. Presently compiling road trip music.

That's right off the top of my head. Hopefully I'll remember more when I get to packing point. I am in da zone! Yay! Also will be heading to the PC show on the 3rd to look for a Laptop for M. Hopefully I'll find something I want...Muvo TX...drool...

Meanwhile, my kids are taking their Lit papers. Muahahahaha.

Something Fun.

EXOTIC FOREIGNER ALIAS = Favorite Spice + Last Foreign Vacation Spot : Oregano Kuala Lumpur.

SOCIALITE ALIAS = Silliest Childhood Nickname + Town Where You First Partied : Dandan Perth.

"FLY GIRL" ALIAS (a la J. Lo) = First Initial + First Two or Three Letters of your Last Name : D. Ta

DIVA ALIAS = Something Sweet Within Sight + Any Liquid in Kitchen : Vapodrops Vanilla Coke.

GIRL DETECTIVE ALIAS = Favorite Baby Animal + Where You Last Went to School : Puppy Unimelb.

BARFLY ALIAS = Last Snack Food You Ate + Your Favorite Drink : Ruffles Bourbon.

SOAP OPERA ALIAS = First Pet's Name + Street Where You First Lived : Suzy Thomson. (She was a hamster...)

PORN STAR ALIAS = Middle Name + Street You Grew Up On : Hsien Thomson.

ROCK STAR ALIAS = Any Liquid on the Bar + Last Name of Bad-Ass Celebrity : Gin Depp.

OK...this didn't work too well...*Shrug*.

Life and 7 years of wisdom.

I have visited and posted on Ms Jolene Tan Siyu (MS) Cambridge Britain's website. at 21, she's got a good rhetoric and an idealism in her that I haven't had for a while...And I keep thinking, was I that rhetorically sound 7 years ago? And I think the answer would have to be a resounding NO. But I think I was that ideal. I think that sense of idealism died about the time that I joined the teaching profession. It's been a real drag.
I think that the main problem isn't the teaching...as I keep telling Sprite, I enjoy going into the classroom and having fun with the lessons and trying to teach the kids something whilst trying to get to know them better. I always said that I would very much prefer to have a social job than an administrative one and what better job to do than the one I have?
Unfortunately, "the job" isn't exactly what I signed up for.
The Saint Margaret's principal died today from a stroke that she suffered on Thursday. ANoises sent a message to say "what is this all for?" I thought about it. The lady suffered a stroke doing "the job" and it killed her. From what I've read and seen on TV, she was a good lady...and it seems like the good ones are the ones that the system chews up and spits out.
*igh.
I don't think I've grown any wiser over the last 7 years. I have become a lot more jaded and I'm seeing the real world for what it is now...a really sucky place. The evil get rewarded whilst the good are crapped on...much like ANoises' poor prawns. I believe that there will be a time when evil will punished...but for the moment, the world is just going to throw yet another prawn on the barbie. Mr Ng Lee Huat, I salute you and your soft cover book. You should have used a phone book* away from prying eyes...To the Godsister that reported him: Asphincter says, "thenanchiauprincipalhitastudent". To the ministry that turned their back on him: I've really got nothing to say. Was it surprising? No.
"And that's all I have to say about that." (Gump, 1994)

*Leaves no mark...watch The Shield

Retraction.

Jnet was right. Straits Times screwed up and mixed the letters according to Jolene Tan Siyu (MS) Cambridge Britain. I hereby retract the phhhpt and would like to actually address the issues raised in her original letter, copied and reproduced here:

Dear Editor,

I write with regard to the spate of letters in ST forum responding to the departure of Nan Chiau's principal.

The details of this particular case aside, I am dismayed to see the support expressed by some readers for the corporal punishment of children. Ms. Loh Lay San, for instance, recounts with some relish the experiences she had with "books flung out windows, ears and hair pulled" and "arms pinched" during her schooling days. Similarly, Mr. Lawrence Seow Kuan Yong writes that "A teacher, by virtue of his position, has every right to discipline a student", and that without the iron application of authority in schools "our nation will soon go to the dogs."

