In September, I coached a wonderful group of year 5's from Henry Park school for the raffles institution primary debate competition. Having only a week to prepare, they performed above and beyond and made the quarterfinals in 7th place. By the skin of their teeth I must say.
It was my first time that I've managed to break through to the elimination rounds in 2 years of coaching and it sure was a great feeling. Although they lost the quarterfinals, one of the team members came in sixth place overall (out of at least 100 students who competed) in the speaker rankings!
Belated congratulations to the team- Titus, Ren Ying, Conrad, Rohin and Brandon (and not forgetting Noelle who was part of the research group.
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Sunday, June 8, 2014
Never too late for good news
For the first time in the Secondary Schools competition, I had a student ranked.
One month overdue, already history, but it must be shared.
Number fifteen. Nothing more than praise and happiness directed at the first/second speaker who was the quietest and shyest in class. A humble heart gets you far. Yes, I am truly proud of him for his accomplishment
One month overdue, already history, but it must be shared.
Sunday, March 16, 2014
For this is my cry, my one desire
To see all of you succeed in life, to never have the fear of dreaming big cause there's nothing between you and your dream.
This goes out to my students: Hansel, Benjamin, Nirvain and George (if you happen to read this).
I believe in you that's why I set even tougher challenges and hurdles in round 3. I saw the potential and ability in all of you. We may have registered that loss, let each other down with tensions and emotions at its highest, but at the end of the day, all of you are warriors. You did try. That monster was too big and swallowed us up. We have learned something and all of you are going to get even better. Don't ever stop learning. 'Cause you guys spoke like you owned the room.
Thank you for letting me have the chance to coach you. I genuinely cared for all of you and am I am forever indebted to be your coach for the past month. For I took a chance and ventured into the unknown quitting my previous job and this was indeed the most beautiful thing that I could have ever asked for in life. February-March was the highlight of my life, in my 20s. If I didn't quit that job, I would not be experiencing this beautiful feeling now, and wouldn't change anything in the world for it. Have I ever felt real happiness before? If this is happiness to be able to coach the most eager to learn and enthusiastic 15 year olds, that feeling is beyond amazing. Better than the riches of this world. Better than my time in Europe and the States in 2010 and the pre-college graduation trip to the East Coast and touring Yankee Stadium in 2011/12 at Christmas.
4 days, 11.5 hours of lesson this week. Non stop hard work. We probably worked harder than any professional team or any team in the competition. I'm not even counting the hours every member of the team spent working on their speeches and case outside of class. If I could turn back time and be downing red bulls all night and not sleeping for a week, I would do it. The coach goes through tons of material, just like how in professional sports, the head coach goes through hours of film, pulling all-nighters and not even having any shut-eye time so that the team is able to succeed. I am strongly motivated by Roy Williams, Joe Torre and Gregg Popovich, three of the head coaches of my favourite teams in college basketball, baseball and NBA.
Keep your head up, never look back on this. All the talent, insanity and jokes that transpired from learning, that's what class should be. Never give up on your dreams. If you ever feel down and out, remember my voice parroting at you to not undermine yourself because you are bigger and better than you think. I wish I could just keep going on coaching and educating all of you cause you make me want to teach you even more. It's the biggest gift that an educator could ever receive, your spirit. I could jabber praises about everyone till the water dries up in the oceans.
Signed,
Coach N
P.s Monsters shall be reduced to dust. We'll grab their horns and bones and eat them up. :)
Ostriches with their heads out of the sand!
This goes out to my students: Hansel, Benjamin, Nirvain and George (if you happen to read this).
I believe in you that's why I set even tougher challenges and hurdles in round 3. I saw the potential and ability in all of you. We may have registered that loss, let each other down with tensions and emotions at its highest, but at the end of the day, all of you are warriors. You did try. That monster was too big and swallowed us up. We have learned something and all of you are going to get even better. Don't ever stop learning. 'Cause you guys spoke like you owned the room.
Thank you for letting me have the chance to coach you. I genuinely cared for all of you and am I am forever indebted to be your coach for the past month. For I took a chance and ventured into the unknown quitting my previous job and this was indeed the most beautiful thing that I could have ever asked for in life. February-March was the highlight of my life, in my 20s. If I didn't quit that job, I would not be experiencing this beautiful feeling now, and wouldn't change anything in the world for it. Have I ever felt real happiness before? If this is happiness to be able to coach the most eager to learn and enthusiastic 15 year olds, that feeling is beyond amazing. Better than the riches of this world. Better than my time in Europe and the States in 2010 and the pre-college graduation trip to the East Coast and touring Yankee Stadium in 2011/12 at Christmas.
