It goes both ways

A passenger was unhappy with the way an airline crew member had treated him when he had to use the restroom of the first-class section, due to overcrowded restrooms in his own Economy class section and a really urgent stomachache problem. He ran to the first-class section and on the way, the crew member did not say anything. It was only when he had finished using it that the crew member chided him and then stared after him, as he went back to his section.

Indeed, the crew member could have spoken to him more politely and not been so indiscreet towards him. I believe the crew member knew he was not feeling well as he had let the passenger use the restroom. At the same time, the passenger cannot really place the entire blame on the crew member as he had failed to explain his situation to the crew member at all.

Economic poverty versus wrong arrest

A Caucasian who had been probably driven to crime by financial deprivation(not that I am advocating it), decided to carry out his plan with ingenuous creativity. He put on a mask that made him look like a black man, so that he could escape arrest.

The public did fall for it. A man who matched the features of the mask was arrested at first and the mother of another black man thought at first that her son was the criminal, when she saw the mask on television. Thankfully, the Caucasian could not get away from his double crime: robbery and attempting to frame another for his own crime.

It is quite sad how poverty and perhaps greed too can drive people to more than crime. They have no qualms about making others their scapegoat as well. Sigh.

Butter Factory's promotional gimmick

This popular nightspot came up with a marketing strategy whereby patrons with condoms were granted free entry to a party. I do not condone the nature of it. The organiser claims it promotes safe sex and not pre-marital sex.

There is a deep flaw in this argument. It may promote safe sex and diminish the occurrence of Aids, but it does lead to more people having the opinion that there is no harm in having sex since they have condoms which advocate safe sex. This is the key. Thus, pre-marital sex is advocated, whether the organiser is sharp enough to realise this or not.

The manager of St James Holdings supports this gimmick with a similarly flawed opinion. He feels that the presence of a condom on a person is not equal to the person's desire for sex. It is certainly not true in usual circumstances but may be in this case, for the sake of gaining free entry. However, with the atmosphere of drinks, dancing and lights, people may fall prey to the seductive effect and engage in unconscious intimacy. Having a willing partner is not applicable here. It would be too late for regrets by the time they regain their wits the next morning.

Testimonial writing

This year-end task of schools has been highlighted in the news since an MOE scholar was convicted of downloading child pornography. It has been the usual perception that teachers write out the students' testimonials in their report books but it is true that students have the opportunity to contribute to their own testimonials too. One of my ex-students asked me how to go about doing his. However, I believe that the students' drafts are edited by the teachers before being entered into the school's database. Thus, the students are not the sole and final creators of their testimonials.

The content of the testimonials is a debatable issue. Should it exude objectivity in containing both the achievements and the offences of the students? The accepted notion is for only the former to be included. I personally feel both should be part of the testimonials, though the latter can be accompanied by the fact that conversion has occurred. The problem with the present notion is that lists of affirming phrases are given to the teachers as they edit the students' drafts and some teachers even attempt to give false impressions of delinquent students. I am not condemning the intention to give our youth a chance to go further in life. This must be done with truth and a clear conscience.

Chewing gum is a nuisance

Singapore is known for its ban on chewing gum. It is prohibited everywhere in the country. This is to reinforce the country's reputation for cleanliness. It is indeed an irritation to find that you have touched sticky chewing gum with your fingers or your shoe. It makes it even more repulsive to know that sticky gum means that it has been consumed and saliva is on it.

Spain is also facing the same problem. It had previously implemented fines on those who litter with used gum but this method did not reap the desired result. The latest idea is to make a change to the manufacturing process of chewing gum and to substitute some of the ingredients in it with less sticky substances. This however, may affect the authenticity of chewing gum.

Perhaps Spain should take its cue from us and impose a complete ban on chewing gum as well.

SG's IRs get blamed by JB

Our IRs have been accused of being the cause for his state's dire family situation. This is unjustified. The free daily packages promoted by our IRs may be a form of gaining more patrons but they aren't a form of coercion on anyone. People are free to sign up for them or otherwise.

If in signing up for them, other consequences occur, they are not due to the fact that our IRs came out with the packages. There is no logic in making such an assumption. How can the suggestion for our IRs to withdraw the packages be even thought of? It may be deemed as self-protection but it can border on egotism too.

