We're pampered and we know that
JULY 29, 2004
'We're pampered and we know that'
By Azrin Asmani
YES, we take for granted the good life that we have. In fact, we are overpampered and overprotected.
This was the admission from students at a forum yesterday, after Acting Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan delivered a lively speech posing the question: Your generation and mine - which is luckier?
Mr Khaw said his generation was luckier than his parents'. It was up to today's young, who grew up with plenty, to create their own luck.
More than 700 students aged 15 to 25 attended the Mayor's Lecture Series 2004, held at The Arts Centre, Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road). It was organised by the Central Singapore Community Development Council.
Twenty-five students rose to have their say. After the event, Denise Lim, 15, from St Anthony's Canossian Secondary School, said she was unaware of how lucky she was compared to her parents until Mr Khaw painted a picture of the tribulations previous generations underwent.
'My parents have been overindulging me, giving me almost everything that I had wanted.
Sometimes, I feel that they give me too much, and I find myself over-relying on them most of the time,' she said.
Badri Ghent, 15, from Whitley Secondary School, thought youths were overprotected and complacent: 'We lack the determination, and we give up easily,' he said.
A survey conducted by the organisers last month revealed that nearly all of the 100 youths polled believed they had more opportunities to pursue higher studies than the previous generation.
Mr Khaw, who was visibly surprised by the candour of the students' admission that they were overpampered, was quick to offer some words of encouragement.
'Acknowledgment of a problem is the beginning of a solution. Expose yourself, and remove the protection, one by one.'
Take a trip to Johor Baru or the Riau Islands to experience what it is like outside an 'overprotective' environment like Singapore, he suggested.
'Along the way, you will realise how lucky and how blessed you are. Then the next step is for you not to take things for granted,' he added.
Mr Khaw, 52, a father of three, urged them to strive for success, and dream dreams. Do not be constrained by their parents' conservatism.
'In fact, I prefer your generation to be rebellious. Because if you are just conforming to the social norms, then you are merely following our footpath which may not be relevant for you.'
Copyright @ 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.
Whose generation is luckier, yours or your dad's?
JULY 29, 2004
Q: Whose generation is luckier, yours or your dad's?
Drawing on his own experience, Acting Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan asked this of more than 700 students who attended the Mayor's Lecture Series 2004 yesterday at the Anglo Chinese School (Barker Road). But instead of an answer, he threw them this challenge: Make your own luck.
EIGHTY years ago, Mr Khaw Boon Wan's father sailed from a village near Xiamen in southern China to Singapore, in search of a better life.
The family endured the Japanese Occupation. Then, in the 1950s and 1960s, they lived through the struggle against communism and communal violence. That generation lived through the horrors of war, and knew starvation and poverty. Still, many worked hard to give their children a better life.
In contrast, Mr Khaw, 52, had an easier time. He and his siblings never went through war, although they experienced bloody racial riots.
'We were born poor, but we saw our standard of living rising with each passing year. My generation graduated from Third World to near First World. Relative to my parents' generation, what can we complain about?'
His conclusion: His generation was luckier than his parents'.
But what of the next generation? Here, the Acting Health Minister reckons it all depends on what they make of their opportunities, since people create their own luck.
There were many things going for the young generation today, he told over 700 students who attended the Mayor's Lecture Series 2004 yesterday at The Arts Centre, Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road).
First, young Singaporeans were competing in the global arena. This made competition more stressful, but the rewards were also greater.
'If I may use a soccer analogy, we were then merely competing in the Malaysia Cup; you are now in the World Cup. Yours is more competitive but the trophy you win is much more prestigious than we could ever hope to get.'
Second, young Singaporeans were well-equipped with the education and skills to do well in the global race.
They were more fortunate than a young girl he met in Lijiang, China, who worked as a housekeeper in a villa. She had competed against many others for the job, so was hard-working and enthusiastic. At the same time, she studied at night to have a second chance to sit for the university entrance examination.
His point: There were millions of young people with the hunger and ability to make a better life for themselves, in China, India and other countries.
Young Singaporeans, too, had to be passionate about making a better life for themselves.
But even as they sought material success, they had to make sure their values remained sound.
Here, Mr Khaw saw some cause for optimism. He had visited an orphanage in Lijiang, and met a Singaporean girl there who was spending a year before university volunteering at the
orphanage.
He also referred to this year's Commonwealth Essay Competition's prize-winning piece by student Amanda Chong, about a single mother who endured hardships to raise her daughter - only to be left in an old folk's home when she aged.
