Australia tipped to lose one in 10 university jobs

Australia tipped to lose one in 10 university jobs
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/diminished-capacity-australia-tipped-to-lose-one-in-10-university-jobs-20200930-p560mv.html

Why does this happen? Ask our prime minister and his ministers to enrol in a diplomatic relation and communication course.

I shall discuss this in another blog in regards to how other countries benefited from Australia own action, leading to the demise of international education industry demise.

Thank you for reading.

Australia tipped to lose one in 10 university jobs

Students told to reject Box Hill TAFE after it waters down free course

Posted to Facebook on 31/7/2020 11:29 AM
Commenting on “Students told to reject Box Hill TAFE after it waters down free course"
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/students-told-to-reject-box-hill-tafe-after-it-waters-down-free-course-20200212-p54082.html

My hours of teaching at TAFEs dropped drastically when the funding cut was so severe. The cut was due to the smart Alec advisers and policy makers who came out with some ill-conceived ideas about market competition allowing private enterprises to open private colleges.

The quality of TAFE was not that bad when I started in the mid-90’s, but began to deteriorate when more and more overseas students came for further studies.

Early batches of students from Korea and Japan were good, hardworking and not spoilt brat. Of course, there were exceptions, but they belong to the minority.

The Indians and mainland China arrived in large numbers. The Indians were ok with English, but they came here with the intention to work to earn money to send to their families back in India. Many Chinese students were from families who were loaded, and to some extent, they were more like getting rid of the good riddance

Thank you for reading. 

Students told to reject Box Hill TAFE after it waters down free course

China's school kids are now the smartest in the world

Posted to Facebook on 31/7/2020 11:03 AM
Commenting on “https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/students-told-to-reject-box-hill-tafe-after-it-waters-down-free-course-20200212-p54082.html”
https://www.nst.com.my/world/world/2019/12/544468/chinas-schoolkids-are-now-smartest-world

Throughout history, education helps many poor people break out from the poverty cycle.

While some of these poor people that made it to the top worked very hard to self-support financially, many did have to be supported by parents, loved ones or people that have faith in them, because education was and is neither cheap nor free.

For decades if not centuries, wealthier countries seem to give their citizens a head start by promoting and providing free education for early learning age and primary schooling citizens.

Besides provision of Human Resources, some wealthier countries provide a lot more facilities, hoping the the students will excel in their academic performance.

From my personal experience, the latter assumption may not guarantee high success rate.

Chinese teaching styles and learning styles are very different from the Western education system. Chinese characters are single words not made up of a combination of alphabets.

Written in the traditional style, many of the characters can be identified by looking at the root words or radicals that form the word, and sometimes the pronunciation can be guessed. Unlike English words which are to great extent phonic, the Chinese words are tonal and almost all Chinese words have their unique sound.

That is why learning Chinese really begins with memorisation of words and their associated sound. This is the start of the rote system if learning.

I am a firm believer of rote learning, a system of repetition and drilling. The whole idea to get the information into our brain and stored for future use.

We all have two states of mind - the conscious and sub-conscious states. While we pay attention, our conscious mind is at work, in addition to our eavesdropping sub-conscious mind. Unfortunately, the things stored away by sub-conscious mind may not be in well organised manner and retrieval can be a bit difficult.

Repetition is a reinforcement, so that the sub-conscious mind is just as aware as the conscious mind.

Thank you for reading.

China's schoolkids are now the smartest in the world

China’s ‘wonder kids’ are literally too good to be true

Posted to Facebook on 21/7/2020 11:45 PM
Commenting on “China’s ‘wonder kids’ are literally too good to be true"
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3093813/chinas-wonder-kids-are-literally-too-good-be-true

I doubt some students who score top marks at school are really top performers, or whether their achievement is the result of their tutors or parents.

Do students go for tuition or helped by their parents understand the subjects better than the rest of the students who do not? My suspicion is that some tutors or the parents are the ghost writers doing the work or projects.

I prefer to teach students the problem solving methods, and give them enough clues to find the reference or source information to solve them. I normally explain the necessary terminology and definition before I proceed with a new chapter or topic.

It is always important give examples whenever possible, and explain in voice rather than just written words. However, if the examples can be shown on a whiteboard as well, then the students are assured of using more senses to digest the explanation.

Additionally, I also ask students to paraphrase what they have learnt.

I prefer to teach my students how to fish than to give them the fish

Thank you for reading.