Drinking water on the horse's behalf

There is a saying whereby we cannot force a horse to drink water but we can lead it to the water to drink on its own. I am improvising this via the title of this entry. This improvization is referring to advertisers on the Internet selling essays written in English to desperate students who have problems writing them for assignments. The advertisers are local graduates while the buyers are China-born students studying here.

To me, this seemingly helpful gesture belies immorality. It is unfair to claim credit for an essay that is not written by oneself; unfair to both the student submitting it and its writer. Despite the fact that the latter may be way past this issue of recognition, this idea is wrong. Earning money in the process of advocating dishonest learning is more than wrong, really. Materialism at the expense of morals is repulsive! It does not matter how tempting the money is.

It is shocking how interested sellers do not care at all for the academic welfare of the buyers, but instead worry about their payment after having written the essays. Thank goodness the intern reporting on this phenomenon views it as immoral.

The selling of fake degrees is also a related phenomenon. It does not matter how far the money can bring you in life. However, the consolation for Literature majors like me is that it is very difficult to sell fake degrees for this. We work very very hard to get our degrees, and there is so much reading and analysis involved in the process of it. There would be an outcry should a market for it be started.

During the interview with a peddler, some things he said deserve protesting. He said the fake degrees are meant for foreign students who have failed to attain degrees the honest way but need to show them to their parents. Is this not encouraging them to continue "not tak(ing) their studies seriously"? After all, they can just buy these fake degrees should they fail to get them the real way. It is ironic how he warns his buyers not to apply for jobs with them so as not to "harm themselves". By buying them, the students are already doing that. Besides, he knows that the fake degrees can fool the illiterate parents, so this shows that he is despicable in causing the students to deceive their parents.

Doing the wrong others are doing too, does not make the wrong become right. So what if "he is not the only one" doing this? He again contradicts himself by saying that he is "not...do(ing) anything illegal but (is) just trying to make a living". Making a living can be done in legal ways. Though the money does not come in so quickly, they at least do not cause him to betray his morals and conscience.

Qualified and called

"You ownself do this question." This was uttered by an English tutor to her student. I condone the act of the parent in terminating her services after having heard that statement. It is flabbergasting to read this statement uttered by a fellow tutor to her student. I can now understand why the parent sat in for the first lesson of the new tutor. It can be a discomfort to be scrutinized while teaching but I guess parents want to ensure they have employed the right tutor, especially since there have been reports on tutors not being entirely truthful about their qualifications or carrying out immoral acts with their students. I am thankful however, that almost all of the parents I have worked with have trust in me and don't scrutinise me during lessons. :) I am aware though, that they get feedback about me from their children.

To deviate a little, I was terribly disturbed when I heard a mother reading aloud to her child, presumably from a book, "Where is the mouse? Under the stair? No." I was so tempted to correct her mispronunciation. It should be read as "stairs", not "stair". My gosh! I am not viewing her with condescension but her child will definitely need a proper English teacher when he is older.

Tutoring is a calling for me and of course, I must have the qualifications to prove I am able to teach my subjects. However, the former is more important to me, and to cheat my clients and sexually abuse my students are things that are truly unbecoming. They insult the meaning behind the concept of being called to this vocation. In fact, I feel I am more of a big sister or even a mother, than a tutor to some of my students :P I have been gifted with the ability to create a rapport with them, as if I have been sent to them as God's instrument. The review of secondary school education last month has suggested a focus on stronger student-teacher bonds, and I am glad I am ahead of the trends in this aspect.

I must say however, that some parents fail to understand the different teaching know-hows behind different subjects. It takes a rather short time for Mathematics grades to improve rather drastically once the student fully understands how to apply the formulae to questions. It is vastly different for English grades to have the same result. The student's foundation in English should be laid when he is very young, or once he starts primary school, at the latest. He should be exposed to all kinds of books and given the opportunity to read a lot. Only then can his grammatical and vocabulary skills be established and then developed with time. It is a challenge trying to do all these when the student is in his secondary school years. I have to go back to basics with the student because his foundation in the language is weak. This results in the student's English grade taking a longer time to improve.

In the same way, English incorporates oral skills as well, which means the student needs to be accustomed to carrying a conversation with someone. That was included in my lessons with one of my students and so we sometimes "chatted" about her experiences in school.

