The handicapped are also humans!

An article which ran in the New Paper on this hearing-impaired boy being taunted by his neightbours, caused indignance in me.

It wasn't his fault that he became as such. Life had dealt him this blow and instead of giving him compassion, they make his life worse. Nothing can describe my disgust towards their absolutely repulsive act of writing insults on the walls, addressed to him. This made him stop talking to people altogether.

I had a hearing-impaired student and she is my friend now. She has as beautiful a heart as anyone else, in fact, even more so. I thank God for her employers who appreciate her and look beyond her disability.

Even religious people do such senseless things to the handicapped. Adults who hold high posts in their organizations actually see the mentally-disabled as threats to their precious children. What is religion for if not to show love and compassion to people around?! This same person also shouted at the disabled boy in front of others. He was just reaching out to people of his age, for God's sake!

Others also gossip about this disabled girl and don't want to talk to her. It is not her fault she became as such. Sad to say, they are my friends and it makes me ashamed to know that. All the catechetical lessons have been wasted on them, apparently. Age is not a reason here.

Just in case you think otherwise, I do talk to these two people when I see them and I did tell my friends off for their remarks, though I wish I could have been harsher to them when I did so.

Local female shoppers

It's always interesting to see the way our local women go about their shopping.

They take a long time to look for their items, either alone or with company. They take a longer time in the fitting room when trying out clothes, deciding on whether to buy them or not. They linger on their choices when buying gifts.

When the focus is switched to their company, it is noted that if their companions are men, they present sulky faces behind their backs. I don't blame the men really. Would anyone like it if he was dragged to so many shops which disinterest him and asked to carry bags of purchases not his own? I pity them in fact. Their female companions lack the sensitivity and consideration to ask about how they really feel shopping with them.

Hence, I feel bad asking my male friends to go shopping with me, though some actually don't mind. They find shopping with women fascinating. I go on my own or with female friends.

Experiential teaching of English

I was eating my lunch when this pair of mother and daughter sat beside me. What followed between them was a very interesting observation for me.

There was the shop Polar Puffs nearby and the girl asked her mother the meaning of the word "puffs". Her mother told her they are like cakes and taught her that the word is a noun; a name of something. Her mother also added that the word is a verb too. She gave the example of the Big Bad Wolf.

I was intrigued by the way the mother taught English to her daughter. She used the tangible realities in life as tools. Her daughter had just asked a simple question but she took the chance to expound academically on it.

I, superstitious? Definitely not!

Neville Stack wrote an article in the New Paper about superstitions and some I've heard from people popped into my mind. Still, they don't hinder the way I live because I don't believe in them.

I still walk under ladders, allow black cats to cross my path and visit people on the third day of Chinese New Year, regardless of the fact that they may become my enemies for life. I don't feel any qualms about sweeping the house during Chinese New Year, if it is dirty. The only superstition I was naive enough to believe in due to age was to throw a coin over my back at Rome's Trevi Fountain to have my wish come true. Obviously, I didn't get my wish fulfilled.

So what about you? Are you superstitious?

'Suay, numbskull, brainless, scatterbrain!'

A teacher used such words of a similar nature on a student and encountered an adverse reaction from the student's parent as a result. Was that just a method of motivating the student or a way of venting her frustration on the student? Was she being innovative in using reverse psychology or was she just plain insensitive to the needs and feelings of the student?

Indeed, even parents use such words on their own kids, so what is the issue over teachers using the same words on their kids? It boils down to mere over-protectiveness towards their children. Isn't that practising double standards? It also stems from distrust towards the teachers.

Yes, the current generation of parents, though not all, seem to exhibit this attribute more apparently than those of the earlier generations. They are really spoiling their children, I feel. I was hit on the hand with a ruler and humiliated in front of my classmates in primary school. There were no complaints from my parents. What's wrong with the "old days"?!

This method of teaching will actually prepare the students for the working world. Some bosses can be far more demanding and having an early taste of it will serve only to strengthen the students' resolution in coping with such situations in the future, as well as to build their character. The students will also turn out to be better persons in future, having been tried so much as to attain a higher level of maturity.