Said Mr Khaw: 'The young lady got material success, but along the way, forgot her roots and lost her soul.'
He recalled a story from Greek mythology: 'Odysseus was a handsome mortal devoted to his wife. But he was tempted with immortality by Goddess Calypso in return for his love. He turned the Goddess down, so that he could simply grow old and die with his mortal wife, Penelope.
'The moral of these stories is that while it is natural to strive for a better future, we must not
lose touch of our common roots.'
In the past, he said, life was tough, 'but we forged a strong sense of group solidarity, loyalty to extended families and social cohesion'.
In the end, whether today's young proved luckier than past generations would depend only on themselves.
'Do you have the drive, the courage to dream dreams and the passion to realise them?
'Do you have the wisdom to make use of the advantages given to you by your parents, to sink even deeper roots, and add to humanity and make this world an even better place?'
Copyright @ 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.
He stabbed man fatally over "staring" incident
JULY 27, 2004
He stabbed man fatally over 'staring' incident
Assailant had chased down his victim with a beer bottle and knife. He is given 10 years' jail and 12 strokes of the cane
By Elena Chong
WHAT began as a 'staring' incident at a People's Park Complex provision shop ended with Mr Chan Shin Shoong being stabbed four times in the neck and shoulder.
At about 11.30pm on Oct 24 last year, the 23-year-old was buying a drink in the shop when he collided with Chaw Aiang Wah, who was talking to his girlfriend on his mobile phone.
The men, both Malaysians working here as kitchen assistants, faced off for a moment.
Soon after that, Chaw, 27, was in the lift lobby, about to go up to the flat he shared with his girlfriend.
But Mr Chan, still around with a friend, called him over and demanded to know why Chaw stared at him earlier.
Chaw tried to say it was a small matter not worth fighting over, especially as both of them were on work permits.
Mr Chan would not be mollified.
Then his friend, Mr Ho Yuen Weng, spotted the handle of a knife in the plastic bag Chaw was carrying. He urged Mr Chan to leave.
But as the two friends were walking away, Chaw asked if they had no guts. Mr Chan walked over again.
This time, Chaw pulled a knife as well as a small bottle of beer from his bag, then chased Mr Chan along Park Crescent towards Eu Tong Sen Street. It was a tragically brief pursuit.
A horrified Mr Ho, 20m away, saw Chaw crouching over and plunging his knife into Mr Chan's neck a number of times. He saw his friend try to ward off the blows with his hands.
By yelling 'Mata lai liao' (Hokkien for 'the police have come') Mr Ho frightened Chaw away. But Mr Chan died from his neck wounds two days later.
On Oct 28, Chaw - who had fled to Johor Baru and had been warded for leg injuries - gave himself up.
Yesterday, Judicial Commissioner V.K. Rajah sentenced him to 10 years' jail and 12 strokes of the cane for culpable homicide.
His assigned lawyer, Mr Cheong Aik Chye, had said Chaw felt belittled and inflamed by Mr Chan's taunts and vulgar language over a small incident. Chaw was neither violent nor vicious, but had acted in a rage, he said.
However, the judge agreed with Deputy Public Prosecutor Nor'ashikin Samdin, who asked for a strong message that such outbursts of violence would not be tolerated.
Chaw's actions, she added, were excessive and needlessly brutal. Having felled Mr Chan with a blow to his head using a beer bottle, he had then stabbed his victim four times in the neck and shoulder region.
Said Judicial Commissioner Rajah: 'The deceased had taken flight despite his initial aggression.
Inexplicably and most unfortunately, you deliberately chose to run into trouble and court tragedy.'
Calling staring incidents 'usually the consequence of a heady brew' that included drink, drugs and 'face', he warned those involved to expect the law, in turn, to be 'staring back'.
Copyright @ 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.
JULY 27, 2004
A theme park needs more than just a theme to work
By Glenys Sim
THE business of building a theme park here seems to be picking up steam, and not a moment too soon, since competition for the tourist dollar in the region is heating up.
It's no accident that several theme parks are already in the works: Hong Kong Disneyland is slated to open by the end of next year; Vivendi Universal is constructing a theme park in Shanghai along the lines of Universal Studios in Japan.
Across the Causeway in Johor, meanwhile, a bid to woo Universal Studios to build an entertainment centre there is under way.
Things are no different here.
Two weeks ago, Ripley's Entertainment, of Believe It Or Not fame, said it is considering investing US$350 million (S$602 million) in an attraction here.
Plans for Sentosa are firmer: The authorities there are in talks with two parties to operate a theme park.
