Just when I as a teacher, thought that I knew what learning is all about, 2 recent encounters reshaped and refreshed my ideas totally and lifted me up to a higher plane of understanding! They kinda got me all excited about teaching and learning all over again! :)

Encounter 1: Nuturing Habits of a High Achiever with your Child

I went for this talk at JE library, conducted by master coach, Michel Gargne. In case you are wondering, he is a middle aged guy, not a lady although you should pronounce his name as Michelle! He is a French Canadian with more than 40 over years of experience as a coach. In fact, he is a coach of many coaches and there are many Olympic Athletes and World Champions who are training under him. Recently, he motivated an under achiever to become an A* student in 25 days!
I will just share what I gained the most out of the 2 hours talk:

He started off with this simple question: do you brush your teeth everyday?
Of course, our answer would be an obvious YES! Unless you are really lazy!

He asked the next question: Do you brush your teeth perfectly?
I beg your pardon? Why ask such a ridiculous question? Simple: most people are just contented with how they are doing in life. They do not seek to improve any further in what they are doing.

The secret of a high achiever is simple: they have the desire to improve in whatever they are doing everyday and for the rest of their lives! Be it brushing teeth, or doing well for a subject or playing captain’s ball! They just seek to IMPROVE EVERYDAY. There is no end to their relentless pursuit for excellence! They challenge themselves and compete against themselves. They are not keen about winning against others. They are just satisfied with winning themselves and becoming better! Don’t misunderstand this idea of winning: According to Michel, there are many athletes who are willing to die young if they are given a choice to take a drug that they help them to achieve gold and experience that moment of glory! Also, after winning major competitions, many committed suicide as they are not able to adapt back to the normal life of doing simple chores and people not knowing about their achievements. Winning is not the end result that high achiever ultimately look for. It’s the thrill of becoming better that delights them the most! :)

To achieve that, they are 21 habits that a high achiever should have to become an all rounded person! They are generally divided into 5 sections: Mental, Emotional, Physical, Financial and Spiritual.

Just going to share one MENTAL habit with you:

When you are setting a goal, make it a multi-sensory goal! For example, your goal is to do well in your studies. That statement as a goal is not good enough! You need to be more specific and you need to IMAGINE and IMMERSE yourself fully into that goal! What do I mean by that? You need to specify things like, I want to score 6 A1s and 2 B3s for this coming final year exams (don’t set unrealistic goals within a short time but of course, don’t belittle yourself by setting too low a goal!). The subjects that I want to ace are e.g. physics, e.maths, a.maths, chemistry, biology and social studies. Now, you need to imagine yourself taking back the papers with the scores and grades that you wish to see on the papers. You need to feel how wonderful it is to be getting them back and how your friends are happy for you. You need to imagine how proud you are showing your results to your parents. You need to imagine how happy they are with your achievements and you are motivated to do it consistently and even better the next time.

This is what a small church choir did by imagining that they are able to sing for the Olympics one day. They practiced hard and immerse themselves into the goal and sang during each practice as if they are there! In the end, when they applied to sing for the event, they got in! Not only that, they even won the gold award for their wonderful singing! That’s the power of having a multi-sensory goal! We need to imagine and immerse ourselves in the goal each day and work hard to achieve it! :)

Michel started the parent-coach method of helping parents to be coaches to their kids so that they can nurture them as high achievers! Yup, as expected, I am keen to sign up for part 1 of the course on 23-24 Sept 06! :) Not just to help my kids but also to hopefully help all the students that I am teaching!

I recently met this guy from England who is a qualified FA licensed coach for soccer! All the schools he coached became district champions! Told ms Y about it but she rejected my proposal of setting up soccer for our school… :( hope to find alternative ways around it! :) I am planning to learn from the guy and become a qualified coach myself! :)

Encounter 2: Learning through Engagement

This was a talk for teachers, conducted by Republic Polytechnic for schools to learn about their unique approach to learning: through PBL (problem-based learning)! Each day, a class of 25 students will break into teams of 5 to solve one real-life problem a day and that‘s all they will do throughout their 3 years of stay there! A problem a day, keeps the learner amazed! (A tagline that I thought of for them!) They are using this model as they realized how humans learned in the first place: by being there (where it all happened) and doing it yourself! No one learns how to cycle until the person has tried it consecutively with experiences of falls and balance. The teams in each class will research on the net, get a bit of help through some scaffolding activities, discuss, argue, present and defend their solution or findings!