China’s ‘wonder kids’ are literally too good to be true

Parents and children remote learning during the COVID-19 pandenic - 2

Posted to Facebook on 17/7/2020 5:51 PM
Commenting on “Parents and student children remote learning"

I have pointed out many times that far too many parents rely on others to raise their children, or outsource their child raising responsibility to childcare centre or after school carerers, school teachers or nannies.

When their children are bullied in cyberspace, the parents do not seek advice or coaching to help their children to deal with the problem. How difficult is it to turn off the computer or modem when the children are faced with cyber bullying?

It is most amazing that many educated parents can't help their children with their school work. Did the parents passed their primary or junior college (in the US)? A parents can follow the teaching concurrently with he child. If an adult can't follow the lesson, how can we expect the children to follow or learn?

Online learning or remote learning by the students without the presence of a teacher is definitely NOT on. The effective way is online teaching or remote teaching, where the students are to attend the cyberspace class with the teacher present as the host.

I am not a teacher but only a volunteer. Before the lockdown, I used to assist teachers to coach or deal with students who require more attention. At present, I am not able to help the school because of health risk, privacy and security reasons.

A good teacher can command the attention of the students either face-to-face in a real environment or in cyberspace.

China tries to step up pressure on Australia with warning to students

Posted to Facebook on 10/6/2020 2:33 AM
Commenting on “China tries to step up pressure on Australia with warning to students”
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3088254/china-seeks-step-pressure-australia-warning-students-risk

My warning about Australian government kept antagonising China would backfire, jeopardising Australian export, international education and tourism is not ill-founded.

It took a lot of hard work for late former PM Gough William to pave the way to Beijing, and developed relationship with China. It also benefited the US President Nixon to have dialogue with China through the Ping Pong diplomacy. Former PM Kelvin Rudd also played a role in reinforcing that relationship during his term in office.

Why must the Coalition especially the Liberal component behave so poorly to create unnecessary tension with China? With a big financial sink hole caused by the Coronavirus pandemic to fill, Australian economic downward slide may not see daylight for a long, long time without the injection of money from the major investor, China.

Should the economy continue to go south, the only way to reverse the trend is to have a new government with a totally different set of foreign policies, including reduced association with the US, and be more independent to stand up to the allies, who are bullies in disguise.

May God save Australia!

Thank you for reading.

China tries to step up pressure on Australia with warning to students

Parents and children remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic

Posted to Facebook on 10/5/2020 3:49 PM
Parents and children remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the real professional teachers are not with the students face-to-face. The valuable, positive contribution to the students' wellbeing, especially the young children's, is being realised.

Many parents of younger students find themselves helpless to coach and assist their children with online study. Shouldn't parents take some time to reflect on how they have contributed towards the upbringing of their children, preparing them to face and deal with unforeseen expectation and uncertainty in life?

Thank you for reading.

Parents are the most important teachers in a child’s life

Reposted to Facebook on 9/5/2020 10:37 AM Posted to Empty Vessel (1/4/2016) on 3 April 2016 at 9:16 AM Commenting on “A Letter to Singapore Parents” https://iantan.org/2016/04/a-letter-to-singapore-parents/

It is a norm that most people want more things and more throughput but not prepare to supply more input. Every new generation, new replaces the old, whether it is technology, fashion, concept, management style, food, parenting method, education, etc.

Instead of just making ends meet, many choose to climb much higher in the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs ladder at the expense of the fundamental need of parental love and care for the children; I do mean substitution of love by materialistic items.

As a spherical thinking educator, I am in favour of old style “teaching” including spelling, dictation, and “repeat after me” reading, plus practical logical and cognitive learning

Parents are the most important teachers in a child’s life the moment the child comes to the world. Parents attend school to learn English, maths, cooking, public relation, finance, and all sorts of subjects trying to achieve a brighter and better future, but they forget they have already brought the future to the world, their child. Parents do not “attend” classes on how to cope with and prepare the child, because parenting classes are hard to find. They blame their forebear for making their generation rebellious or what they have become, but never question what sort of a child they will bring up.

The difficulties faced by previous generation were that most chores were done manually and information was at a premium. They did not have the opportunity and luxury to “learn”. Unfortunately, parents of today are too lazy to learn despite the advancement in technology, and therefore they have no idea how to communicate with their children.

There is no one size fits all education system. It is evitable that the students of today have to learn more, some old but mainly new subjects. The society is getting more complex and speed of progress is getting faster. Parents can stay at the bus stop, drive in slow speed lane or the take the highway. The means and therefore the end result will be entirely different.

