Default title
from Study Room https://ift.tt/32nHwiQ
Author: Wallace
If you have been on social media today, you would have seen the video of Quaden from Australia. This nine-year old was crying incessantly, telling his mother he wanted to die, because of all the bullying in school. To my students: remember never to bully your classmates because they are different. Your peer may be taller, shorter, more effeminate or simply have some pimples but that doesn’t justify any cruel treatment. When we bully someone who is different, it says more about ourselves than about the person we are bullying. It simply shows how insecure we are and what a wimp we are. I can think of no other reasons. *** Dear Quaden, I am sorry this has to happen to you. I see that CEO of Singapore-based ONE Championship and Evolve MMA gym, Chatri Sityodtong has offered you a ticket to Singapore. If you are in Singapore, please ping us too. We will gather a group of our most fun-loving students to attend classes with you if you like. If not, my students and I will love to hang out with you for a day, maybe at Univeral Studios Singapore or just eat the most delicious durians. Whatever you want, for a day. Have lots of fun in peace, knowing we will never call you names or treat you badly. Welcoming you to Singapore in advance. Till then, stay strong. The whole world is rooting for you. Love, Wallace, Wei and all the teachers, students and parents from Study Room #teamquaden #quadenbayles #dwarfismawareness
If you have been on social media today, you would have seen the video of Quaden from Australia. This nine-year old was crying incessantly, telling his mother he wanted to die, because of all the bullying in school. To my students: remember never to bully your classmates because they are different. Your peer may be[…]
Recently, I got my P6 students to work on a seemingly easy composition topic: an unpleasant surprise. A few criteria: – must be unpleasant – protagonist must not have expected it Two common mistakes: 1. Unpleasant surprise Finding my house in a mess is unpleasant. Buying A but getting B is unpleasant. However, finding your friend murdered is not an unpleasant surprise. Sure it is unpleasant. But it’s so serious it is a tragedy. Note the severity of the “surprise” or risk going out of point. 2. If you are writing about yourself as a protagonist, and your friend gets an unpleasant surprise, how did you know he was surprised if you were not with him in the story? In such a case, best not to write in first person so it removes the question about how you would have known how the other character had felt. Share this if you find this useful. #fridaywritingtip
Recently, I got my P6 students to work on a seemingly easy composition topic: an unpleasant surprise. A few criteria: – must be unpleasant – protagonist must not have expected it Two common mistakes: 1. Unpleasant surprise Finding my house in a mess is unpleasant. Buying A but getting B is unpleasant. However, finding your[…]
My 15 year-old daughter is always on instagram and now tiktok. I have tried putting curfews on phones and even confiscated them. It doesn’t work and it has soured our relations. What should I do? Answer: Before we tackle this issue, let’s answer these questions first. 1. Are you always on the phone on whatsapp with your parent-support group or facebook or candy crush? 2. Were you studying 24/7 when you were younger as a student? If your answer is “yes” to any of the two questions, then you don’t have the right to tell your child what to do. The argument that you are an adult isn’t valid. For me, even when I am on my laptop doing work, I go onto FB every now and then, hindering my progress. In worst-case scenarios, I have to remove the wifi to focus. Social media is addictive. When I was a child, I had such addictions too. I was glued to radio then (yes, I am a dinosaur); my mum once removed my radio’s cord. (once again showing my age. Radio with a cord!) I am not saying children shouldn’t learn to focus. However, the often-my-way-is-the-best-way rhetoric doesn’t gel with teenagers because we are hypocritical if caught behaving in similar ways. Age doesn’t give us the right to do things they are not allowed to. If you stop them from smoking because it is unhealthy, you shouldn’t be smoking too. If you tell them drinking is bad, you shouldn’t drink too. If you ask them to sleep early, you should be sleeping early too. No one likes being told what to do and teens are more resourceful than you think. A parent once confiscated her son’s phone but I saw him IG stories by using his mum’s old phone. Instead of a blanket censorship, be reasonable and set rules that both you and your child adhere to. For instance, she has to put away the phone when she is doing her homework. Similarly, when you are working from home, you have to put away your phone if your job doesn’t require it. Or perhaps, there should be no phones for anyone in the family during dinner or after 10pm. Whatever consequence she faces for breaching the rules will apply to you too. It shouldn’t be just targeted at the child. Make her feel an equal in the family. Try it! #thurswithwei
