Chap Lap

I now officially declare this blog dead.
Reason being that initially some of the members got lazy but up to this point of time, 3 members including myself have proper day jobs which greatly reduces probabilities of chancing upon interesting articles to share. The other member is just being a lazy ass fark.
That being said we are interested in having additions to this blogging team. If interested please let me know and also propose what interests that you would prefer writing about. Articles are not limited to the current categories, as long as the articles are numerous enough to have their own category and attract more readers, it will be added.

You are still able to view our personal blogs. I know mine is active as well as Zizou’s though I cannot say the same for the rest.

Thanks for your support and views!
Until the next time we have interesting stuff to post. Seeya!

Academic success

speaking about high schools…

there’s been some moves lately to abolish the centralized exams that students take, especially at high school level. There is one centralized examination all students take at Primary 6 (around age 12), Form 3 (around age 15) and another one at Form 5 (age 17), and for some, yet another one at Upper Form 6 (around age 19).

although any radical move like this has to be taken with caution, I support it to a certain extent. The current education system of emphasizing on nothing but examinations tends to create an unnecessary culture of kiasu’ism (refusing to lose out) and undue emphasis on memorization.

as an educator, I notice several things about this system.

1.    students can goof off the entire year and just quickly start studying towards the end of the year just before the exams, and usually still come out alright

2.    the emphasis is on memorization, not understanding. There is an old saying that is still revered in educational circles, and it goes something like this: tell me, and I forget; show me, and I remember; involve me, and I understand.  How many essays have I gotten that are basically a regurgitation of my notes, without any proper understanding of the material involved? The educational culture here is as such, memorization is rewarded, if the essay or answer is worded exactly as the examiner wants it, the marks are awarded. It doesn’t really matter if the student actually understood what was asked or taught, only if they remember it.

3.    the parents push their children to score as many A’s as they can, when A’s are not enough, they even push their children to score high A’s. I’ve had parents say that they’re concerned because their children were scoring 92’s and 93’s, when they should be scoring 100’s. And so they send their children to tuition classes every day. Sending them to Chinese schools (I am extremely anti-Chinese school… but that’s a post for some other time) where their homework actually weighs more than they do. Making their children learn and do homework well into the night. I know kids whose daily schedule involves nothing more than school, homework, and tuition classes. No time for play, no time to be a kid. It’s really sad, and robs them of the joy of living. Plenty of time to be stressed out and worry about everything as an adult. No, I’m not advocating ditching homework and all. Just to be reasonable.

Anyway, maybe a review of the educational system wouldn’t be bad. Award more marks to projects, presentations, assignments, etc., instead of all emphasis being put on the examinations. Abolish a few of them, you really only need one centralized examination to determine entrance into university, not 4 of them just to give parents something to gloat about to other parents.

Learn to Read(& Write)

I’m sorry but this was just too good to go unnoticed.
Friend of mine had an interesting encounter with Ah-Long’s (Malaysian term for loan sharks).
Although he had nothing to do with them. I guess it was an honest mistake.
People have to make a living too.

click here to read!

UPSR & PMR, Abolished?

I was reading the newspaper today and came across a couple of articles about people being against the plan of abolishing the Standard 6 examination; UPSR (ujian penilaian sekolah rendah) and the Form 3 examination; PMR (penilaian menengah rendah).

Basically the Malaysian public school system works like this.  A kid at the age of 7 is required to enter Primary School (elementary schools in western countries?) where you start off as Standard 1 (similar to the grading system of western countries). Primary schools consist of Standards 1 to 6 whereby Standard 6 students would be 12 years old.  Standard 6 students are required to take a final examination at the end of their term which is called the UPSR which acts like a grading system which determines your qualification upon entering Secondary Schools (High School).

Secondary School starts from Form 1 (Age 13) to Form 5 (Age 17). Form 3 students are required to take the PMR exam which is like a midway exam to determine which stream you would qualify to enter during Form 4 to Form 5. The streams are Science and Art, with many variants of subjects within those two streams. Form 5 students would then be required to take the SPM exam which is like the final examination which would be your determining factor to be able to enter colleges/universities of your choice.