4 days, 11.5 hours of lesson this week. Non stop hard work. We probably worked harder than any professional team or any team in the competition. I'm not even counting the hours every member of the team spent working on their speeches and case outside of class. If I could turn back time and be downing red bulls all night and not sleeping for a week, I would do it. The coach goes through tons of material, just like how in professional sports, the head coach goes through hours of film, pulling all-nighters and not even having any shut-eye time so that the team is able to succeed. I am strongly motivated by Roy Williams, Joe Torre and Gregg Popovich, three of the head coaches of my favourite teams in college basketball, baseball and NBA.
Keep your head up, never look back on this. All the talent, insanity and jokes that transpired from learning, that's what class should be. Never give up on your dreams. If you ever feel down and out, remember my voice parroting at you to not undermine yourself because you are bigger and better than you think. I wish I could just keep going on coaching and educating all of you cause you make me want to teach you even more. It's the biggest gift that an educator could ever receive, your spirit. I could jabber praises about everyone till the water dries up in the oceans.
Signed,
Coach N
P.s Monsters shall be reduced to dust. We'll grab their horns and bones and eat them up. :)
Ostriches with their heads out of the sand!
Saturday, March 1, 2014
and I did it, all that stubbornness has paid off
The late Jeret Peterson's words say it all in the title and this post.
Those seven magical words I've been yearning to hear. "And the winning team goes to the proposition."
7:15pm, February 28, 2014.
What I've been out there searching for has finally came to pass. One year of darkness and depression. Two months ago, teaching wasn't even in my dictionary. I was popping countless anti depressants, drinking bottles of alcohol, and starving myself for days. Suicide attempts for the past 20 months, and finally, a tinge of sunshine. "This win represents me overcoming everything... it's my gift to myself. And I'm ecstatic. I'm extremely happy with the way things (have turned out yesterday)."quoting Peterson. The road is long, and the bumps can be a killer. I've worked myself crazy, changed jobs in a span of six weeks but it feels all worth it right now. When things aren't working out, keep walking. I have the best small group of students that I could have ever asked for, though I have only been working for three weeks, and once they lose, my contract will be up, and I'll be long gone.
I'd work all night to make sure the students get the best out of me in class, though they might not sound like a perfect speaker, they have made me proud. When your heart and soul is on the line, this is what I live for. I did the same at the previous school, but betrayal and poison slammed the door and I walked out before it got worse. All for the better. "I always had this feeling I was put on this earth to see how much crap somebody could go through and still come out on top," as Peterson said. This speaks volumes to me. Bullied for being different, which sparked rebellion. Nobody expected me to ever graduate from college, or even high school. But I did. I made it through and walked across the stage that very day on July 13, 2012, with my degree in hand. Someone who was never in the best class and who never had a respectable GPA in college and couldn't cut it anywhere. Who would have ever thought that I'd end up working as a debate coach, or rather, make more than the minimum wage? I've made it. The hours I spend drafting cases, editing it till its of standard, all for one cause. If I didn't do it, I'd go to bed at night with full of regret. All the what if's. Writing cases keep me out of the darkness that I do not wish to see again.
"It goes to show that people can make something of second chances," he said. "It's OK to make mistakes as long as you learn from them and as long as you're able to become a better person." Wins do not come very often, as I told the team, but its the learning process that can never be replaced. Talk about a dream, try to make it real, you wake up in the night and it feels so real, sings Bruce Springsteen. One win in the bag, onward to the next one which needs to happen. I told myself the night before the competition that I will have the students win round 2, and I did. That hundred hour work week didn't feel so bad after all.
If my students ever read this, I am so proud of your achievement. It's back to the grind come next class!
Those seven magical words I've been yearning to hear. "And the winning team goes to the proposition."
(The second speaker on my team was mentioned as best speaker too!)
7:15pm, February 28, 2014.