Apathy is the cause of all down fall. Contribute and voice your positive ideas; don’t just knock others’ without giving a good counter reason.

Why the university system is failing our graduates

Posted to Facebook on 30/4/2020 2:05 PM
Commenting on “Why the university system is failing our graduates”
https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/work/2019/10/22/australian-university-graduate-jobs/

This news article was from 22 October 2019. If there was a problem for graduates to find jobs after graduation, what are the chances now after the coronavirus pandemic?

I had a chat with a FB friend yesterday over Messenger, and I discussed about why graduates should try to land themselves with a job relevant to what they had studied, before considering going for higher degree.

For years, I encouraged many students to take up an Advanced Diploma courses from TAFE, find a job and then find pathway to complete a degree later. It takes less time to complete an Advanced Diploma course than a degree, cost less, but has the advantage of having the core materials covered, relevant to fulfil the employment requirement.

Some TAFE and VET courses are more hands-on and practical, thus makes a TAFE graduates more employable.

As for future promotion, it is up to the individual to pursue further study.

Employers are looking for more than a degree or Advanced Diploma, and I shall discuss this more in later blogs.

Thank you for reading.

Why the university system is failing our graduates

Worried parents ask principals to take their kids

Posted to Facebook on 16/4/2020 10:29 PM
Posted to The Age (16/4/2020) on 16/4/2020
Commenting on “Worried parents ask principals to take their kids”
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/we-can-t-do-this-worried-parents-ask-principals-to-take-their-kids-20200416-p54kk1.html

If parents can’t help their children in home schooling and home work, does it mean that many parents have low level of literacy and numeracy? It’s time some of these parents should re-enrol in a primary school.

Far too often, parents point fingers at teachers for not doing their job educating the children. It is time that the society must realise schools are the best and cheapest childcare centres around.

Respect the teachers, support the teachers.

Thank you for reading.

Worried parents ask principals to take their kids

No more Zoom for home-based learning after hackers show obscene photos to Singapore students

Posted to Facebook on 10/4/2020 11:16 PM
Commenting on “No more Zoom for home-based learning after hackers show obscene photos to Singapore students”
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/hackers-hijack-home-based-lessons-on-zoom-to-allegedly-show-obscene-photos-to-children

Zoom video conferencing users beware.

Lack of security enables hackers to join the chat room. Read the attached news article from Singapore, banning use of Zoom school online home-based lessons. Zoom attracts Zoom bombing, like what the school children have experienced.

Zoom's security flaws have led to a number of organizations, companies, and schools banning or restricting its use.

Government and government agencies banning such use include NASA, Taiwan, Australian Defence Force, German Foreign Ministry, US Senate.

Google also ban its employees using Zoom on company-owned desktop and laptop computers, and administrators will disable it this week.

Many people with no knowledge or do not care about cyber security jump into the band wagon because it is the in-thing during this coronavirus pandemic, will be get more than they bargained for, and likely have their video conferencing posted to other media without their consent.

Stay Home, Stay Safe, Stay Away from Zoom.

Thank you for reading.

No more Zoom for home-based learning after hackers show obscene photos to Singapore students

Every graduate should have a good understanding of Marketing

Posted to Facebook on 4/2/2020 8:46 PM
Every graduate should have a good understanding of Marketing

Written on 4 February 2020

Every graduate should have a good understanding of Marketing, including the technique of selling products and services.

The graduate is the product and what they can offer are the services.

In one of my early careers, I was a professional cake decorator cum marketer. No matter how beautiful my creation and masterpiece was, it just looked beautiful and that was all. It did not feed my ”empty stomach”, so to say. That beautiful cake had to be sold to exchange for money, and for that I had to convince the market, the arena where exchanges took place, that the beautiful cake had its worth and value.

Graduates need to be able to market themselves as a total package, the person and what that person possesses in the grey matter.

Thank you for reading.

My Story - Volunteering at a primary school

Posted to Facebook on 31/3/2020 3:44 AM
My Story - Volunteering at a primary school"

I am very fortunate that the school I volunteer in trusted me to assist teachers in three different Years in a single day.

In a normal class, a teacher can only use one method (teaching style) to teach the students. However, when the class teacher assigned me to help small groups each are generally of the same competence level, I can use different techniques to help them understand better.

In my opinion the problem is not about the class size, but the student mix. It does not matter how a young teacher is mentored, they will still be frustrated because the one-size-fits-all method will not achieve an optimal outcome. It is sad that the system got rid of streaming, and therefore the end result is that the overall performance is just average. That my be what Australian culture is about - chopping down the tall poppies!