That theme parks are the way to go in getting the tourist dollar is not in doubt.
What kind of theme park is another matter altogether.
For starters, the theme must be a crowd-puller.
Experts at an industry exposition here two weeks ago cautioned that a well-chosen theme is critical to a park's success. Choose the right one, and off it goes. The wrong one will spark a downward spiral that will eventually break the venture, they said.
The principal of Thailand-based leisure consultancy, Leisure Creators Asia, Mr Alan Mahony, said: 'Theming is important. It gives the area a storyline and makes the place fun.
'There's no point to buying the biggest wave pool and saying that you have the biggest wave pool. So what? It's a pool; you're going to swim in it.'
One successful example that was repeatedly mentioned by the experts was Disneyland.
The so-called Happiest Place on Earth has a clear, fantasy-centred theme that allows one 'to experience a world as big as your imagination and create memories to last a lifetime'.
Another good example is Malaysia's Sunway Lagoon, which recently underwent a revamp.
The theme at the Waters of Africa park there is clearly recognisable, from a slide that resembles a python to the safari-influenced staff uniform.
But it is not enough to, say, transplant Disneyland onto Sentosa, sit back and watch the bucks roll in.
Knowing local habits is as important as picking the right theme, the experts, who were here to discuss the amusement park industry in Asia, said.
For example, spending on food and merchandise in Asia is generally low compared to the West, noted Mr Chris Yoshii, vice-president of research firm Economic Research Associates, an international consulting firm which does economic analyses for the entertainment and leisure industry, among other things.
While Westerners prefer to enjoy a whole day out at parks, including having a meal there and picking up a keepsake on the way out, Asians tend to just pay for admission and avoid spending more.
So while Western theme park revenues are split evenly between food and merchandise and entrance fees, 80 per cent of takings at Asian ones come from the price of admission.
That means that if a theme park opens on Sentosa, a decision on how to price tickets will be an important one, since most of the money to be made is at the door.
The next step: What's the competition?
In Singapore, some experts say, the biggest competition will probably come from shopping malls, because the hot weather drives people into air-conditioned places.
So the cool factor plays a part. Not necessarily in the form of air-conditioning, though. Just adding water might do the trick: Witness the success of Wild Wild Wet at Downtown East in Pasir Ris.
Other considerations include the company people keep when they go to theme parks.
In Asia, going to an amusement park is generally a family affair, so while the world's scariest rollercoaster might be a treat for the kids, there needs to be something for Mum and Dad and the grandparents to do, too.
In Singapore, that could be as simple as - what else? - putting food outlets near the rides. Although Asians tend to keep spending on food and other items at parks minimal, doing this might get them to dip into their wallets a little more.
'People like to do things together,' said Leisure Creators' Mr Mahony.
'They like to be able to eat and watch their family and friends at the same time, so food outlets should be very near rides, unlike Western theme parks where the space is big and everything is spread out.'
So that's the challenge facing the likes of Sentosa and Ripley's.
One facet of it, at least, because there is another problem: Even though more people are visiting Singapore, they are spending less.
The figures should cause those in the trade to sit up - Singapore's market share for tourism receipts among nations in the Asia-Pacific region shrank from 8.2 per cent in 1998 to 5.8 per cent in 2002.
But while there is some urgency towards getting a theme park untracked, it is well worth spending the time to getting our own version of the Happiest Place on Earth.
After all, we don't want to be stuck with the world's biggest wave pool.
TOP PARKS
In Asia
1. Tokyo Disneyland (Tokyo, Japan): 13,188,000 (estimated attendance last year)
2. Tokyo DisneySea (Tokyo, Japan): 12,174,000
3. Universal Studios Japan (Osaka): 8,811,000
4. Everland (Kyonggi-Do, South Korea): 8,800,000
5. Lotte World (Seoul, South Korea): 8,500,000
6. Hakkeijima Sea Paradise (Yokohama, Japan): 5,300,000
7. Ocean Park (Hong Kong): 3,000,000
8. Huis Ten Bosch (Sasebo City, Japan): 2,840,000
9. Seoul Land (Kyunki-Do, South Korea): 2,802,500
10. Suzuka Circuit (Suzuka, Japan): 2,705,000
Worldwide
1. Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World (Florida, US): 14,044,000
2. Tokyo Disneyland (Tokyo, Japan): 13,188,000
3. Disneyland (California, US): 12,720,000
4. Tokyo DisneySea (Tokyo, Japan): 12,174,000
5. Disneyland Paris (Paris, France): 10,230,000
6. Universal Studios Japan (Osaka, Japan): 8,811,000
7. Everland (Kyonggi-Do, South Korea): 8,800,000
8. Epcot, Walt Disney World (Florida, US): 8,620,800
9. Lotte World (Seoul, South Korea): 8,500,000
10. Disney-MGM Studios, Walt Disney World (Florida, US): 7,870,700
Copyright @ 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.
