The gradual loss of finding joy in reading

I was reading an article on visual versus verbal learning. It mentioned how children prefer to use the Internet and watch television, as compared to reading. As a result, their attention span and concentration suffer. Reading requires patience to finish the book, as it continues to state.

I fear that this has happened to me. I have books I haven't even started to read and which I bought rather impulsively, now that I think about it. I have another one in mind. It is about the 1960s seen through Barbie's eyes. She is portrayed as a photographer in it. I love nostalgic books or material. Oh well.

Now I've started watching television shows, music videos and movies off the Internet. I just watched Princess Diaries 2, The Sound of Music, and episodes of Charmed, Bewitched as well as Golden Girls.

I hope I can rectify this problem and curb this habit. It's still able to be salvaged. When you are aware of the fact that you are falling into something, it means you want to get out of it because you know it's not good. Wish me luck!

Followup on arrogance being a terrible flaw

Letters have been written in response to the incident of some parents making a scene over their sons' performances in the P6 Math Prelim paper of a school. Most are against the parents' attitude but one of the parents actually wrote in as well. Hah!

He claimed Santokh Singh doesn't know what is going on for the whole incident. This seems a irony because the parents don't know what pressures the teachers face and the academic syllabus they follow as well. This however, doesn't hinder them from wanting to have a say in the methods of teaching P6 Math by the school.

If you really think about it, Santokh Singh, being an outsider, is more objective and can view the incident from a wider basis. He has no biases to taint his perspectives. He can see things which the parents or school staff can't.

Arrogance is a terrible flaw

The New Paper reported on some parents expressing extreme dissatisfaction over their sons' performance in the Math paper for the P6 Prelims. They even wanted a say in how the teachers at the school taught the subject.

Seriously, my sentiments are that they are not in MOE so they have no right to do so. As Santokh Singh wrote, they should learn to trust the teachers who are qualified and experienced. Just because they are educated and some are in the banking or finance arenas, it doesn't give them this perogative to even have this desire.

This is not the first time that parents have complained about the exams. This time though, it just takes the cake that they want a say in the teaching methods. Arrogance is in full force here.

Norms in conversations

When you listen carefully to how people interact with one another, it can be startling and dismaying too. It has become the norm even among the decent ones to use uncouth words like "s***" and "h***". I categorise these two words as "uncouth" because they are used out of their original contexts to express frustration and unhappiness. I'm not even taking into account the ultimate word of "f***" here, which is a purely contrived word, unlike the two words above which have their own contexts. This is certainly a vulgarity, nothing to argue about.

Uncouth words extend to dialects and other languages too. I'm sure Chinese, Malay and Tamil have their lists too, as well as Hokkien, Teochew and the other dialects. I presume the users think it is trendy to pepper their speeches with such words but it really just makes them look uncouth.

Another norm in conversations is the inability to check the tone used when speaking. Varying tones can have lasting effects on the listeners, especially on sensitive ones. Coupled with volume, this lethal combination can either cut through their hearts like a knife or soothe their weary spirits like a balm. Self-awareness, self-control and putting yourself in the other person's shoes are ways to avoid such verbal injuries.