What I've been out there searching for has finally came to pass. One year of darkness and depression. Two months ago, teaching wasn't even in my dictionary. I was popping countless anti depressants, drinking bottles of alcohol, and starving myself for days. Suicide attempts for the past 20 months, and finally, a tinge of sunshine. "This win represents me overcoming everything... it's my gift to myself. And I'm ecstatic. I'm extremely happy with the way things (have turned out yesterday)."quoting Peterson. The road is long, and the bumps can be a killer. I've worked myself crazy, changed jobs in a span of six weeks but it feels all worth it right now. When things aren't working out, keep walking. I have the best small group of students that I could have ever asked for, though I have only been working for three weeks, and once they lose, my contract will be up, and I'll be long gone.
I'd work all night to make sure the students get the best out of me in class, though they might not sound like a perfect speaker, they have made me proud. When your heart and soul is on the line, this is what I live for. I did the same at the previous school, but betrayal and poison slammed the door and I walked out before it got worse. All for the better. "I always had this feeling I was put on this earth to see how much crap somebody could go through and still come out on top," as Peterson said. This speaks volumes to me. Bullied for being different, which sparked rebellion. Nobody expected me to ever graduate from college, or even high school. But I did. I made it through and walked across the stage that very day on July 13, 2012, with my degree in hand. Someone who was never in the best class and who never had a respectable GPA in college and couldn't cut it anywhere. Who would have ever thought that I'd end up working as a debate coach, or rather, make more than the minimum wage? I've made it. The hours I spend drafting cases, editing it till its of standard, all for one cause. If I didn't do it, I'd go to bed at night with full of regret. All the what if's. Writing cases keep me out of the darkness that I do not wish to see again.
"It goes to show that people can make something of second chances," he said. "It's OK to make mistakes as long as you learn from them and as long as you're able to become a better person." Wins do not come very often, as I told the team, but its the learning process that can never be replaced. Talk about a dream, try to make it real, you wake up in the night and it feels so real, sings Bruce Springsteen. One win in the bag, onward to the next one which needs to happen. I told myself the night before the competition that I will have the students win round 2, and I did. That hundred hour work week didn't feel so bad after all.
If my students ever read this, I am so proud of your achievement. It's back to the grind come next class!
Sunday, October 20, 2013
A Yankee fan's nightmare
Three World Series appearances in this millennium.
Two rings in the past decade.
Those champagne celebrations in late October, outnumbering the World's Greatest Team of the 1900s.
Take me back to the grand old days of the late 90's,
It's been a long time.
The home grown drafted players,
All gone bust and flopped.
The biggest rival,
After two years of the "titanic sinking", Bobby Valentine,
Cellar dwellers in 2012 and the epic fried chicken-video gaming-beer drinking shenanigans,
A long lost memory in time for the Red Sox.
The postseason ghosts haunting,
Derek Jeter's nasty injury last October,
Nothing gone right for the Yankees.
Here I go,
Scream my heart out,
Rooting for Detroit to win the AL pennant,
Fielder is as big as Ortiz,
Both can't run bases,
One got thrown out in a crucial inning running to third.
Never saw it coming,
Should have never started running,
A good twelve hours ago.
So I lay my head back down,
And I pray to the baseball gods,
May the Cardinals beat the Red Sox.
They are my only hope.
Two rings in the past decade.
Those champagne celebrations in late October, outnumbering the World's Greatest Team of the 1900s.
Take me back to the grand old days of the late 90's,
It's been a long time.
The home grown drafted players,
All gone bust and flopped.
The biggest rival,
After two years of the "titanic sinking", Bobby Valentine,
Cellar dwellers in 2012 and the epic fried chicken-video gaming-beer drinking shenanigans,
A long lost memory in time for the Red Sox.
The postseason ghosts haunting,
Derek Jeter's nasty injury last October,
Nothing gone right for the Yankees.
Here I go,
Scream my heart out,
Rooting for Detroit to win the AL pennant,
Fielder is as big as Ortiz,
Both can't run bases,
One got thrown out in a crucial inning running to third.
Never saw it coming,
Should have never started running,
A good twelve hours ago.
So I lay my head back down,
And I pray to the baseball gods,
May the Cardinals beat the Red Sox.
They are my only hope.
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Raffles Institution Invitationals 2013
Busy has been taken to a whole new level. It was an exciting and fulfilling learning experience for me, not just passing on my skill to the students; albeit information overload for a few students as it was their first time on the panel, as a fifteen year old. Although at 10pm on a Sunday night, I am still reeling from the adrenaline rush and amount of work done, I am contented. Simply: the fact that I cannot stop talking about how proud I am of the team of students I guided and mentored.