Zoo hopes to draw more young kids with new exhibits
JULY 27, 2004
Zoo hopes to draw more young kids with new exhibits.
Videos, touch screens, displays with bite-size info at 13 hot spots aimed at under-12s
By Glenys Sim
THE signboards in front of the Singapore Zoo's white tigers, offering information about these beautiful South-east Asian predators, will soon be removed.
In their place from next month will be a mini-exhibition area with videos, touch screens, panel boards and displays to give an insight into the rare creatures.
These will offer bite-size pieces of information about their life in the wild and why they are becoming extinct.
They will also display samples of the various tiger parts that are traded illegally, give examples of the sounds they make to indicate their moods and tell how to interpret their tail movements, among other things.
Similarly-styled exhibitions will be put up at a dozen of the zoo's most popular animal enclosures, as part of an effort by the park to appeal to children under 12 years old, considered the attraction's main customers.
Marketing and communications director Fanny Lai said: 'A lot of the displays and information panels will be at a height these youngsters, who are 1.2m and below, can see easily.'
The strategy marks an effort by the zoo's parent company, Wildlife Reserves Singapore, to put behind it two tumultuous years filled with management changes, a turnover in staff and Sars, which happened after the zoo, Night Safari and Jurong BirdPark were integrated under the Wildlife Reserves umbrella in August 2000 by the parks' owner, Temasek Holdings.
Two chief executive officers have come and gone since. This year alone, more than 100 employees have left as a result of redundancies, voluntary retrenchments and resignations.
The company is now being run by its executive chairman, Mr Robert Kwan, who brought McDonald's to Singapore. He assumed the position on Jan 1.
Ms Lai, who also joined Wildlife Reserves on Jan 1, said that the zoo's new 'learning' approach is the first major initiative that will be rolled out by the new team.
It also has plans for new exhibits at the bird park by year-end.
One of these is a glass enclosure that will allow visitors to watch pelicans catching fish underwater.
Meanwhile, it has overhauled the parks' in-house magazine and website, packing them with more games and dramatic pictures, and making them more colourful. It is also looking for new food and beverage partners.
It hopes to be able to draw at least three million visitors to the three parks in the financial year ending March 31 next year. So far, 750,000 have dropped by.
Ms Lai would not disclose the company's revenue for April to June this year, but said that it was 'more than double' that of the same period last year, when the tourism industry was hit by Sars.
Its total revenue in the financial year 2002/2003 was $49.9 million.
Eventually, Wildlife Reserves hopes to market the parks as venues for meetings and conventions.
'We have enough meetings facilities to accommodate groups of between 50 and 600.
'They've been there for almost three decades, but we've never really told people about this,' said Ms Lai.
'We even have a full-fledged banquet team to cater these events.'
By the end of next month, the company will be offering wedding packages starting at $699 at the bird park and zoo.
That price will cover an eight-course Chinese dinner for 10 with free flow of soft drinks and Chinese tea, wedding cake and flowers.
The bride and groom will also be given a pair of mandarin ducks to release into the lake for good luck if they hold the event at the bird park, or, if it's at the zoo, a ride in a horse carriage or on an elephant.
Over the last four years, about 20 couples have solemnised their marriages at one of the parks.
Lawyers Karnan Thirupathy and Johanna Tan were one of them.
Said Mr Karnan: 'We wanted people to remember the wedding and figured that it would be more remarkable having it in the zoo than in some expensive hotel.'
Going beyond pen and paper, more are turning to the computer
It costs more than assessment books, but educational software is winning over parents because of its ability to hold kids' attention with animation, music and other special effects.
By Maria Almenoar
PEN-AND-PAPER assessment books may still be the top choice for parents getting their children ready for exams, but a small and growing number are turning to computer-based courses and tests.
More parents are supplementing assessment books with CD-ROMs that teach about anything from electricity to Chinese vocabulary, say software suppliers and distributors, even though the low price of books will ensure they remain the primary tools.
Some schools are also encouraging their students to go online to learn and take tests, they add.