How can a young teacher deal with a student rolling on the floor crying, or the student keeps saying she is a failure? How can a young teacher cope with naughty or mischievous students who cannot be punished or reprimanded? How can a young teacher just use generic words to describe exact nature of the students' behaviour or the actual performance of the students in the "report card"?

It is not just the young teachers having problems. In fact many experienced teachers are as stressed and frustrated when they write the individual reports.

Thank you for reading.

'Worst since 1932': Two million Aussies face unemployment queue

Posted to Facebook on 24/3/2020 at 9:53 PM
'Worst since 1932': Two million Aussies face unemployment queue
'Worst since 1932': Two million Aussies face unemployment queue

I am very vocal and I really don’t like a lot of the interviewers and interviewing techniques used by the employment agency consultants, HR representatives and potential employers.

The terminologies used are no more than jargons, and normally fairly new in the vocabulary. Unless the job seekers have just finished a management course in tertiary education, there is a Buckley’s chance that they can understand what they interviewers are talking about.

One typical example is about being a team player. Without having worked in that specific company or organisation, how does one know about it’s team dynamics, and therefore whether one can fit in. Then there are words like hard skills and soft skills.

Some of the advertisements are just plain ridiculous and expect too much. Unfortunately, these are written just as a formality, because the position is meant for someone awaits to be promoted internally but due to organisation policies that the position has to be advertised externally.

Cities go into lockdown, and many businesses especially fashion, hospitality, entertainment, motor vehicle and tourism and all related industries will close for good. No one has ever imagined such a disaster can ever happen leading to depression.

No one knows when this pandemic will end, and how much longer can any government pour money in to support the businesses, workers who have been stood down and casual workers who could not find work to subsidise their income. Many businesses may not survive and even if there is a restart button, some businesses will take much longer to rebuild.

Those unemployed former employment consultants, HR experts and business owners will be queuing up to compete with a lot of others. These people will understand some of prejudices they had before, and how difficult is to be across am interviewing panel bombarded with questions only the quick minded can handle.

The negative impact of this disastrous pandemic on private schools is more visible than the public sector. I did challenge the usefulness of the lush green carpet grass school field, swimming pool, gymnasium, posh canteen, etc. These do not come into the equation of education system proper.

For those loyal followers of my real estate blogs, you probably have heard enough about my asking you to save, save and save for rainy days, and never jump in to invest on negatively geared properties. I think my advice is spot on. My prediction about the negative impact on the real estate industry has come true. Auctions and property inspection are halted during the current state of emergency and the imposition of self-distancing rule on public gathering.

After all that being said, do not get disappointed, disillusion and get yourself into a state of depression. You have a lot of spare time, and use this time wisely to self-improve yourself, not only in terms of knowledge, but also outlook in life. This is also the time to reconsider your next career path.

In one of my blogs, I explained economy will stay stagnant if money does not flow by changing hand. Until consumer confidence returns, that is when people perceive to have financial stability again, money will be saved rather than spent.

The economic recovery takes time, and you must remain strong, physically and mentally.

Thank you for reading.

'Worst since 1932': Two million Aussies face unemployment queue

How a Springvale school overcame disadvantage and blitzed NAPLAN

Posted to Facebook on 21/4/2020 at 10:16 AM
Commenting on "How a Springvale school overcame disadvantage and blitzed NAPLAN"
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/how-a-springvale-school-overcame-disadvantage-and-blitzed-naplan-20200320-p54ca5.html

It is nothing to do with the best school canteen, green carpet grass school field, swimming pool or the best equipped science laboratory, but the effort put in for quality teaching.

Many schools market through glossy advertisement and promotional material as well as on multi-media. Some also spend big for a few seconds air time on television.

There are quiet achievers that target at the students’ shortcomings and find ways to improve on the them, rather than on the parents’ hip pockets.

So, when you enrol your child in the forthcoming year, find out more about the history of the school, and compare how much you have subsidise those posh facilities that your child will never use.

Thank you for reading.

How a Springvale school overcame disadvantage and blitzed NAPLAN

It is unimportant mathematics and science be taught in English

Posted to Facebook on 21/3/2020 9:08 AM
It is unimportant mathematics and science be taught in English"

English language is like Lego blocks. With the blocks, one can build small figurines as well as gigantic castles or even spaceships.

