30 May 2012
I spent the past few months relief teaching PE. The novel part of the experience was actually a change of perspective, now from a teacher's point of view rather than a student's. I really feel that no student is malevolent. Rebellious, maybe, but not to the point of anarchy. They are not evil. True, they may cause trouble. But in their eyes, they have their own (unfounded) reasons to do what they do. It just takes time to make them think things through.The rapport and camaraderie built during the months of working in the department culminated in the last week of the term. We brought each other out for lunch from Monday to Thursday (although I missed the one on Thursday) to try out different places to eat. We indulged in things like Western food, Korean food, desserts, ice cream buffet, Japanese noodles. Even before this food rampaging, we always ate our meals together in the canteen. It became something of a unsaid agreement that we would try our best to be present during breakfast and lunch. A communal thing.
The annual sports carnival marked the end of the term, and also the end of my tenure in the school. I have to say that the students who organized the event put in a tremendous amount of effort to make it work. The atmosphere was electrifying and the mood celebratory - this alone already guarantees the success of the event. And though there were many areas that could have been improved on, I feel that the choice by the department to allow the students to run the show by themselves was an excellent one. The students will grow more and learn more with the experience than if they were spoon-fed.
It's hard to think of myself as being like them, just two, three or four years ago. What is it that makes a teacher? Is it just the title that is given to me? What do they see in me that makes me separates me from them? In truth, I may not be so much more different from them. Does age make a teacher? Is it the way teachers carry themselves?
We all have something to teach. That makes all of us teachers of sorts. That being said, I want to thank my students for teaching me the importance of sincerity and independence. To my colleagues, thank you for the guidance and showing me how different people can come together to make a system work.
13 May 2012
When does a person become liable for his actions?Is it the fault of the child or parents if the child misbehaves?
When a grown man commits a crime, he is held responsible for what he did.
When a child refuses to listen to reason and insists on anarchy, do you blame the guardian?
Where does responsibility starts and ends?
Perhaps there comes a time when a person achieves sufficient maturity in his thought processes to differentiate right from wrong. To be able to make informed choices of his own. This happens, perhaps, during the adolescent years. Certainly, not everyone will mature at the same time.
What about those fringe cases where the child was never taught the difference between right and wrong by the guardians? What if they were so indulged in and so protected that they never had the chance to learn?
In ages long past and in the decades recently gone by and even today, one can easily hear the older generation lamenting the lack of quality in the newer generations. Whose fault is it, that the young bloods cannot fulfill the expectations of ones who raised them?
I think it incredulous to believe that my elders and teachers should be responsible for my own actions. In that case, their own ancestors should be liable for raising them in such a manner, since that would cause them to care for me the way they did. I could then trace up all the way to the source of my origin - to blame for all my shortcomings and to thank for all my redeeming strengths.
A teacher affects eternity he can never tell, where his influence stops.
- Henry Brooks Adams
Admittedly, a teacher can definitely influence a decision. However, in the end, the choice is ultimately our own - if the concept of free will is to be believed (but that is another matter altogether). I would even go so far as to say that a child makes his or her own decisions, except that at such young ages, they are much more susceptible to the influences of others. All should take responsibility of their actions, regardless. Because if not, who will? God? For creating them as such?
Looks like I am venturing into the misty unknown regions of free will now. Looks like the topic was not a "whole different matter" after all.
Free will - Do we have it? And if we do, when did we start applying it?
09 May 2012
Which is more important: To be satisfied or dissatisfied?Why should this even be a point of contention? Obviously, any half-wit will know that satisfaction is a positive feeling, and will choose accordingly. Is there something else we are missing?
As an example, suppose you received back the grade of your examination and found a large D+ scribbled in red ink over your cover page. Should you be content with your results, or should you feel disappointed at not doing better?
The Swahili saying "Hakuna matata" means there are no worries. Countless times, people have reminded us not to overstress ourselves. "It's okay," they soothe, "you still did a decent job." "Don't worry about that, it's not important." "Just do the minimum, don't waste your time and energy on that."
By the time you strip all the aforementioned quotes down to the core, what remains is an aloof attitude towards all that is life. In essence, lazy.
What I presume the sages and wise men meant when they say that we should be not worry and be content is this: We should accept that some things in life, we cannot change. We should not worry about external conditions that are beyond our control or sway. Take things as they are. And as they come.
Say that you are not happy with a D+, would you be happy with a B-? Where would you stop at being satisfied? What about an A, or would you only settle for an A+?
In competitions, second best is often never enough for the sportsperson. Only champions count. Satisfaction only comes in being first. What is wrong with being second? Or third, or so on and so forth?
Ambitions and dreams are what differentiates simple worker from a passionate one. Because their ambition is so terribly great, they are never satisfied anything short of a resounding success. The hard work they put in must pay off. When it does not, the high hopes they stacked up come tumbling down.
They seek perfection. Even upon claiming their prize, some winners still challenge themselves to break their own records. They want the ultimate performance. That is why a consolation prize does nothing to curb their disappointment. That is why, even the champion may find his win hollow. He knows that he could have done better.
When do you actually know if you have put in your best? Perhaps you could have spent a little more time studying here, or a little more training there. Maybe you should have forced yourself to stay focused then you would not have made that careless mistake. It could have been made better through these little ways, and what if all these small efforts accumulated to a critical improvement on the whole?
The bottom line is this. Unless there is dissatisfaction, there can never be growth. If you are happy with everything, then you will never change and discover the potential for greatness within. Dissatisfaction is good for you. Dissatisfaction will lead you to perfection.
Finally, I hope you are dissatisfied with this post.
07 May 2012
The culture doesn't encourage you to think about such things until you're about to die. We're so wrapped up with egotistical things, career, family, having enough money, meeting the mortgage, getting a new car, fixing the radiator when it breaks - we're involved in trillions of little acts just to keep going. So we don't get into the habit of standing back and looking at our lives and saying, Is this all? Is this all I want? Is something missing?You need someone to probe you in that direction. It just won't happen automatically.
- Excerpt from Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
Renewal is important.
It is okay to lose your way. We all do. The difference lies in whether you choose to find your way back at the earliest possible opportune.