Right Place, Right Time (Post #7)

It is the beginning of a new academic year and I am heading for my first ES2007S lesson. With trepidation I open the door to the tutorial room. What greets my eyes is the sight of students with seemingly glum faces and a stern looking Caucasian lecturer. I silently berate myself for making a poor choice of tutorial group.

Not long after, the lecturer flashes the first of his presentation slides and my face turns red. Somehow, I am in the wrong tutorial room. I excuse myself, beat a hasty retreat, and begin to doubt that the venue of the class is accurately reflected on the ES2007S website.

I discovered my mistake a short while later. ES2007S lessons do not begin until the second week of the semester. To compound the problem, the tutorial group that I had initially signed up for had been combined with another group. Thus, lessons were to be held at a different venue. I was literally at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Returning to the present, I look back and know that I have made the right choice in module and tutorial group. Through ES2007S, I have not only learnt skills which I can apply in most areas of my life, I have also had the pleasure of getting to know twelve friendly and supportive individuals through our interactions in the classroom and from sharing our personal experiences in our blogs.

What initially drew me to this module were the lessons on resume/application letter writing and job interview which I felt would be of great relevance to me as I prepare to enter the workforce. However, I have gained much more from this module than expected.

In particular, I now appreciate the usefulness of giving detailed feedback as both the giver and the receiver stand to benefit from it. By being able to identify strengths in others' work, I can learn from their strengths. On the flip side, by letting them know their weaknesses they can likewise improve as well.

After three short months, we have reached the end of our journey together. As we part ways, I want to first and foremost thank Brad for his unceasing efforts at encouraging interaction in our class and for sharing with us interesting anecdotes of his experiences.

I would also especially like to thank Sheryl, Von Von and Ken Ken (Jie Jie or Mah Mah just sounds so wrong) for their hard work and for being such great company as we worked on assignments together. (Thanks also for tolerating my weirdness!)

Finally, I want to thank everyone from Group 9 for learning and growing with me. I am truly glad to have taken ES2007S with all of you as you guys have proven to be a perceptive and tactful bunch. May our paths cross again someday!

Sway With Me (Post #6)

The presentation I gave on Tuesday was the best that I have given so far in my life. However, there are some things that I know I could have done better. Sadly, this presentation is the best only because my previous attempts at presenting were mostly disasters.

You may be wondering why my previous experiences were so negative. I attribute it in part to my lack of preparation in the past. The other part of my negative experience lies with the audience. Occasionally, I get an unresponsive audience who look as though they would rather be somewhere else. At such times, I cannot help but wonder what I could be doing wrong such that I am losing their attention. By doing so, my train of thought inevitably gets derailed. Thus, credit has to go to the supportive audience I had the pleasure of presenting to on Tuesday. You gave your rapt attention, which made me feel at ease and that really helped me continue presenting (somewhat) smoothly.

However, like I said before, I do feel I could have done better. On a few occasions, I had some difficulty in expressing my thoughts fluently. What I said probably came out as pidgin English which would grate on more discerning ears. When that happened, I felt it was imperative that I continued to speak confidently rather than worry about my lapse in fluency. After all, as we have learnt in class, people are more aware of non-verbal cues and the tone of voice than what is actually being said.

I would also like to share that Evonne informed me that I was pacing back and forth while presenting. She commented that it was as though I was dancing while presenting. This came as a big surprise to me as I did not notice that I was moving about at all. I guess that on a subconscious level, my body had to find an outlet for all my pent up nervous energy.

Thank you everyone once again for your attentiveness during my presentation. Is there anything else that you feel I can improve upon?

Evaluating Intercultural Behaviour (Post #5)

It is about a year ago and I am in an NUS project group consisting of Indian, Burmese and Singaporean students. We are meeting to discuss ideas for our engineering project. In the midst of an engaging discussion, I suddenly find my train of thought derailed as I am speaking. An Indian group member is verbally agreeing with what I am saying (by saying "yes", "okay" etc.), yet she is shaking her head. This incongruity between speech and action leaves me feeling confused.

Unsure of what to make of her odd behaviour, I get straight to the point and ask her if she disagrees with what I am saying. Her eyes grow large and her expression reveals surprise as she denies that she disagrees with me. I follow up by asking her why she was shaking her head in disagreement while I was speaking. Her eyes widen to the extent that I fear they will pop out of their sockets and she vehemently denies that she was shaking her head in disagreement. The atmosphere is tense as the rest of the group observes our exchange silently.

To break the uneasy silence and to better explain my stand, I begin to mimic the head shaking movement that she did. My manoeuvre is successful, but not in the way I expect as some group members spontaneously burst out laughing after that. My confusion reaches a climax at this point. After the laughter dies down, another Indian group member offers an explanation: in the Indian culture, head movements are used to show that someone is listening actively.

In hindsight, based on my limited knowledge of a different culture, I should not have jumped to the conclusion that my group member was disagreeing with me. The misunderstanding would have been resolved sooner if I had not applied my cultural bias to the situation and had just asked her plainly why she was shaking her head. This is a lesson that I can apply as I encounter people from different cultures in my life journey.

Heal The World (Post #4)

Imagine a teenage boy, standing alone at the entrance of a shopping centre and restlessly waiting for the rain to subside. As he waits, the frozen foodstuffs contained in his shopping bags are slowly defrosting and it adds to his obvious agitation. Out of nowhere, a stranger comes by and gives the boy an umbrella. The stranger then goes his own way.

I am the recipient of that random act of kindness described above. Experiencing that made me realise that small gestures can have a profound impact on other people's lives. Having lived in Singapore my entire life, I feel that this is something that most Singaporeans need to realise and act upon.