Malaysia’s education system initially was adopted from the British as they occupied Malaysia during the second World War for a time. Post-Independence, over the years, the system has been changed and not for the better. The standards had been steadily declining, to most people’s suspicions, to make it easier for more students to pass the exams. Worse now is that there are actually plans on abolishing 2 examination phases. Lowering the standards of education does not help anybody but rather hurt the country’s progression towards being a more developed country. If you need to ask why and how then this article is not for you.

A Little Shameless Promotion

Just to let you guys know that I have finally given up on angelfire’s blogging services as most of the time it does not let me gain access to blog. So I am using blogger.com now.

Click on the link on the right column to visit my new blog site!

A Day Out To The Movies

So I watched Frank Miller’s 300 with my cousin today at 1U. While waiting around I saw this poster from a certain angle which made me go ‘wtf’. The only part I edited was the circle which highlights the word.

People I know have been hyping it up. However after finally getting to watch it, I think it is just overrated. The only flavor of that show is its violence and gore. I am not saying anything bad but that is what I made out of the show. It is not a film you would watch with a girl on a date. I especially was disappointed when they cut the scenes with chicks. Oh yeah sure leave the violence and gore of dismembered body parts flying around but take away the chick scenes. *SPOILER ALERT* I can tell you the factor to the persian’s victory; they had ninjas.

Before the show began, they showed a trailer of Pirates 3. It seemed fairly interesting though I hope they did not take all the good scenes and put them in the trailer. I am especially looking forward to watch Chow Yun Fatt’s performance in the show as a chinese pirate guy.

Also, I tasted the Dorayaki for the very first time. Reason being knowing it all my life as Doraemon’s favorite food. Well my curiosity has certainly be cured. It tastes like two pancakes with some sweet paste in the middle.

I felt like posting a shot of my friend’s superb parking skills.

Testosterone is Good!

I have no idea how I stumble upon these interesting articles.
“http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6495211.stm”

Apparently they have created a new patch to increase sexual drives in women. However the wet blanket part is that it is only prescribed to women who have just performed hysterectomy. The patch release a small amount of testosterone into the abdomen where the patch is to be applied.
I guess that is why guys tend to be more interested and driven compared to girls when it comes to sex.

The Youth of The Nation

I found an article at thestar.com.my about the youngsters in this country. The headline gives an impression that the article would be about racial issues however as I read on, it turned out to be a statistics result on the way how youth think. It only goes to show how disappointing the future generation and descendants will turn out. You would expect them to be better than their predecessors because the common conception would be the new would be better than the old. I guess that theory can be thrown right out.

Original article can be found here “http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/3/29/nation/17225671&sec=nation&focus=1”

Stereotypical “Straight A Students”?

So I was reading the newspaper today. One of the articles which are submitted by readers caught my attention and I really wish it did not. However since I read it, I feel compelled to give my response as well as to oppose what this person wrote because I have to strongly disagree with some of the writer’s views.

I will quote exactly what it was written to make it convenient for you guys to be read it.

“I DON’T understand why some people have to condemn straight-A’s students. The As are obtained through their ability and hard work  and should serve as the stepping stone for them to achieve their dreams.
There’s a myth that students who are more active in the co-curricular front possess more leadership qualities than the rest. It is certainly not true, as the posts they hold are mainly because they are popular.
The rat race to get the posts is almost like a popularity contest, as it is mostly based on the number of votes they get from students.
The public universities’ selection of students should be based only on their examination results. We do no want doctors who were active participants in co-curricular activities yet have Bs and Cs on their examination slips.
True, the workforce needs quality and well-rounded graduates but I would like to re-state that the number of posts a student holds  do not determine their character as a whole. If the Government wants to nurture a well-rounded workforce, start by overhauling the education system and offer a holistic education.
It is not right for the students with more posts to have an advantage over the students with none. Please take their hard work into consideration.
Lastly, I would like to proudly proclaim that my younger sister scored 13As in her SPM. She didn’t hold any posts in school, but her peers continue to describe her being sociable, outgoing and an intelligent person, who should serve as a role model for all students.