It is also good for people to realise that there are different areas of specialization in the subjects I teach. I may not be able to be as confident in some areas because I did not specialise in them, though that does not mean I can't teach them :P

Some tutors reject certain students out of fear for their reputation should they fail in their jobs to help the students. I too, have a certain criteria towards selecting my students but for different reasons. I don't take students who live outside a specific distance from where I live because I can't travel too far. I am also particular about the work attitudes of students. If they are weak in the subject but are willing to work at it to improve their grades, I will take them in. I am not open to those who don't put in any effort at all and make me feel as if I have wasted my time and energy on them.

Parents are also concerned about the rapport created between the tutor and their children. If there isn't any, it would be akin to the parents having employed a robot to teach their children. A friendship formed between the two parties would be beneficial to the teamwork between them but of course, there must still be a line drawn so that respect and discipline are still maintained. Woe to tutors who go beyond friendship! I have definitely been blessed with this gift of rapport with the young. :)

Therefore, one may be qualified but not called to teach, based on the attitudes towards students. One may also be called to teach but not qualified to, as we can see from those who don't present their true academia to potential clients.

Inflexible marking of English assignments

"Rushed" and "Ran" is the same as "In a quick way". Just because the given answer is the latter, the former is immediately ruled out. English is supposed to encourage creative expression and yet the markers themselves exhibit the opposite. How ironic. As an English teacher, I believe there is room for the rephrasing of the answers. I usually try to think from the point of view of my students when I see a different answer from what is given. I attempt to analyse the reason behind their answers and at times, this results in discussions between my students and I on the questions, which I rather enjoy.

It is not so easy to read the mind of the teachers who set the questions and attempt to give the exact words of the answers. Each time I try to explain to my students to make an attempt to read the teachers' minds, I am given confused looks in return. I don't blame them. Telepathy is something beyond natural.

If the answer is rephrased in a different way but has the exact meaning as the given answer, it is acceptable. This is especially applicable to Science questions. Kettle A being against a bigger surface is the same as Kettle B being against a smaller surface. These two perspectives are referring to the same answer.

Advancement in technology

It was quite disturbing reading this article on the ideas scientists have, pertaining to technology as a form of aiding our lives. Advances have been made very rapidly but the hidden significance is that there is the possibility of humans becoming obsolete. That is a frightening thought to behold and I hope I am merely being paranoid. The reason for this possibility to come to birth is because computers can now do originally human abilities like think, listen, speak, see, reason and learn. The only consolation that I cling to is that humans are still needed to programme the computers to do these things.

The even more frightening thing to note is that our younger generations find it natural to communicate with machines that understand them. Our communication with technology should be limited to giving out commands, and I don't mean it in terms of programming. True communication and understanding should be mutually exclusive between two humans, where each person communicates sincere feelings to and understands the true inner state of the other. I realise that I sound rather idealistic here and courage plus humility is needed to make this happen, but this is what makes a real relationship. The understanding of machines towards humans should thus also be limited to the academic aspect.

The chances of computers teaching students in school was mentioned. I am not worried about my rice bowl here, since I don't teach in schools. I am of the opinion that teachers should be humans because only they can truly minister to students under them. It takes a heart to know another heart. Computers are merely machines. The day no more human teachers are needed is one I would not want to live to see. At the most, the role of computers is to challenge the students' potential and help them learn to the fullest.

A disadvantage was thought of though, that of isolation. It was related to the area of authority however. I have a different interpretation of this. Should machines dominate the world, humans will live in their own bubbles and merely communicate with machines. There will be no more social interaction between their own kind. Yes, some may say that humans will still be able to communicate while using machines, but I am referring to that of personal contact. Machines will be third parties and get in the way of human relationships.

A robot that does housework has been developed by local scientists too. It will make our lives easier but if it is also able to cook, there is a fear that the food will be bland due to lack of love. It may follow the recipes and the steps needed, but with no love, the food will not be the same as those cooked by a human.

Manners

Fiona Chan wrote an article on how parents are sending their children to etiquette classes. She dwelt on the horror of society becoming too polite, like the Stepford Wives; unnaturally courteous. She brought up a very interesting point of how present society should be trained in this area, instead of the future generation.