CD-ROMs, with their use of animation, film, music and sound effects, can better hold the attention of younger children, says Eduzen, an education consultancy that supplies software to schools and parents.
They also allow the children to go back to a lesson as often as they want.
And CD-ROMs, unlike some teachers and thick books, are 'non-threatening', Eduzen says.
These CD-ROMs, which sell for $20 compared to the $5 and up for an assessment book, usually contain a series of lessons, learning activities and quizzes.
In Eduzen's science software title, BamBam, Primary 5 pupils watch how the Earth, Moon and Sun rotate in relation to one another, a topic which may be difficult to teach using a book.
The next activity gets the child to pick which phase of the Moon he would see - say a crescent or full moon - given a certain lunar position.
Quizzes in the software take he form of games such as baseball or soccer. The child has to answer a question that pops up on his screen in order to score a home run or a goal.
'Assessment books just have question after question,' complains Sherie Lim, an 11-year-old pupil at CHIJ Katong Primary.
'These are fun to do and they have more facts than my textbooks,' she says of the software titles her parents bought her at the beginning of the year.
'If I don't understand something, I can just watch it again and not have to erase the answers like in an assessment book.'
These CD-ROMs, which may be written either abroad or here, are available for all levels from pre-school to secondary school. Shops, however, say they are most popular with parents with children of primary-school age.
Challenger Superstore at Funan the IT Mall declines to reveal sales figures, but says that more parents are asking about its latest titles, and that the range of what's available has 'definitely grown' in the last five years.
MPH Bookstores (Parkway Parade), which sells such CD-ROMs for about $10 to $50, does not give exact figures either, but says that the numbers have jumped by a third over the last four years.
This is despite the increasing number of shops selling such CD-ROMs.
Meanwhile, schools also see the advantages of using these software tools.
By working in partnership with education consultancies, some schools are giving students access to these lessons through the Internet.
At least 60 schools, both primary and secondary, are using the Web to give students access to assessment exercises, in the form of examination questions from previous years.
Twelve primary schools, including Stamford, Radin Mas and St Michael's, have worked together to create a 60,000- item bank of questions, which their teachers use to set quizzes.
Stamford Primary School's vice-principal, Mr Rex Hobday, says: 'Parents can feel assured that their children are doing up-to-date questions that have been vetted for quality. And all of it is free.'
Teachers can check online how a pupil has performed on a quiz, and monitor his progress.
If a child is a slow learner, he can try questions at a lower level, and move up progressively.
Unlike with assessment books, which parents would have to buy or return, a child simply has to click on another quiz if he feels it is not suitable for him, says Mr Hobday.
The computer makes no errors in marking, and there are no discouraging big red crosses for the wrong answer.
Children are rewarded with a cartoon character congratulating them on a job well done, or telling them to try harder the next time.
Parents can also subscribe to course materials and tests by paying a fee.
For example, AsknLearn.com charges parents $50 a year - less than what some spend on assessment books, it notes - for access to a database of lessons and revision questions from primary to secondary level.
Stamford Primary pupil Ng Xin Hui, who does past-year examination questions at home, says it will get her prepped for the Primary School Leaving Examination.
Says the 12-year-old: 'There are more than enough practice questions for me, so I don't have to buy assessment books.'
The Straits Times: 26 July 2004
With so many books on the market, how do you choose?
Make sure you know your child's abilities before buying, say experts, and remember that quality matters rather than quantity .
By Yap Su Yin
NOT all assessment books are created equal, and as a parent you need to know not just how to sift the wheat from the chaff but also how to buy the right type for your child.
The key is to ask yourself why you are buying an assessment book in the first place, said 10 education specialists interviewed by The Straits Times.
Is it meant as a guide, as a way to revise, for practice in answering questions, or to assess the child's weak and strong areas?
The worst thing is for you to buy lots of assessment books and throw them at the child, says psychologist and counsellor Esther Tan, who has taught at the National Institute of Education for 30 years.
'All too often, parents mistake quantity for quality. They overbuy assessment books, hoping that more practice will solve their child's weakness in a certain subject. That is incorrect,' she says.
Dr Tan stresses that, well before spending their first dollar, parents should know the child's academic ability.
Science teacher Murali Krishnaswamy of Clementi Town Secondary agrees: 'If the child is in the Express stream, choose assessment books that not only give him practice but offer some challenging questions to stretch his ability.'
Normal stream children will gain from books with plenty of questions for practice so as to 'expose them more to the topic'.
'But the exercises mustn't be so difficult that they can't answer them,' he says.