My 15 year-old daughter is always on instagram and now tiktok. I have tried putting curfews on phones and even confiscated them. It doesn’t work and it has soured our relations. What should I do? Answer: Before we tackle this issue, let’s answer these questions first. 1. Are you always on the phone on whatsapp[…]
21, 25, 33, 49, 81, x We asked this question a few weeks ago on our IG TGIF quiz. Can you answer this? 31 percent of respondents got this wrong. Answer in the comment. #maths #psle
21, 25, 33, 49, 81, x We asked this question a few weeks ago on our IG TGIF quiz. Can you answer this? 31 percent of respondents got this wrong. Answer in the comment. #maths #psle from Study Room https://ift.tt/38G7mkt
We posed this question for our #tgifquiz yesterday. About 46% of the respondents think this standing broom viral trick is real and I don’t blame them. After all, this was forwarded by friends, you tried it on the day itself and it worked. The answer? This is a fake- the phenomenon can happen on any day; we can do it on Christmas and call it a Christmas miracle. What’s the tell-tale sign? Why would an important agency like NASA issue something so frivolous? And if it were true, why didn’t you read it on the news but instead got it via some dubious copy-pasted WhatsApp message? A simple google search will show reputable news sites such as BBC and Forbes debunking this #fakenews. During this #covid19 outbreak, avoid forwarding any WhatsApp messages. You can subscribe to @gov.sg WhatsApp messages if you really want to get your news via this medium. Otherwise, trust official press releases and news reports from credible sources. Stop forwarding messages that are copied and pasted by someone with the call-to-action message “forward this to someone else now”! They are almost always fake news. In this period where everyone is feeling a little jittery, be socially responsible. Do not spread rumors, and indirectly spread fear and panic. If anyone forwards you messages, educate them immediately. #nomoreforwardedmessagepls #nomorefakenews #sgunited
We posed this question for our #tgifquiz yesterday. About 46% of the respondents think this standing broom viral trick is real and I don’t blame them. After all, this was forwarded by friends, you tried it on the day itself and it worked. The answer? This is a fake- the phenomenon can happen on any[…]
Just to lighten your mood if it had been a stressful week, especially with the #covid19 virus. We expanded recently and got a new unit at Toa Payoh to meet demand for our students. We told the contractor to remove the signage of the previous tenant for obvious reasons. After my lesson at 8pm, I went to take a look at the progress. Top: before Bottom: after ?
Just to lighten your mood if it had been a stressful week, especially with the #covid19 virus. We expanded recently and got a new unit at Toa Payoh to meet demand for our students. We told the contractor to remove the signage of the previous tenant for obvious reasons. After my lesson at 8pm, I[…]
A waitress tells me her restaurant is doing so badly that the boss is encouraging staff to take leave. A cabbie told me he has been roaming the streets with the vehicle empty as “everyone is not going out.” It doesn’t help that one of the confirmed cases of the coronavirus was a taxi driver. A property agent friend tells me the market has been quiet as the rich Chinese nationals are kept away for now. At least 25 countries have infected cases and about 60,000 have caught the virus in China alone. The director of US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expects the spread to continue beyond 2020, according to a CNN report. It seems like this could be the way of life for the time being. Temperature checks from hospitals to shopping malls, a ban of parents to enter education centers to avoid overcrowding and the rush for toilet paper purchases at supermarkets- these little inconveniences could be here to stay. If there’s any silver lining, it is how everyone has been united behind the cause. At Study Room, parents have been understanding when we impose the no-parent rule. Some even message to ask how they can help, volunteering to take temperatures for us. Through this saga, everyone is starting to adopt more hygienic practices. Our students automatically head to the sink to wash their hands with soap; people who are ill choose to stay indoors and wear masks. It is also a great chance for education- I took the chance to repeatedly remind friends and family who forward me unverified messages about the virus to stop spreading rumors. The current situation is not ideal, but let’s take solace in the small gains. Remember not to avoid a normal life completely. Life has to go on. We just need to be more careful and wash our hands more often. Remember to show compassion to those in the frontline. Without them, we would not be able to fight the virus. Remember to play our part, be it volunteer at food shelters as they lack helpers now or simply not maliciously selling masks at a profit or hoarding instant noodles. We had gone through SARs. We can go through this. Be patient and there will be light at the end of the tunnel. (Photo credit: Wallace’s son Wes) #sgunited #coronavírus