YVONNE,
Kuala Lumpur.”

Man that was a handful to type. Okay to break it down for you people, there is 7 paragraphs in that article and I will be referring to them in that order.
First paragraph she says that straight As students work hard as well have the ability and should serve “as the stepping stone” for them to achieve their dreams. That is right. One stepping stone. I could not agree more. However I have to disagree in the sense that she makes it sound like getting straight As is so difficult and requires so much “hard work” as she put it. Since she obviously does not bring any evidence of research I will consider whatever she says as assumptions and only her oh-so limited views. It may require “hard work” to get straight As in exams in high schools, in Malaysia. However most of the students I have witness use the method of pure exercise in helps of memorizing things. When asked to explain how certain things work and the reason why they work that way. Most of them will not be able to answer or explain. This is based on my experiences. I do not claim things I cannot back up with grounds and research. The people I have come across in tertiary education, most of them have are straight A students. When I first entered college I used to have this misconception that they were all intelligent. The more I got to know them and as time went by through semesters, their performances and behavior proved otherwise. When it comes to practicality and presentations, they were the least impressive. Their grades in written exams did not distinct much from the average joes. Heck why stop at college students? I have studied abroad in universities. It is the same pattern. I have teamed up with Malaysian students who supposedly have good grades in high school. However when it came to practical work and even a simple task as handling documentation, they were completely at a lost.

Second & third paragraph. She says the people who are active in co-curricular activities tend to possess leadership qualities than the rest is a myth. How blind or ignorant do you have to be to say that it is a myth? People who join co-curricular activities are actually going out there and interacting with other people. Any normal person without an impediment of thinking would sooner or later be more experienced with interacting with different kinds of people with that amount of exposure compared to people who just stay at home studying and going to tuitions. If she had said something like “not everybody who participate in those activities develop leadership skills” then it would be true but to disregard it entirely and to call it a myth, is an insult especially to those who actually did participate in co-curricular activities. Her perspective is, that the reason why these people hold certain posts in a club/society/organization is because they are popular. Now tell me, how does a person who does not have some form of socializing skill (which can be closely related to leadership capabilities) be able to become popular in the first place? A person who has the abilities to lead and handle things but is not good with other people will never be able to be elected for these posts in clubs/societies/organizations so of course the popular ones will be elected.

Fourth paragraph. Oh this one really struck my nerve. She says the public universities’ selection of students should be based only on their examination results. She claims that people do not want doctors who were active participants in co-curricular activities yet have Bs and Cs on their examination slips. It does sound very elitist. However it sounds elitists without justifiable reasons and based on prejudice. To break it down even more. First of all, high schools in Malaysia are different in their way of teaching and also of hiring of teachers furthermore their syllabus keeps changing. It shows instability in the education system. The reality of the situation is that there are more least satisfactory schools than actual decent schools around. It will always be that way. What if a person goes to a school and is a victim of bad education? Will it be his fault and should he suffer the consequences by not being able to enter universities who only accept straight-A students? By the way, what in the world does a doctor having Bs and Cs on his examination “slips” have anything to do with his capability as a dedicated doctor? Well I can only assume the reason why she could only think of a doctor with non-A grades, is the best her mind can come up with, due to her already limiting views. I guess she’s one of those people that think being a doctor is the only way to go. To make money. See? I can claim shit too without having to prove it. I will admit to you all here and now that I was never a good student. I had less than satisfying grades in high school and even in college. However I was fortunate and blessed enough to actually get into a college and then proceed to studying abroad. I can say that I excelled in practical work as in assignments and projects compared to those so called Straight-As students. People should always be given chances to prove themselves. Nobody is perfect as long as they want to continue trying to improve themselves why should they be stopped and be punished by not being accepted into higher education because of their bad grades?