Experts say a child who is struggling to answer the many questions in a book has clearly not fully understood the topic. They suggest parents do the following:
Have him revise the material from the textbook once more;
- Buy an assessment book which has summarised key information of the topic for easy understanding and recall; or
- Buy an assessment book with model solutions to show the child how to tackle a similar question in future.
- The many formats that assessment books come in can also be confusing. They can be organised
by topic, by type of question or by entire test papers.
Once you know where your child's weaknesses lie, it will be easier to decide if you should pick books that are arranged by topic.
Naval Base Secondary English and history teacher Deric Low explains: 'A topical approach strengthens a student who is weak in a certain area.'
On the other hand, books set in the style of common tests gauge the child's ability to answer all questions within the time stated.
Books with sections arranged by question type - multiple choice versus structure questions, say
- will strengthen key skills needed during the exams.
Phrasing a succinct yet accurate answer to a structured question is different from the skill needed in the multiple choice section, notes Mr Low.
'But assessment books aren't meant to help the student catch up in class,' he cautions. 'The child still has to go through his school work, either on his own or with help, to strengthen his understanding of the topic.'
If in doubt about which books are suitable, Marymount Convent principal Angela Lim recommends that parents consult the child's teacher or tutor before making the purchase.
The experts also point out there is no such thing as a perfect assessment book. Mr Melvin Ng, a full-time mathematics tutor, explains: 'As the child is taught new topics over time, his knowledge and skill at responding to questions for each topic will vary.
'This means that the type of practice the child needs will keep changing.'
All the educators say that, before buying assessment books, parents should know the latest syllabus.
Says Clementi Town Secondary's Mr Krishnaswamy: 'Many aren't aware that the Education Ministry's website provides the subject syllabuses, as well as lists of approved textbooks and supplementary materials, for every level.'
The lists are a useful guide on which books the ministry has reviewed and found helpful, he says.
But don't rush to get all the titles featured on the website, says education psychologist Dr Tan.
Many books out there bear the ministry's stamp of approval, she says, but that doesn't mean you should buy three or four on the same subject, just in case one covers something the other doesn't.
The important thing is to be selective, she says. 'Pick one that best suits your child's needs. We want to help him improve, not kill his interest in the subject.'
Copyright @ 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.
The Straits Times: 26 July 2004
4 types of assessment books on the market
Identify what your child needs - whether he requires a guide book, one for revision,for extra practice, or just to gauge his ability - before heading for the bookshop
ASSESSMENT books can be used for four main purposes: a guide book supplementing a textbook, for revision, for extra practice, and to test if a child knows his work.
Education experts explain how to identify the right assessment books for children:
As a guide
A CHILD who does not understand a topic will benefit from a guide book.
An assessment book serving as a guide book will have the usual quizzes at the end of each chapter, but it will also explain the theories and formulas the child needs to know.
Good guides will give summaries of key points. The better guides - especially for science - will also give accurate and detailed 'concept maps' showing the connection between key ideas in a topic.
They do not simply regurgitate what is in the textbook, but help explain them further. And they offer information in simple language.
Some, such as examination guides, come in convenient pocket sizes and offer short notes for the child to recall easily.
For revision
THESE books should have key information presented in a simple and clear way, such as in point form, to help remind the child of what needs to be known.
Some revision notes have no worked examples of problems showing how to answer questions. This is fine, as long as there are summaries, easy-to-understand diagrams and pictures that are well-labelled.
Those worked examples showing model solutions let the child check against his own answers.
A parent can also use the worked solutions to explain the answers to his child.
Some children prefer books with pictures and diagrams, as they make understanding easier and learning more interesting.
To practise to perfection
THESE books let the child practise in a particular area or refine his technique in answering questions.
Choose those with many questions, rather than those with many revision notes but few
exercises for practice.
The questions could be set by topic (for instance, algebra, atoms and molecules, active and passive voices), by type (for example, multiple choice, structured questions, essays), or by test (such as the 10-year-series assessment books, which offer test papers compiled within a 10-year period).
By tackling the various types of questions, the child will become familiar with different question formats and gain confidence for real tests in school.
Revision notes are usually excluded, because these books assume the child has already understood the concepts.
Such books should be used to reinforce his knowledge rather than to revise a subject.
The repetitive exercises sharpen the child's ability to respond to a similar question during examinations.
To gauge ability
IF YOU want to use the book to find out the areas the child might need to pay more attention to, choose a book that assesses his overall knowledge of the subject and his ability to answer the questions correctly.