At the end of it, they felt a sense of ownership for the knowledge that they acquired and they develop the confidence to handle the unexpected! And the best part is this: they are given a personal comment about their performance daily and are assessed based on their presentations (they get to choose their 14 best presentations out of 16 per term – the school allows 2 days of “bad days” that students may have! Cool!) and they are given 4 understanding tests (30 mins each) at the end of the term, testing on their understanding of the knowledge they have learned and not on how much they memorized for exams! They get to choose the best 3 test results out of the 4 as well! great, isn't it!? :)

The school believes that students should not be seating for exams that test them on knowledge that they have already known, which they just crammed and commit to memory just for the sake of grades! What they value is the PROCESS of learning, about HOW they managed to get the solution and not the solution itself! And of course, they are always ready to accept more than one answer to a problem as it is in real life, provided that the students are able to logically defend their case!

If my kids eventually are keen on the courses offered by this polytechnic, I will definitely be first to encourage them to go there for this exciting experience of learning, just as how every human learns and how the real working world is functioning everyday! :)

End of my short essay on Learning! That’s about 1200 words! LOL!

Comment! (0) | Recommend! | Categories: learning [t]

going down is no easy matter! we had to park at Bo's house before hailing a cab down cos the car park was full! when we finally reached there, there was a need for security check before we can go in to enjoy viewing the planes! Cool! 3rd Generation of the S'pore Air Force is great, considering the size of Singapore!

The photos tells it all!


the antique sky hawk! :)


the F-16 fighter plane! :)


the family with the team and their chopper! :D


my camera managed to capture a flying bird and a flying plane at the same time! :P


ariel covered her eyes when the planes flew by... she should be covering her ears! :D


who's taking who? chris and his random shoot with my camera!


the 2 beauties... :P

Comment! (0) | Recommend! | Categories: air force [t], open house [t], kids [t], photos [t]

Someone actually posted an entry for me for the STOMP Cool Teacher Award... hahhaha! I think i know who that person is! thank you for that interesting testimonial about me! here's what the person said:

Mr Daniel Chow WH from Nan Hua High rocks!

the coolest multi-tasker you'll ever find.
he teaches physics fulltime
so dedicated he prepares his own notes
i/c of a uniformed group [looks good in white : D]
has time to spend with his family
and his own tuition centre [does he even sleep?]
socially active with pupils [social butterfly ah : D]
plays street soccer & netball like a student
rarely find him sitting alone
same interests as us students
MSNs, blogs, watches dumb videos

what's not to love!
NH's dearest papa physix rocks and everyone knows it!


chowdish;
the hotness : D

http://stinkandspill.stomp.com.sg/forums/showthread.php?t=213

Comment! (3) | Recommend! | Categories: teacher [t], award [t], cool [t]

First and foremost, I would like to offer my heartfelt thanks to all who took the trouble to show appreciation to me as a teacher through the gifts, cards, sms and verbal greeting on this special day! I am deeply touched by the effort put in. This is the intrinsic reward that no job in the whole world can even offer! :)

Well, here they are: the photos of every single gift that was given in random order (NOT in any order of preference/liking! I cherish every gift, whether big or small, simple or delicate, cheap or expensive, hand-made or bought! it's the thought that counts!)


My table was so packed with gifts that i took quite a while to clear them! :)


thank you adelaine for the happy beans pen and the paper crane! got your msg! Jia you for your EOY exams! you can! :)


thank you jane and yufeng for the stirrer! thank you for faithful and passionate service in SJAB! all the best for your prelims and coming Os! :)


thank you annabel for the card, the teacher's day msg and the lollipop! I will defintely eat it! Dont lose heart! I believe you can make her proud! :)



thank you zilianers for the hand-made crystal ball and the falling star! continue to stay "chio" and so "zai" in your studies! :)


thank you sonia for the red pen, chewing gum, the nice ribbons and wrapper! glad that you will work hard to do me proud this EOY! jia you! :)


thank you jasmine for the rochers! i finally gave you what you have been pestering me for! happy viewing! :)


thank you terrance for the jar of sweets! thanks for being such a good logistics head for SJAB! :)


thank you coolness for the cup of sweets and the note! stay cool by always doing so well for physix, ya!? :)


thank you christina and tracy for the red pen! 2 chris: stay pro for physix!! 2 tracy: u know what 2 do, right!? :P


thank you xinyi for the photo frame cum note pad holder! continue to be such a sweet and dilligent student! :)


thank you yaohui for the stuff dog! it was a nice surprise for me! dont be discouraged by your CT results this time round! do well for your coming EOY! :)


thank you amanda for the hand-made card! never knew we took a photo together during NDP! hopefully i will get to teach 109 again next year! :)


thank you joscelin, my mentee, for the apple! keep staying ever so creative and artistic! :)