Fifth paragraph. She reiterates that the workforce (now she’s involving the workforce) should not determine people who hold many number of posts as their character definition. I guess she means that not everybody who holds various posts in whatever activities are considered capable and deserving of their job positions. Well if these “Straight As students” would actually have the initiative or “intelligence” to cease the opportunities themselves, there would not be a problem in the first place now would it? She then proceeds to involve the Government saying that they should overhaul the education system; which I agree however also disagree by her need to involve the government. Reason being she was talking about students themselves, saying that Straight-As students should deserve better and blablabla. However now she is saying that the government has something to do with the less than satisfying education system? Is it just me or is there a contradiction somewhere? If she is all out for Straight-As students, it should mean that there are no problems with them. Then why the need for an overhaul of the education system?

Sixth paragraph. I guess she got tired of thinking. She continues to say that it is not right for the students with more posts to have an advantage over the students with none. Look woman. Studying is not everything in life K!? In the working world you do not get paid to merely do as you’re told. You do not get paid to study and get straight As. You do not study and take exams to cure people if in fact thats what you want those people to be; doctors.

It sounds like you have a vendetta against people who participated in co-curricular activities and for whatever reason, I do not know.

“Lastly” she proudly proclaims her sister getting 13As in SPM. Of course she would do that as a cop out attempt to strengthen her views, saying her “peers” continue to “describe” her as being sociable, outgoing and an intelligent person who should serve as a role model for all students.

Why use “peers” and not friends?
Why use “describe” and not some simpler direct meaning word?
Well if she was in fact meaning friends, what friend would say unpleasant things about their friends?
Being sociable and outgoing, anybody can do that. As a friend, who would really stick around when troubles arises? That is if the person does not just study all his/her life.
There are many words in Malaysia that are misused and misinterpreted. I believe “intelligent” is one of them. Being able to get good grades in exams does not make a person intelligent. Being able to come up with different methods which may be better for a solution is an example of being intelligent.

Fast Food, Furious Thinking

I was reading Zizou’s personal blog about Fast Food!
Too busy for this blog eh Zizou? Meh…

The way how government is reacting towards Malaysians eating fast food is kind of weird and slow. It is as though they have no been aware of such things going on. Especially fast food intake. I mean heck, fast food has been around even since some of us were born.

“Educating” the public about how unhealthy fast food is, is kind of late and also undermining the people. It is as though that people do not know about the contents of fat and whatnots in fast food.

Like Zizou said, if people were really interested in being healthy, they would not be continuing their frequent intake on fast food.

I myself admit that I used to like eating fast food a lot. However that has changed due to my resolve in leading a healthier life, as well as trying to be slim hehe.

I am again with Zizou, ignorance is bliss. As long as I do not see for myself the “process” of the “foods” being made and all, and as long as it still taste good, I’ll still eat them.

Instead of doing negative-type of actions regarding this matter which they brought up. They should encourage people to live and eat healthy by having all sorts of promotions and incentives.
In Australia, all the kids and adults are very healthy. They lead healthy lives. They exercise and eat healthy. Why is that? I have noticed that they actually make healthy lifestyles easy and interesting, be it through commercials or marketing schemes in terms of food. One example is, they have juice bars everywhere you go. It’s easy to consume. Just order one and drink. School kids actually queue up at the juice bars to buy their drinks rather than queuing up at fast food places.

Young and old love to exercise be it surfing, jogging and yeah Australian Football.
Anyways I believe that there are better ways to handle this “situation” which they have brought up. Rather than oppress fast food companies from running their businesses, why not create competitive solutions? Wouldn’t this be better for everyone? In a sense that there are more choices and varieties to choose from? Wouldn’t it be like a dictatorship and non-democratic practice to “decide” what is best for the people? Or force a solution because the government thinks it is the only way?