So if the book has a series of tests which the child cannot complete in the given time, the parent can review which section has slowed him down.
Take science, where students often lose marks for structured questions because they do not know how to phrase their answers. Look for assessment books that pose a similar type of questions and use them to test the quality of the child's solutions over time.
Copyright @ 2004 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.
The Straits Times: 26 July 2004
Exam nerves? Don't panic, there's help.
Question:
I AM a second-year student studying in one of the top five junior colleges. I have just completed my examinations. I am utterly disappointed as I know I have messed it up once again.
I was well-prepared for the exams, but the same problem always haunts me, whether I take a class test, quiz or major exam. I would just freak out and be very nervous. I try to calm myself down and take deep breaths, but all to no avail.
Is there any medication that will solve my problem? What should I do?
-Nervous
Answer by Dr Brian:
What you have is very common, so don't freak out. Students, sportsmen, artists and doctors all have this Performance Anxiety. Seek treatment soon, or else it may develop into a major fear; in your case, a phobia of examinations.
First, let me congratulate you on your perseverance in continuing to take exams, and not missing them, as many have done, due to your fears.
The first lesson is that hiding or avoiding the problem will only increase the fear and make it more difficult to take the next test.
The second lesson is to correct your perception. You have developed, over time, a 'loss of control' mentality. Even before the exams, you are afraid. To correct this anticipation anxiety, you need to correct your faulty thinking. You do not always freak out and fumble. Remember, you are in a top junior college. Your thinking exhibits two faults. The first is called catastrophic thinking, in which you believe some symptoms of normal anxiety will inevitably lead to a total loss of control. The second is termed black-and-white thinking, in which you believe that you are either totally in control or that you are totally out of control. Life is usually not so clear-cut. Allow for some areas in which you may not be totally in control and, instead, focus on your strengths. These forms of faulty thinking are often seen in many students who progress to the top-ranked schools. Many of them were top students in primary schools but in the better secondary schools, they had difficulties achieving the same success due to more academically-inclined peers. They suffer a loss in self-esteem and confidence when they compare themselves with their new classmates. The situation is more pronounced in junior colleges, as the less academically-inclined would have taken other paths.
The third lesson is to empower yourself with techniques to reduce or conquer your fears. During counselling, you can learn to reduce the anticipation anxiety by:
Using visualising success techniques
- seeing yourself sailing through the exams (for example)
- Practising doing tests in exam-style settings;
- Having a comforting object on the exam table;
- Using images of a more calm environment or person to relax;
- Meditation or prayer;
- Deep breathing and progressive muscle relaxation;
Developing good exam techniques like
- adequate time allocation,
- doing the questions you know first,
- trying to do short and quick reviews of what you know for the questions that you find difficult, and reviewing it later.
There is also medication to help you if the above techniques are not able to correct the problem in time. Specific medications to reduce palpitations and tremors are available, as are medications that will work in a few minutes to shut out these panic symptoms. And there are also medications to reduce the recurrence of panic attacks, and to improve the mood. Please see your family physician for more advice.
Do not lose hope, many have been helped and there is no shame in admitting to the problem in order to seek help. Your teachers could certainly help you with some coaching, and seeing the familiar faces of sympathetic teachers at the exam hall always works wonders.
Note:
DR BRIAN Yeo is a consultant psychiatrist in private practice. He has postgraduate qualifications in child and adolescent psychiatry. He is also a Certified Master Substance Abuse Counsellor and is currently the Singapore Medical Association representative to the Singapore Anti-Narcotics Association's management board.
Extracted from Straits Times 25 July 2004
Queen of means
By Nur Dianah Suhuimi Salleh
They're popular, they move around in cliques, and they pick on other girls.
HER classmates complained that she had body odour. So the girl bought herself some deodorant.
But when the popular girls found it in her locker, they laughed and told everyone in class she would smell worse.
Sounds like a scene right out of that popular movie Mean Girls, right? But it happened right here, in a girls' school.
In the Lindsay Lohan movie, now showing in cinemas, a group of pretty, popular and privileged girls called the Plastics rules the high school - and makes life hell for people considered to be outcasts.
The movie was based on a best-selling self-help book called Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, And Other Realities Of Adolescence by Rosalind Wiseman.
Here in Singapore, secondary schools also have their share of Queen Bees.
HOW TO DEAL WITH THE STING
FEELING the sting of a Queen Bee? Don't just be a Wannabe, take this advice, from psychiatrist Brian Yeo:
• Focus on your academic grades.
They should be your foremost priority. Study hard and pay less attention to your social worries.
