Jarod Yong

Their first time at the beach. No point holding ourselves back. Anyway, this jumping photo has been a trademark of this programme since 2013 . My students have spent most of their lives in the middle of nowhere. A majority have never been to a beach so you can imagine how much they lack exposure to the outside world. One reason for this is their low socio-economic background & rampant illiteracy in their community. They also lack role models of whom they can emulate & imitate. It is sad that most of the brightest students end up getting nowhere near achieving their greatest potential. Some of the bright girls hook up with the not-so-smart boys & end up with a bulging belly. Some of them experience culture shock when they leave for their studies & drop out of matriculation/university. Some of them get caught up in social ills. At the very end, those who do make it are very very few. To address these issues, in 2012, I decided to personally mentor the PMR student...

The feeling you get when your students surprise you. Isn't it the awesomest? Firstly, let me wish all of you reading this a Happy Valentines' Day. I'll be celebrating it alone in the jungle in my boxers with a glass of red wine & my own cooking. I guess it is apt that I share something romantic on a day when men around the globe make a desperate attempt at romance to make up for 364 days of neglect. My students did something for me today which brought me to tears. And being the machismo man I am, I did my best to hide it & I suppose I hid it well. I think. I really love it when my students surprise me. They may not do it intentionally but, honestly, in this profession, you'll see something every once in a while that surprises you & gives you hope for the human race. But, I'm not the kind of guy who is easily surprised, you know? A man's got to have standards. Anyway, what did my students do? Did they give me a big expensive shiny present? If...

If you're asking me what the heck PP is, please read up on Pentaksiran Pusat with the slides below. 3 pentaksiran pusat from laichunseong If the slides are not clear enough, this blog post  &  this blog post  should provide you with more than you need. p/s: They have not come up with a name for the exam yet. For the time being, it's designated PP (Pentaksiran Pusat). And, for god's sake, stop saying PBSMR which is based purely on hearsay & picked up by our oh so independent & trustworthy media!!! ~~~~~ What does this mean for the English Language in Form 3? There will be an exam in October in a format very different from what was in PMR. The new exam will test the 4 language skills of your students. i.e. Listening, Speaking, Reading & Writing. Make sure you polish these skills this year. Those teaching Form 1 & 2 would do well to start early. Also, do implement your understanding of the new format in the coming Mid-Semester Exams. ...

taken from livescience.com How many of you have heard of the Parable of the Howling Dog? I am reminded of this as I repaired something at school today. I read about it a few years ago from ' Even A Moron With A Dream ' by Pathman Senathirajah & was blown away. I think this parable will give everyone from all walks of life something to reflect upon. ~~~~~ Once upon a time, there was this horrible howling sound coming from a wooden house. All day & all night a dog could be heard howling loudly & painfully. Neighbours felt really sorry for the dog. When they peeked out of their windows, they'd see the dog howling away at the front porch of the wooden house. He didn't look injured or hungry so they decided to mind their own business & let it pass. However, days, weeks & months would pass with the dog still howling painfully away. It never stopped. One day, a neighbour had had enough & decided to walk up to the house to confront the owners. ...