With all due respect, I believe these readers are wrong. Studies of child-rearing and psychology show consistently that it is not an authoritarian but an authoritative approach that is most desirable. This means that rather than relying on hard punishment and force to instil fear in students, we should encourage them to understand the rationales behind rules. We should help them to reach their own, independent, appreciation of the norms we treasure, so that they are self-motivated to adhere to them.

No one deserves respect "by virtue of his position", only by virtue of his behaviour. I fail to see why we would want our children to grow up deferring simply to whomever happens to be in possession of a title or to have the ability to inflict pain upon them. Students can only have a genuine, deep-seated respect for a teacher if the teacher has a genuine, deep-seated respect for them. This means reasoning with them and showing an appreciation of their status as rational individuals, not beating them into submission.

Using physical force children will not produce genuine respect. It will only make them fearful and resentful, and the only thing it teaches them is that the strong may do whatever they like to the weak, without regard for moral consensus and mutual respect.

Yours, etc.

I agree that you can't make students respect you through corporal punishment. It doesn't work. All you produce are machines who just do what you do because you said it. There has to be understanding to be instilled into the miscreant in question. The problem is that there has to be a line drawn. We punish criminals in our society. It's what's done to balance the scales so to speak. And there are criminal elements in our little mini-societies known as schools. Children aren't the innocent little things that we have conceptualised in our heads anymore. They aren't the kids we grew up with or we grew up as. It's a brand new world and it ain't all shiny and happy.
Theories work in an ideal situation and I'm sure that they'll work on most of the students we have today. It's the rare ones who don't adhere to the rules who unfortunately are the ones who tend to get punished by the teachers...and also harm their fellow classmates in many unfortunate ways. I recall an incident where a kid was caught stealing from his classmates and was caught. He'd been stealing for about 3-4 years and even when confronted by witnesses and other little tattletalers, spun stories that would make your head spin. He showed little sign of remorse and felt that he was only taking his due, playing pranks or, like an addict, supporting his extravagent lifestyle. And the true extent of his crimes truly came to light when we found out that he'd been blackmailing his classmates to keep quiet. This kid was 12 going on 13. Go figure. These kids are self aware enough to manage to worm their way around psychology. They are the ones who know all the answers that you want to hear and these are the ones who will always find some way around the system. They also tend to be the ones who get smacked with a soft cover book.

I think that the public opinion to reinstill corporal punishment into our schools may have some kind of merit. We are teachers. We do not have the time to explain both the writes as well as the wrongs to our students. (Write...pun...you know...) In an ideal world, I would have the time to get through all the "important curriculum stuff" as well as counsel all my students about the problems that they have in life as well as work through their issues with them...then again, in a real world, I would have 1 lesson a day and not have to keep up with all the administrative shit that I have piling on me...but it's not going to happen. The people who should be talking to these kids about rules and the appreciation of the norms of society are their parents. The teachers? Well they should just bring a cane in to class.

Disclaimer: I don't actually have a large discipline problem in my school...the extent of corporal punishment in my case would be squirting the students with their water bottles...But I have taught in classes before where I wish I had a meter ruler, a cane or maybe even a sidearm just to shut the kids up.
Life's not ideal. It's not a book and it's not Mr Palmer's ideal teacher world. It's real. It's gritty and there are shitty students that we see every day who deserve to get whacked. But then again, that's not the issue at all. The fact is that the Ministry figuratively castrated the entire teaching profession in general view of the public. I think any teacher would feel that our ministry has once again turned its backs on us and shat on us once again. I think that's the issue that should be addressed.

Dumbarse Letters Part Deux.

I AM all sympathy and admiration for Mr Ng Lee Huat, former principal of Nan Chiau High School. The life of an educator is not an easy one.

The call from the school's students and their parents for his reinstatement bears testimony to his skill and dedication. All the more reason why I salute Mr Ng's decision to resign after hitting a student with a soft-cover book.