• There is life outside school.
Take up useful activities outside school, for example, in various voluntary or cultural organisations. These outside school activities will offer you a new set of friends and a new lease of life. This will be good for your self-esteem.
• Always remember that you are not alone.
There are many other people out there suffering from the same fate so you are not the only one in the world without friends.
• Talk to your family.
Instead of keeping your problems to yourself, talk to your mother, who might have had similar experiences when she was a teenager. Watch the movie Mean Girls with your mother because it creates a strong opportunity for you to bond and open up to her.
• With time, things will change.
There are only four years to life in secondary school. Everyone will move on to different schools and maybe then you will be able to develop a new set of friends.
• Boys will come into the picture
Boys will come into the picture and you will realise that there are other things to life than winning the approval of your female peers.
•Consider a school transfer
If you are truly unhappy in your school and feel there is no other way out, you might want to talk to your parents and consider a school transfer.
Because teens have to wear uniforms in school, these popular girls are not the designer-togged teens who tote Dior bags like the characters in the movie. Instead, it is girls who are sporty and outspoken who rule.
'Sporty girls are usually more popular in school because being physically capable, they have lots of confidence in themselves. Everyone finds confidence an attractive characteristic in a friend,' explains Rachel Toh, 16, from a co-ed neighbourhood secondary school.
"Being sporty and healthy also makes one look good," said Ally Le from a top girls' school.
The 14-year-old said: 'Usually, the sporty girls in school are the ones with nice faces and nice legs. Maybe that's why girls tend to respect and admire them.'
She said that popular girls are more likely to be voted for leadership positions in class and co-curricular activities. '
'Naturally, we vote for our own friends for positions like class or house representatives. So popular girls with more friends will usually get more votes, while those who are less popular stand a smaller chance of getting voted for leadership positions,' she added.
Even though Singapore's popular girls are different in some ways from their American counterparts, some have at least one thing in common - a mean streak. A multiracial clique of 13 popular girls from a girls' school told Gen Y about how a friend of theirs posted some nasty comments about a classmate they termed an outcast.
'Our friend wrote on her blog that this classmate was a bitch and a loser and that the whole class hated her,' said a member of the clique, Sheereen, who is 15.
Unfortunately, their classmate chanced upon the blog and went crying to the teacher. The teacher scolded the blogger and the entire class was also told off for being mean to their classmate.
But nothing could change the girls' feelings towards their classmate. 'The more she complains to the teacher, the more we hate her because she gets us into trouble,' said Sheereen's friend, Shukriah, also 15.
'Why couldn't she settle things in a more mature manner by talking to us rather than running off to the teacher? That was very childish.'
Do these girls ever feel guilty about being nasty?
'Yes, we do feel guilty sometimes,' said Sheereen sheepishly. 'We know it was mean of us but it is really difficult to rectify things because these girls are really unbearable.'
So why are mean girls mean?
Consultant psychiatrist Brian Yeo said this is a common group behaviour among girls, and it stems from their need to congregate and belong in a group.
The girls find their strength in numbers and this 'popular girls culture', as he calls it, includes being collectively mean towards other girls.
The current Miss Singapore Universe, Ms Sandy Chua, a former Katong Convent student, threw up another reason.
She reckons some girls behave this way because they might want to draw attention away from their own inadequacies.
'These girls put others down and highlight others' faults so that they feel better about themselves,' the 19-year-old beauty queen said.
Worrying as this phenomenon may be, Dr Yeo said the mean streak is but a mere passing phase which tends to go away once boys enter the picture.
'Girls will grow up and realise that they have other interests, like boys. They'd want to spend more time with the boys and have less time to make fun of others with their group of friends,' he said.
But what should you do if you're being tortured by an army of Plastics?
Go watch the movie, said Dr Yeo.
'Victims of such situations always feel they're alone but when you watch the movie, you will realise that there are also others out there in the same boat.
'There are other ways of coping with such situations, like focusing on your studies and getting yourself involved in activities at church or with voluntary organisations, which offers you a new set of friends.'
After all, even beauty queens once had their unglamorous moments.
Not only was Ms Chua once the class clown who played pranks on her teachers, but she was also a little overweight when she was in Secondary 2.
Now a beauty queen and an engineering undergraduate, she is someone many girls dream to be.
And this is her advice: 'Life is too short to care about other people's opinion of you. There are only four years in secondary school, so you should enjoy every single day of it.
'Always focus on your studies because there is no way to wind back the clock.'
Extracted from Straits Times 18 July 2004