thank you mei luan for the beautiful cake puff! never knew you are so good in baking! shall visit you one day @ cake avenue! :)


thank you guan qun for the toblerone! jia you for physix! dont freak out bcos of it! i am sure you will eventually master it! :)


thank you councillors for the descriptive ice-cream sticks and hearts! I believe it must be your hard work right, kit yeng? :)


thank you huiwen for the red pen! 303 is fortunate to have a chair person like you! :)


thank you peilin for your book of thankfulness! i shall remember every single bible verse in the book! hope they come in handy for you too! :)


thank you xuejie and wanqing for the trophy! i will definitely try my best to reach the goal! thanks for being my wonderful physix reps! :)


thank you ivy for the hand-made card and crane! it's really the thought that counts and i will take note of your constructive feedback! :)


thank you vanessa for the figurine and card! it was a pleasure having you as one of my mentees for TOL! your model house rocks! :)


thank you zhi yong for the pen! though you are ultra cheeky in class, I enjoyed having you as my student! :)


thank you yini for the photo frame! wishing you all the best for the coming promos! jia you! :)



thank you joyce and jia ying for the famous amos cookies! dont lose heart concerning your results! JC life is tough but you are tougher! :)


thank you emily for the hand-made card! I believe your hard work will pay off this coming EOY exams! Jia you! :)


thank you kit yeng for the brownie! I'm sure you are doing just fine in JC! continue to be so happy always! :)


thank you daphne (303) and jinghui(not you meh!?) for the soccer ball stuff toy! jia you for your coming EOY! do me proud! :)


thank you abigail, yiyan, chrysan, amanda, yining, sabrina and cynthia for the stuff bear! stay always so close together as friends! hope you will all be in the same class next year! :)


thank you 303 for the hand-made card! this class is getting so much more alive these days! keep it going! :)


thank you lixuan (304) for the male sign, the msg and the photo frame! very thoughtful of you indeed, considering the fact that you are so frustrated with physix! I am sure you can do very well for your EOY exams! Jia you! :)



thank you felicia and melissa for the gigantic card and the jelly beans! this card tells it all! continue to work hard understanding physix! let's have more remedials, ya!? :) free kick was great fun! :D




thank you weiru, soh min, rebecca, xinjie, lynn, cuitian, cheryl, sok ee, daphne and jamie for the big bouquet of sunflowers, the card and the photo frames! very very sweet of all of you indeed! really hope that the 10 of you will always be close friends (not just only playing bridges together!) and you will all excel in physix together! rock on! :D thank you 302 for signing the card as well! prove that you are exceptional good in this coming EOY, ya!? :)




thank you 301 for reciting that "marriage vow" to me! till death do we part indeed! really hope that the class will excel in this coming EOY exams and become even more united! :) thank you letts for the gift (that you bought from Europe) and that you are giving on behalf of the class. appreciate your act of sacrifice! :)


that's me with my new found brother, chow ah beng (aka mr liu)! tucking out all the way! cool isnt it!? LOL! :P


that's me with puay bing, esther, jia ying and pearlyn! thanks for coming back to pay me a visit! shall catch up again with all of you when we manage to arrange for a class outing! meanwhile, stay cheerful and funky! :D


that's me with some teachers and 304! thank you 304 for the pizza party! it's was simply wonderful! the teachers really felt like superstars! enjoyed the captainball game a lot a lot! the ODD team is fantastic but the EVEN team is even better with me around! LOL! :P we shall have another round soon, ya!? :)


lastly, I was there at the teacher's day rally 2006 with PM Lee as the guest speaker! The talk was inspiring! heard that i was caught on TV, messaging on my phone! omg! :P but it was for a good cause so no regrets! :D

this entry took me hours to complete but it's worth it! :D happy holidays!

Comment! (4) | Recommend! (3) | Categories: teacher\'s day [t], gifts [t], photos [t], students [t], memorable [t]

A.C.E and their cousins with the puppeteer for the Eric Carle's The Hungry Caterpillar!


Chris and Ekklesia taking a break @ ACT 3 Academy. They are learning Speech and Drama there every Sat! They are loving it! :)


Chris helping me to fill in the marks for my students' scripts! :)


The kids having their dinner cum picnic @ the playground! :)


Ekklesia and Ariel @ Carrefour!


Ekklesia and Ariel playing under the trolley! :P


JJ's BD on 29 Aug! The Class celebrated for him with a swiss roll and some gummy sweets surrounding it! innovative! :)




301'06 had our flea market for CIP these couple of days, selling ice milo freeze, sweets and balloon flowers :)


Balloons with well wishes released into the sky, wishing them all the best for their Prelims and O Levels! :)



2 model houses that my students did for PBL/TOL :) It works like the real thing!