From the simplest of all things at eight in the morning that I did: taking attendance of all the judges present, and briefing them on the scoring range I implemented for consistency to moderating and calculating scores (for consistency issues), doing power matching for the second and third round under a very tight schedule and re-allocating judges multiple times, this sure taught me to multitask even further. In addition, I gave one of the students the autonomy to make logistical decisions, rather than be the one have a say in every single issue.
I probably listed out most of what I had done yesterday in the span of ten hours, not including judging three rounds, giving the verdict and oral feedback to the teams, what a whirlwind day indeed.
Special thanks to Kelvin for letting me play a part in running the tournament. Much appreciated for giving me more experience!
Not forgetting Samuel, Malcolm and Deon. The past 3, 4 weeks of non stop emailing with information, thanks for the swift replies and great suggestions and productive day. It was a pleasure working with all of you.
From the simplest of all things at eight in the morning that I did: taking attendance of all the judges present, and briefing them on the scoring range I implemented for consistency to moderating and calculating scores (for consistency issues), doing power matching for the second and third round under a very tight schedule and re-allocating judges multiple times, this sure taught me to multitask even further. In addition, I gave one of the students the autonomy to make logistical decisions, rather than be the one have a say in every single issue.
I probably listed out most of what I had done yesterday in the span of ten hours, not including judging three rounds, giving the verdict and oral feedback to the teams, what a whirlwind day indeed.
Special thanks to Kelvin for letting me play a part in running the tournament. Much appreciated for giving me more experience!
Not forgetting Samuel, Malcolm and Deon. The past 3, 4 weeks of non stop emailing with information, thanks for the swift replies and great suggestions and productive day. It was a pleasure working with all of you.
Thursday, August 22, 2013
What's the scoop?
Besides writing a first grade English book on sentence transformations and close passages, and teaching a year 4 class on debate and other classes since July (most of my classes are scheduled to end in late September as they are all project-based),
I also helped out at a Homeworks! Habitat for Humanity house-cleaning project in July in Chinatown. It was really meaningful and made me appreciate what I have. My team consisted of a flight attendant who works for Singapore Air, a lady who works at A-Star Institute and a high school junior. We cleaned, dusted, wiped, scrubbed a destitute lady's house. She was in her eighties and had almost next to nothing.
I also helped out at a Homeworks! Habitat for Humanity house-cleaning project in July in Chinatown. It was really meaningful and made me appreciate what I have. My team consisted of a flight attendant who works for Singapore Air, a lady who works at A-Star Institute and a high school junior. We cleaned, dusted, wiped, scrubbed a destitute lady's house. She was in her eighties and had almost next to nothing.
Here are a few tournaments that I have judged at since April this year; not including the national secondary/high school tournament:
Raffles Institution Under 14's (May/June 2013)
(evidence is always good and this time, here I managed to get a screenshot of my name for one of the rounds I judged:)
Raffles Institution Under 14's (May/June 2013)
Ministry of Education-ACJC inter collegiate debating championships (June 2013)- panelist for the quarterfinals which involved two highly skilled teams and the eventual champion (ACJC vs Hwa Chong Institution)
Singapore Polytechnic Debate Open (June 2013)- panelist for all preliminary rounds, knock-out rounds including the junior/secondary school division grand finals
Valid ITE (July 2013) - panelist for all rounds including the grand finals
Hwa Chong Invitationals- High School Division (July 2013)- panelist for all rounds including the grand finals
Singapore British Parliamentary Debate Championships (August 2013)- panelist for preliminary rounds and the semifinals of the senior division
(evidence is always good and this time, here I managed to get a screenshot of my name for one of the rounds I judged:)
Upcoming:
Raffles Institution Elementary School Debate Invitational in early September. I am helping as an adviser to the student-organizers in addition to judging the tournament. (thanks Kelvin for allowing me to be part of it!)
Raffles Institution Elementary School Debate Invitational in early September. I am helping as an adviser to the student-organizers in addition to judging the tournament. (thanks Kelvin for allowing me to be part of it!)
Hoping to get my book done and dusted with very soon!
I cannot wait for college football to start again. Go Bruins! (I am a converted UCLA Bruins football fan, thanks to my good friend who is a UCLA alum.) Why is USC ranked in the top 25 again? Boooooo.
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