• Life & Times of Michael K, J.M. Coetzee
• Survival in Auschwitz, Primo Levi
• A Nice Girl Like Me, Abigail Bosanko
• The Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis
• The Hot Zone, Richard Preston
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since August 15, 2005
---» PROFILE Everything you need to know and then some.
Name :: Ying
DOB :: 9 May 1984
Status :: In a relationship
Occupation :: Undergrad
♥ Fun :: Travelling, cuddling on a rainy day, surprises, intellectual stimulation, taking photographs, crafting, designing, reading a good book at the beach, dancing, watching people dance, meeting interesting people, checking out exhibitions and fairs
♥ Food :: Thai mango sticky rice, Chinese double-boiled soups, BK chicken caesar salad, brownies and ice cream, Gelare waffles, Subway meals, creamy prawn pasta, Crystal Jade congee and dumplings, Hawaiian anything
♥ Fancies :: Makeup, massages, shopping sprees, facials, lingerie, manicures & pedicures
♥ Flow :: R&B, hiphop, jazz, pop, live bands
---» HOOK UP You can find me if I want to be found.
MSN :: feine84@msn.com
Email :: feine84@yahoo.com.sg
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---» GALLERY Newest photos hosted by Flickr. More can be found here.
To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to be sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one - not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safely in the casket or the coffin of your selfishness. But, in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, unredeemable. The only place outside heaven where you can be safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love, is hell.
- The Four Loves, C.S. Lewis
Sunday, July 24, 2005
On teaching
Last week I taught Literature to a Sec1E class and History to a Sec2E class. I was surprised to find that I had a lot more success with the latter - I've always been under the impression that students find Literature far more interesting than History.
Then I realised that this was simply a case of the delivery being more significant than the content. In the words of an experienced teacher at BBSS, "Students love a subject because of the teacher. They do well in it because of the teacher, not because of its appeal to them."
To put it plainly, I suck at teaching Literature and I'm a whole lot better at teaching History. I had a lot of trouble keeping the students interested in what I had to say about the Literature text, probably because I wasn't too familiar with it myself and so couldn't speak about it with as much passion as I did for History.
So that was lesson number 1: You have to know your material inside out. This is important because not being familiar with your material shows. It affects your confidence, and in turn, your ability to capture and maintain the attention of your students.
And while I had the Sec2E class in rapt attention, I spent more time trying to get the Sec1E class to settle down than on actual teaching. This probably had some part to do with how I presented myself to them. I was far more controlled and reserved with the Sec2E class. Their faces reflected their curiosity and interest as they in turn scrutinised this new teacher standing before them. By the time the bell rang, I had achieved more than I had thought possible. It was the most satisfying lesson I've given, and that's saying a lot - I taught History for three months in Unity Secondary.
To quote yet another teacher from BBSS, "A teacher must always remain an enigma to her students. The moment you reveal all of yourself to them you stop being a mystery. Let them discover you over time." Not something that I used to agree with, but I see its value now. So that was lesson number 2: Always keep the students guessing and on their toes.