Since that incident, my senses have been tuned towards recognising when people are in need of help. By helping others in their time of need, I firmly believe that I can cause that same realisation to blossom in others as it did in me. My personal goal is to make the world a better place to live in through the cascading effect of my small gestures.

As the British philosopher Bertrand Russell once said, "No man can be a good teacher unless he has feelings of warm affection toward his pupils and a genuine desire to impart to them what he believes to be of value." As a teacher, I can see myself going the extra mile when necessary and influencing the lives of students positively.

A Teacher By Any Other Name... (Post #3)

Summary Of General Education Officer/Teacher Requirements:

• Possess a passion for teaching
• Know how to engage students in their learning
• Be a good role model and an inspiration to students
• Able to prepare students for the challenges of life
  

(Adapted from http://www.moe.gov.sg/careers/teach/)



Application Letter:

Seah Wen Jun
Blk 728 Clementi West Street 2 #02-418
Singapore 120728

6 September 2009

Mdm Peh Tzu Feng
Manager, Recruitment Unit
Recruitment and Placement Branch
Ministry of Education
1 North Buona Vista Drive
Singapore 138675

Dear Mdm Peh,

I am writing to introduce myself as I am interested in joining the Ministry of Education as a General Education Officer. I will be graduating in December 2009 from the National University of Singapore with a Bachelor's Degree in Engineering (Computer Engineering). Hence, I will be able to start work from mid-December 2009 onwards.

Throughout my life I have taught my peers informally, be it in academics or in sports, as sharing my knowledge with others gives me a great sense of satisfaction and purpose. As a result, I find myself passionately drawn towards teaching as a career. Additionally, being able to act as a role model for others and having the opportunity to impart the right values to others is a dream of mine. I can be a good role model as I have proven myself trustworthy, responsible and dependable whilst holding the dual portfolio of Class Treasurer and Volleyball Club Quartermaster when I was in Junior College.

From my stint as Captain for my faculty's pool/billiards team, I have developed and applied leadership, organisational and management skills. These are skills that I trust will help me to lead and engage students on a journey of learning and discovery. Furthermore, while I was serving my National Service in a unit dealing with administrative matters, I was voted as the unit's Best Staff of the Year. Therefore, this proves that I am congenial, affable and in possession of a strong work ethic. With these personality traits, skills and experiences I believe I am well equipped to handle the teaching and administrative duties of a General Education Officer.

I look forward to hearing from you again and I am available for an interview at any time, except on the 2nd of November. In the unfortunate event that there are no vacancies for full time teaching staff, I would be more than happy to take on a part time teaching position. Please feel free to reach me by email (seah.wen.jun@gmail.com) or by mobile (93667276).

Thank you for taking the time to read my application letter.

Yours sincerely,



Seah Wen Jun

Caught Between A Rock And A Hard Place (Post #2)

Over a year ago, I had to do a group project as part of my degree requirements in NUS. The group consisted of 2 Singaporeans, inclusive of myself, 1 Chinese National, *Zhang, and 1 Indian National, *Kumar.

(*Their names have been changed to protect their identities.)

There was a language barrier within the group, since Zhang's command of English was limited. Furthermore, the 2 Singaporeans had a poor grasp of Mandarin, and could not help in accurately translating Zhang's thoughts for Kumar to understand. Thus, Zhang had to explain his ideas in very halting English which probably added to his frustration. In hindsight, Zhang probably felt alienated from the rest of the group due to this barrier.

Eventually, things came to a head as the project deadline loomed. Zhang and Kumar had differing ideas for how the project should be presented and a heated argument ensued, since both were adamant that their idea was better. We ended the meeting before things got out of control and decided to settle the matter by voting on the best idea the next day.

Later that day, both Zhang and Kumar contacted me separately and groused about the shortcomings of each other. I could sense that they were trying to get me to support their idea. I felt like I was being yanked, in both directions, off the fence I was sitting comfortably on.

I decided to side with Kumar, as did the other group member, and we let Zhang know the reasons for this the following day. But after that confrontation, the fire went out of Zhang's eyes and he hardly contributed for the rest of the project. Retrospectively, I wonder if we made Zhang feel like his contribution wasn't valued in our project group.

How would you have handled this situation if you were in my shoes?

Some Advice To Give On How To Be Insensitive (Post #1)

Communication skills have long been something I have neglected in my everyday life. It was some time ago, when I started wooing a girl, that I realised how important being able to effectively communicate my thoughts and feelings were.

Without going into too much detail, the situation was like this: she asked me what I felt about her looks while we were conversing via instant messaging. I, being insensitive, naive and honest, gave her my most objective opinion. Even though I was extremely attracted to her and had eyes for no other girl, I simply told her that she scored a “B” grade based on my female grading system (don't ask!). Big mistake.

The meaning I intended to convey was, “I find you pleasant looking and I am attracted to you, not so much because of how you look, but rather because of who you are.” Unfortunately, it never occurred to me that my intended message was incompletely transmitted, since she never asked for clarification at the time.

A few weeks later, I learnt from her what went through her mind upon hearing the message. It was along the lines of, “This guy has a grading system. I will have to work hard on my looks to stay attractive in his eyes. That seems very tiring. I just want to be myself.” At last, she finally gave feedback to my original message and this allowed me to address the misunderstanding. How the relationship progressed between the girl and I is a story for another time.

Looking back, it was this episode that helped me realise how difficult communicating effectively is, since it requires both parties in a conversation to play their part. To sum up, effective communication skills are important to me as I can improve my interpersonal relationships, be it at the workplace or in my personal life, by reducing misunderstandings.

Hello World!

Coming soon, confused ramblings. Or well explained message. It's all a matter of perspective.