The principle of the matter is simple. It is wrong if an employer hits his employee. It is wrong if a sergeant hits his men. So why should it suddenly become correct for a principal to hit his student in the heat of the moment?

I accept that corporal punishment for children may be effective in solving disciplinary problems in certain circumstances. But children are relatively powerless and inherently vulnerable vis-a-vis adults. The potential harm that can be caused by physical violence is so grave that they should be accorded protection from discretionary and unregulated physical assault.

When corporal punishment is judged to be an appropriate response in a particular situation, it should be carried out in accordance with the guidelines set out by the Ministry of Education (MOE).

Students can be exasperating, difficult, recalcitrant and insubordinate. They can stretch the patience of the saintliest principal.

If necessary, the student can be sent for detention, suspended, or expelled. But no matter how angry the student makes the principal, he should not cross the line and take it upon himself to hit the student. Physical assault should not become acceptable just because it is a principal hitting a student.

Finally, as Miss Seah Jiak Choo, director of schools at MOE, pointed out in her letter ('MOE acted to preserve authority of school leaders'; ST, April 30), principals are role flung out windows, ears and hair pulled, arms pinched' during her school days. Mr Lawrence Seow Kuan Yong ('Without discipline there is no learning, teaching'; ST, April 30) writes that 'a teacher, by virtue of his position, has every right to discipline a student', and that without the iron application of authority in schools, 'our nation will soon go to the dogs'.

With all due respect, I believe these readers are wrong. Studies in child-rearing and psychology show that it is not an authoritarian but an authoritative approach that is most desirable.

Rather than relying on hard punishment and force to instil fear in students, we should encourage them to understand the rationale behind rules. We should help them to reach their own, independent, appreciation of the norms we treasure, so that they are self-motivated to adhere to them.

No one deserves respect 'by virtue of his position', only by virtue of his behaviour. I fail to see why we would want our children to grow up deferring simply to whoever happens to be in possession of a title or the ability to inflict pain.

Students can have a genuine, deep-seated respect for a teacher only if the teacher has a genuine, deep-seated respect for them. This means reasoning with them and showing an appreciation of their status as rational individuals, not beating them into submission.

Using physical force on children will not produce genuine respect. It will only make them fearful and resentful, and the only thing it teaches them is that the strong may do whatever they like to the weak.

JOLENE TAN SIYU (MS)
Cambridge, Britain

Har har.

Off ANoises blog. Hilarious.

teaching recruitment ad:

i can create wonders
i can touch lives
i can help others
i can make my dreams come true
i can do all this and more

if you teach me how.

i can call the police
i can create trouble
i can run to mummy
i can make your nightmares come true
i can do all this and more

if you touch me with a softcover book.

Meanwhile, I just noticed that my banner has stuff on comics, DVDs and, for some reason or another, Tomb Raider.

Dumbarse Letters and other delusions.

Do not blame our children for bad behaviour and poor moral character. This is a poor diagnosis of the problems we face in today's education landscape. I have learnt from conversations with medical professionals that diseases have multi-factorial causes. Children today behave in a certain way not because of any single cause. There are different people in various places fighting against causes of poor character development in today's youth. I do my part as an educator and seek above all to give my students a strong immune system of internal values, thinking habits and dignity which will help them navigate an external landscape fraught with sickening influences. ~ Teacher who wrote in to the Straits Times.

D'uh! Yes it's true that the children today really grow up in a society that affects them in a myriad of ways, some of which may be negative, but to absolve them from all blame and place them into the position of "victim" is insulting, idiotic and naive at best. Geez...This generation of kids are like every other generation of kids. There is a detachment from the previous generation before and they rebel against that. Unfortunately, this rebelliousness has manifested itself in disrespect and downright defiance, no different from when I was a student, but unfortunately left unchecked by the threat of corporal punishment because that was thrown out the window.