A waitress tells me her restaurant is doing so badly that the boss is encouraging staff to take leave. A cabbie told me he has been roaming the streets with the vehicle empty as “everyone is not going out.” It doesn’t help that one of the confirmed cases of the coronavirus was a taxi driver.[…]
My P1 son has a personal tutor; he comes once a week to guide him in English. I am from China so I don’t speak the language. It’s tough for me to teach him. The tutor is recommending the lesson twice a week because his foundation is too weak. Do you think I should agree? Answer: For languages, the more you practise and get exposure, the easier it is for you to improve. Sure, twice a week if you can afford it. Works even better if it’s five times a week. However, that said, not many people can spend that kind of money for a tuition session daily. Thus, you need to strategise. If it is a group tuition, the teacher should have plans on how to help your son. Since it is a 1-1 tuition in your case, make full use of it by utilising the tutor to answer doubts that you have, not to go through what the school teacher is already doing. Because few of us can have enough money for more sessions, this is the most cost effective plan. Here are a few tips. 1. Don’t JUST depend on the tutor. Yes, you paid good money, but remember, a child’s success depends on the “alliance” with the child himself, the teacher and the parents. The child must be willing to learn and the teacher must guide and be patient. The parents spend the most time with the child, and are the only people who can monitor their revision, especially at a young age. If you are thinking you can just “dump” the kid at the tutor’s and not do any work at home for a P1 kid, that’s not really possible. 2. Read for half an hour daily It is okay if you don’t understand the words. Write it down and google it. If you still do not understand certain contexts after reading, pose the question to the tutor. The National Library has many great books and you can even borrow online versions. 3. Use more It’s true that you come from a Chinese-speaking background, but that shouldn’t be an excuse. It is tougher indeed, but life isn’t fair. Instead of watching Chinese programs, he can watch English TV shows at home. Vice versa for those keen in improving the Chinese language. 4. Don’t give up He’s just in P1. The curriculum is relatively simple. Build the foundation and life will be easier later. Good luck! #thurswithwei
My P1 son has a personal tutor; he comes once a week to guide him in English. I am from China so I don’t speak the language. It’s tough for me to teach him. The tutor is recommending the lesson twice a week because his foundation is too weak. Do you think I should agree?[…]
Amidst the COVID-19 scare, I will like to share a more heartwarming story with you today. Keep our minds off this horrible pandemic. Our teachers discuss class developments with us weekly and updates us if there’s any red flags with the students. This is a story shared by our weekday & Sun Primary School Maths teacher Lay Koon. In her class, there is a boy who’s pretty restless and unable to focus. In a class, he would fill his bottle twice and go to the toilet another two times. Unwilling to sit still to do his work, his classmates actually encourages him to do them, and through peer influence, he eventually did them. Despite the fact that the student is distracted, LK didn’t scold him but instead, tried different ways to get his attention and convey the concepts to him. At the end of the class, he surprised LK with a simple drawing and then he said, “Thank you for not scolding me. I love you, teacher.” The boy is still work-in-progress but we hope we can get to him soon. Thankful to LK for her patience and his classmates for not ostracizing him, but inspiring him instead.
Amidst the COVID-19 scare, I will like to share a more heartwarming story with you today. Keep our minds off this horrible pandemic. Our teachers discuss class developments with us weekly and updates us if there’s any red flags with the students. This is a story shared by our weekday & Sun Primary School Maths[…]