The double hearts made of a single dollar note. Thanks to J.C, I managed to learn how to make such a nice masterpiece! :)


The first card addressed partially to me from 304'06! Curious: who are the guy and the gal?



The first two presents i received for teacher's day this year from liting and andrea :) thank you!

shall end here! having teacher's day dinner tonight! the theme: aloha (hawaii) :)

Comment! (0) | Recommend! | Categories: photos [t], teacher\'s day [t], kids [t], 30106 [t], CIP [t]

When you put in effort and you did not get what you have expected for your tests or exams, how should you react?

naturally, you will be disappointed, frustrated or discouraged about it... that's normal, that's human... but after all the negative feelings have subsided, what are you going to do about it? for some, they decided to give up and not try anymore... for some, they turn their disappointment into hatred and dont want to have anything to do with the subject anymore... to some, they humble themselves and possess the passion and drive to learn from their mistakes and improve on their understanding and fill up their pockets of holes in their knowledge... from there, they emerge stronger and rise on the next occasion to clinch the fruit that is worthy of their effort.. when we did not reap what we sow in the first round, NEVER give up! we are actually half way there towards excellence! the only sensible thing to do now is to know what went wrong and not to repeat the same mistakes again!

If it's carelessness and insufficient time to complete the paper, then it means a lack of practice... work harder and do more! in that way, you will become more familiar with your stuff and be able to understand questions more easily and correctly!

If you dont understand the questions asked, read once through to have a brief overview of the question. read again but do it sentence by sentence. extract out the key info in each sentence and write it down in point form or in simple equations what is given. finally, look at the last part of the question, which usually tell you what the question is asking for. compare what is available and what is required. think through if there is any concepts or equations or knowledge that can be used to link what is given in the question to what is required to be solved in the question. the more you have practiced and understand what you studied, the more options you have to solve the problem at hand! and many a time, think simple.. problems are not as complicated as you think!

end here with my all-time favourite story of the way of a champion :)

THE WAY OF A CHAMPION

“How much further to the waterfall?” the little boy asked.
“Up around the bend, champion,” the old man answered with a chuckle.
“That’s what you said last time, Paw-Paw.” The boy paused. “What’s a champion?”

The old man gazed down upon his grandson before answering.
“A champion is someone who believes they can win and who keeps on trying until they do,” he said.
“You mean champions don’t always win?” the boy queried.
“No, son. Champions don’t always win—but they believe that they can and eventually they do. Most champions lose many times before they win.”

“That sounds hard, Paw-Paw,” the boy remarked.
“Sometimes. You have to grow a champion muscle.” The old man pointed down the path. “Do you see that butterfly?”

“Yes, sir.”
“Where did it come from?”
“From a cocoon,” the boy replied. “You showed me that on the purple butterfly bush.”

“How did it get out?” the old man continued.
“It grew its wings and broke through.” The boy beamed.
“What happened when you helped one of the butterflies break through?” the old man prodded in a soft voice.

The boy’s face dropped. “Its wings weren’t strong enough and it fell to the ground where it died.”
“That’s right. In order to fly, butterflies need to first grow strong.” The old man placed his palm on the boy’s shoulder. “People are the same way. To be a champion, we have to become strong. Usually though, it’s not the actions that need to be strong—it’s the belief.”

”What do you mean, Paw-Paw?” the boy asked.
The old man stopped and bent down to eye level.
“Do you remember when you learned how to ride your bike?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Do you remember how you fell down?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Do you remember how you had cuts and scrapes and had to go get Band-Aids and even cried a few tears?”
“Yes, sir—but not that many,” the boy declared.
“Why did you keep getting up?” The old man pushed.
“Because I knew I could do it,” the boy stated. “If Sammy could do it, then I knew I could, too.”

“That’s right,” the old man nodded. “Sometimes you have to borrow somebody else’s belief until yours becomes strong enough that you don’t need it. You saw Sammy do it and you believed that if he could, so could you.” The old man grinned at the boy. “Was is that hard to get up after you fell?”

“No,” the boy barked.
“Of course not,” the old man affirmed. “It never is if you believe. Champions know that.”

The old man took the boy’s hand and began to stand.
The boy tugged on his finger and held him still. His brown eyes looked straight at the old man.
“I’m always going to be a champion, Paw-Paw,” the boy declared. “’Cause I can always get up.”
“Yes, you can,” the old man smiled. “Yes, you can.”

Comment! (2) | Recommend! | Categories: champion [t], lesson [t], learn [t]