I watched the movie and it was blood-curdling to see the wives become so accommodating because they had been fixed in that way. To have a human be made into a robot, is creepy. Ms Chan is probably being cynically realistic in saying that dominant courtesy is rather bizarre. I feel the same way but at the same time, it will make a positive difference in the world if only people get past the consciousness of it. It is like going back to the Regency era :) However, it is rather daunting to reeducate the present generation as it is difficult to teach an old dog new tricks. With the young, it is much easier to mold them while they are still able to absorb knowledge with open minds.

Foreign teachers aren't all that incomprehensible

A local expressed dismay at how some students had problems understanding the verbal accents of foreign teachers. They just need more time, as the Minister replied. Some Singaporeans can be too impatient at times. Technology may be rampant but effectiveness comes with time. Instant gratification is not parallel to humanity. We will only know whether someone makes a good friend after we have known him for some time.

I was exposed to lecturers of different nationalities in my university. I had lecturers from England, Ireland, America and India. I found the Irish and the Indian accents most difficult to understand, but after some time, I could catch on to them and had no problems understanding my lecturers.

Mr Lui, the Minister, also spoke about grooming truly bilingual locals. I am blessed to realise that I am bilingual, as I can understand newspaper articles in English and Chinese.

Appalling male encounters in the UAE

My dad and I were in the same lift as a male Saudi Arabian. He looked well-educated but his form of education was deviant from what I have learnt. He asked my dad if I was his daughter in this way. "This is your...?" What had he intended to say? Wife? Then he asked, "So do you...?" I had a feeling he was implying incestous behaviour between us. To males in Saudi Arabia, that is common. In my country, it is illegal. A daughter had recently been charged for having physical relations with her father. I answered him very loudly, saying, "Huh?!" He kept quiet after that.

At the airport, my dad was ordering ice-cream from the parlour counter and the staff member, seeing that he was a tourist, wanted to entertain him by serving it in the Turkish manner. My dad was impressed and applauded his stunts. A refined-looking male Saudi Arabian who was reading a book at the table next to mine, went up to the counter and asked the staff member to reduce the noise level. He probably saw the staff member as the cause of my dad's applause and also did not dare to ask my dad to keep quiet.

The little group was shocked and not even a squeak came out of their mouths after that. I, on the other hand, was raging within. How preposterous! So what if he was reading a literature text? I am a Literature major too. That is still no excuse to be such an insufferable and rude creature!! Yes, I am quoting from Lizzy Bennet's opinion of Mr Darcy after reading his letter to her, but I will never fall for that idiotic Arabian. I was so mad that I quickly finished up my ice-cream and remarked very loudly that I did not want to be in the parlour any longer. After we left, I let loose a torrent of negative but civilized adjectives about the man. Even my dad could not help doing the same. It is people like that whose obsessive pride in their academia causes them to be such peacocks, who irritate me to no end.

Dismaying exploitation of charity

The Boys' Brigade has a yearly Sharity Gift Box programme for the needy. A used black bra was among the 'donated' items. I am immune to it and yet flabbergasted at it. This is a paradox, yes.

I have read about locals doing this more than once but my shock is due to the fact that this is the first time I had bought new items for the Gift Box recipients, and this act just undermines mine. There were expired food and second-hand clothes as well, but this blew my breath away. It is a personal lingerie item which should not be given as a present. This just adds to other similar items like broken toys, dirty clothes and rotten rice. All are astoundingly repulsive.

The recipients are just like the people we give presents to: family, friends and colleagues. They don't deserve such items. Besides, this only serves to give the volunteers more work in picking them out before wrapping the rest of the items. Such selfishness is too terrible to behold.

A letter was written in response to the trash donated to the Salvation Army. Even typing this sentence out appalls me. Those that equally repulse me are: dead plants, chairs without legs, television sets with cracked screens, couches with dubious stains and stuffing protruding, one shoe and a bicycle with no wheels. What callousness on the donors' part! These are meant to be sold to customers! They may be less financially able as the donors are, but they certainly deserve to have products that are sold to them in good condition!

The irony is that the writer witnessed donors dumping a cracked plantpot into the donation bin while acting guiltily about it. If they knew it was wrong, why did they still do it? Senseless people! I like the way the writer ended his letter though. He brought up the possibility of their need to patronise the Salvation Army in future. That would be a moment I look forward to.

Twitter's outreach

This is not about the benefits or effects of Twitter, but rather about an article pertaining to a mother using it while her son was being saved from drowning. This particular phrase has already warranted protests by now, I am sure. However, while I was reading the article, I actually found nothing wrong with her act.

