Teaching methods

2 NIE researchers are experimenting with a way to teach Math to primary school students. Instead of using Mathematical methods and steps to solve problem sums, which is incidentally the nemesis of most students, the suggested way is to underline the requirements of the question through discussions, before attempting to solve the problem sums. This will be especially useful for students who are weak in English. Once they understand what they have to do through the question, it will be easier to get the Mathematical answer. Speaking their thought processes aloud will be a tremendous help to their journey towards getting the answer. This is somewhat like literary analysis.

The strange thing is that I've been doing that with my tuition students. Hmm. No one told me to do that. It is my instinct as a teacher. It is true that this additional step will take up time, especially when teachers in school have lesson schedules to meet. It is probably better to do this for tuition. Then again, in order to help the weak students, it can be done during remedial lessons.

A reader wrote in to comment on an article on how a teacher had insulted her student. The letter exudes hurt and bitter anger over his own personal experience. The last part reveals his inability to get over his primary school experience. He requested the teacher to be removed from her job, rather than just given a warning.

I too, had similar experiences in school. It was only when I had kind teachers during my A'level days, that I finally managed to attain a pass for my Math and Accounting. As a teacher now, I ensure that I am as kind to my students as those teachers were to me. Perhaps the reader did not have the opportunity to get such kind teachers to heal his hurt.

Jakarta blast has not affected SG very much

It's "interesting " to read that Singapore's major hotels have not increased their security levels after this tragedy, even though Singapore has Marriot and Ritz-Carlton hotels. The marketing director of Marriot and the public relations director may have said otherwise but I'm not surprised if they did it just to dispel fears from the public and for public relations purposes. After all, there are no visible signs that security measures have been implemented. Perhaps the reason is to give potential terrorists a false impression, but is it not better to deter them from committing any audacious attacks and to assure the public of their safety? I believe that this applies to Tanglin Club too.

The rose among the thorns is American Club which has always upheld a strict security level ever since the 911 incident. Kudos to it!

An army major wrote a letter to critique these hotels. I applaud his gutsy response. That should 'wake' the management up. The hotels are certainly lapsed in their security. At the same time, he is objective enough to suggest measures for them to implement.

A Malay reader wrote in too and suggested some good ways to improve our security levels. He feels that schools should include anti-terrorism as part of the curriculum, and security should be increased at public buildings and our transport system.

I am glad to note that hotels are now involved in enhancing security levels. Lee Kwee Swung is a good example of being viligant towards guests who enter his hotel. He secured a man who had a dangerous weapon on him. At the Hotel Security Awards, a new campaign was launched to ensure higher levels, through the increase in drills for the staff and the greater sense of knowledge pertaining to times of evacuation.

Learning safety the hard way

The police in UK are trying to teach residents a lesson in protecting their homes from burglars. They furtively enter the homes, posing as burglars, and surprise the residents to prove their point that the homes are vulnerable to criminals. Then they give a lecture to the residents.

I support this idea. I feel that it will better retain its ultimate message in the residents' minds. The shock effect caused by these "break-ins" will be strong enough to imbue in the residents, the need to lock the doors and windows of their homes. It may be invasive to their privacy but it is for their own good. Merely distributing leaflets on crime prevention in homes is not as effective. After all, how many residents will read them from start to finish? Besides catching criminals, the police have a duty to protect the safety of the residents too. Anyway, burglars are also criminals.