I especially like the bit where this teacher quotes from Parker J. Palmer when giving us tips on dealing with the reality of teaching...what better way to deal with real world problems than to go to advice from someone who is SO detached from your situation that even six degrees of Kevin Bacon couldn't possibly link you. Geez. ("Six degrees of Kevin Bacon"'s a quote from a movie. Any guesses? Actual phrase would be six degrees of separation...) Why should teachers blame their problems with teaching on the students? Why shouldn't they? I've seen teachers reduced to tears by some students...and for what? A measly pay at the end of the month and stupid insensitive comments from the people who are supposed to support us? Nope. Everytime I see that teaching ad with the little cute kiddies who say that they can learn if only I taught them how...I feel like ripping my arm off and beating myself to death.

The teacher goes on to quote once again from Palmer to say that one's experience is interpretation. Interpret it well and you will feel better...yah...that ranks somewhere along the lines of "duck and cover". See, I'm not cynical with the children. I don't think I'll ever be. But the students themselves have taken on a similar cynicism to the system that we teachers have...and I think that it's a healthy cynicism. We do believe in education...anyone who's a teacher does. We also mainly believe that what have now in our school system isn't quite that. We are doing a job. We would love to do our job. We aren't psychologists. We aren't moral leaders (though we should model the behaviour...). We aren't counselors (though we need to show care). We aren't whipping boys for administrators who have failed in their own pursuits and feel the need to exert power on us (OK...that was personal). We are teachers. No more, no less.

My dad said that it was a noble profession. I think that the present day system has taken a whole lot of nobility out of it. And to that, I say BAH!

Sadness.

Was just in a level meeting and for some reason or another, I got quite upset because of the expulsion of one of my students. I do understand why he got expelled and everything but it really affected me in a way that I didn't think it would. I dunno...sad.
O well...thinking of hitting the courts to work some of the frustrations of the past couple of days out of my system. Therapy.

Nice Guys.

Link to Chick's Blog. There's a rather interesting piece that she pulled off a friend's blog which I decided should not be digitally (re)produced again here.

Uptown Jersey Girls.

Two movies that I've watched in the past 2 days: Uptown Girls and Jersey Girl. Admittedly, the latter was to numb my system in anticipation of the stinker that Jersey Girl was supposed to be. This was due to the fact that I am a great fan of Kevin Smith and the thought of a View Askew production sucking was a travesty that I didn't think I could take...so...

Uptown Girls was a bad movie. I'll just say it now, it was horrible. Brittany and Dakota chemistry = Zilch. Maybe it was the fact that I was watching it on VCD but the movie just really didn't soar. There was little if any interesting pieces about the movie and it lacked heart of any sort. It's just a gut feel at the moment but the overall effect was that of an empty vessel. (Bah...)

Jersey Girl however was a great film despite the bad reviews that are out there. I especially liked the review blurb that I read off the life section in the straits times. It basically said that the film was poorly casted, specifically in relation to Ben Affleck. It accused Kevin Smith of losing his edge, of being oversentimental and saying that he was capable of making a better film as proven by 4 of the 5 films in the Jersey trilogy. (I know the trilogy bit doesn't make sense, but o well...) Shyuh...like the dude's not allowed to grow up...Geez...
I thought the movie was true to Smith. Overly sentimental? It is a movie about parenthood for goodness sakes, specifically his own (His daughter's named Harley Quinn Smith btw, a reference to the Batman cartoon character). I could imagine that Smith was talking about his own transition from man to father and it was real, or at least it felt real...which is what his other films have been lauded for, above and beyond the clever (albeit massively cussy) dialogue. Smith's films have been about people and Jersey Girl is no different. The dude's gone on to fatherhood and it's a story that he wants to tell. It's not edgy (as his 5 previous films tend to be) and it's not controvorsial, but the most you could accuse Smith of doing is selling out to the mainstream (a rather elitist view IMAO from the indy film freaks). People grow up. It happens. Jersey Girl marks the transition of Smith from his Jay and Silent Bob days to bigger and (hopefully) better things. I say that we just let him tell his stories...he's definitely earned that.