The paramedics were trying to revive her son and she went on Twitter only to ask for prayers for him. There is nothing wrong with this. When he passed on, she went on the website to announce it. Again, it can be a form of asking for prayers for his soul and of trying to gain emotional support. It can also be an update to her previous post.

I cannot fathom why there is outrage at her acts. One of the reasons is because she shared something very personal on Twitter. Some of the statuses on Facebook are even more personal! There is no justification, really. I feel that there was no need for her to remove the posts due to unfounded social pressure.

KPO's hopeless at providing basic customer service

The fact that its name was blatantly mentioned in this letter shows the anger the customer felt towards the owner. I don't blame her. The owner may have been unhappy at the police's arrival which disrupted his business operations, but there was no need to raise his voice at a customer who was feeling anxious over her lost handphone. How insensitive is that? He gave her no 'face' by doing so in front of the people in the restaurant. The police's act was hidden from plain sight and so his fuss was unnecessary. It was good that she stood up to him and asked him if she was a customer too. With that question, he knew that he had lost the battle and left the scene.

She brought up a good point by citing the service charge each table of guests must pay as part of the total bill. Such a charge is presently made compulsory but the owner had acted in a way that made it only right for her service charge to be waived.

Ris Low's new venture

I have always been innately critical of her even though I try to be objective in sizing her up. Her latest plan is holding her own version of a beauty pageant. The three awards given out during the pageant are already being done so in legitimate settings. Isn't she not adhering to copyright issues here? She may just get sued for it. Also, she seems strangely proud of it when she labels her pageant as "grand" and "national". Hers is not the only one like that, if it is even legitimate in the first place.

Confusion ensues too when she uses award titles like Gorgeous Young Lady, Hulky Dashing Man and Beautiful Married Woman to describe Miss Singapore, Mr Singapore and Mrs Singapore. Why not just use these self-made labels? At least she won't have to contend with copyright issues. She claims that the three winners can go on to compete on the international platforms. Will it seriously happen? She will have to liaise with the international organizers about her "legitimate" pageant and its winners. Will they even approve of it, much less agree to it?

She seems too coy when asked to reveal more details and the number of sponsors pertaining to her pageant. It shows that her venture may just fall through, perhaps due to the lack of adequate preparation or the lack of sponsors who have seen through its inconcrete nature.

It is one thing to bounce back from adversity with the lessons learnt from prior experiences, but it is another thing to do it in such a dubious manner which will only lead to a greater fall. She has advertised her own grooming classes for women who are thinking of making it big in beauty pageants but seriously, a person who plans to hold such things should not only be adept in language skills but also have a moral character.

Ingratitude personified at its greatest

A Chinese national minimart owner donated $20 000 worth of groceries to the needy out of the kindness of his own heart, but his gesture was not appreciated and was even complained about. Such ungrateful locals! He took the trouble to do it even though he could have been like any other minimart owner. Is it so hard to say even a word of thanks?! Some even lament the insufficiency of the goods and the fact that he did not open his minimart early in the morning. The audacity and greed of such people stun me. Some others take advantage of him by hoping to get a salary through working for him or by attempting to get free goods in pretending to be blind.

At the same time, I feel a comment was misinterpreted by him and his wife. The lady who explained why they should not have given free groceries is not wrong. The recipients will just use those goods to earn a profit for themselves.

After such ingratitude and unscrupulous reactions to his good deed, he has learnt his lesson and limited his donations to once per month. :) Still, his aspirations have soared to the skies. He wants to host a free clinic for old people at his minimart. These 2 businesses don't complement each other though. The free delivery service sounds feasible but the free set of cheap toothpaste and toothbrush to those aged over 50 will probably cause complaints again, knowing how materialistic most locals are.

His plans are noble but I hope such goodwill will survive this cynical society around him.

An update on him was reported some time later. He started a free breakfast service and again, people started to complain. They chose to see the flaws in his project instead of appreciating his compassionate heart. Granted, he had chosen the wrong setting to carry it out, but the criticism smacks of insensible ingratitude. He has now planned to change the setting to a stall.

He is unbelievably understanding towards his critics and feels that the reason for their criticism is due to the fact that he had not met their expectations. What expectations? The people who complain are the financially stable ones. His compassion was not originally extended to them.