When one talks about Maths and Science subjects, they do not realise these are more than just subjects that can be taught in English language or any language with any loss in translation. Both subjects contain special languages, and technically speaking, more advanced papers can be written incorporating these special languages.

Historically China was great in many branches of maths, but the lack of Positional representation of numbers, and maths symbols, China fell behind in the development of powerful maths. In the ancient time in China, a number is written in words rather than Arabic-Hindu numerals.

Science formula and information of elements shown in a Periodic table are not normal English sentences conforming to the proper grammatical construct. They have their own rules and syntax.

There are debates going on in some countries whether maths and science be taught in English, my answer is "that's unimportant".

Thank you for readding.

'Mass confusion': Classrooms thin out as parents pull kids from school

Posted to Facebook on 17/3/2020 at 12:04 PM
Commenting on “'Mass confusion': Classrooms thin out as parents pull kids from school”
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/mass-confusion-classrooms-thin-out-as-parents-pull-kids-from-school-20200316-p54aly.html

This is why I am so dissatisfied with the state Government and Chief Medical Officer of their wish-washy instructions and indecision in closing the schools.

The number of deaths caused by the COVID-19 has been estimated by some experts to be between 50,000 and 150,000. Why don’t theses procrastinating pendulums just call the shot to close down the schools now, just like the Grand Prix?

Is it possible to have social distancing between teachers and students? Have they seen how Prep or lower primary school children behave in the classrooms, and in the school yard? Do teachers just let the little angels walk by themselves, or stay 4 feet away?

The news article in the following Comment presents a totally different view by the author why keeping the schools open for the sake of the kids.

I believe this is the opportune time for the Education Department or educators to develop and implement online remote teaching classes, like using Google Education / Classroom, a concept that has been in my mind for a long time.

In fact some less sophisticated form of webinar or podcast have been around, and even church services are recorded for the absent congregation.

There are many factors that hinder the use of such method, particularly the cost factor whether to be borne by the parents, and how well the students can operate the computer or similar devices.

Thank you for reading.

'Mass confusion': Classrooms thin out as parents pull kids from school

The future of work won’t be about college degrees, it will be about job skills

Posted to Facebook on 16/3/2020 at 11:06 AM
Commenting on "The future of work won’t be about college degrees, it will be about job skills"
https://bit.ly/2x9Nyb7

If everyone has similar job skills, the competition will still exist and no one is wiser. The most important factor to win the race is to be a multi-disciplinarian.

The is no one-size-fits-all job, and college degrees are equally important. Many courses need to be modified to adapt to market requirements.

I have been advocating that all people, obviously include students as well, should have a good understanding of marketing.

Successful marketing is about knowing consumer and buyer psychology, and match their needs and wants. Having job skills, therefore, may not match the potential needs and wants of the employers, and give the wrong idea to the future job seekers that it is the panacea to secure a job.

Thank you for reading.

The future of work won’t be about college degrees, it will be about job skills

My Story - A day with the Preppy

Posted to Facebook on 14/3/2020 at 1:11 PM
A day with the Preppy

Written on 29 February 2020

After a long break, I returned to the Prep class again on Tuesday 24 February, I arrived just about 5 minutes early, and the door of the single storey building to the classrooms was closed, but not locked.

There was a long queue of students accompanied by their parents. I think the parents were just as eager to get in the building than the students.

I opened the door of the building which housed several classrooms. Class teacher Mrs G had not arrived yet; so I roamed round and checked out what were on the display boards and on the wall in the classroom.

Mrs G arrived, and opened the door for the anxious parents and students to come in. Overall, they were were well behaved; the cute children walked in a single file but some were holding on to their parents. Surprisingly, none was in tears.

The noise of the excited students and the parents broke the silence. Many parents spoke with the children in Mandarin, while the rest in English. The parents helped the kiddies’ to locate their respective cubical storage to put away their bags and lunch boxes.

There were hardly any Caucasian students, about 10% of the total class enrolment.

Mrs G introduced me to the young students, and they would addressed me as Mr Chan from then on.

The students learn the phonic pronunciation. That is not something I am in favour of.

Thank you for reading.

Logic and creative hemispheres of the brain affect students liking STEM subjects

Posted to Facebook 8/3/2020 1:31 AM
Logic and creative hemispheres of the brain affect students liking STEM subjects

Written on 8 March 2020

Some people have developed well logic part of the brain, or left hemisphere, and they tend to be more capable in handling STEM subjects. For others, they are like to struggle to well in those subjects.

Conversely, people who have well developed cognitive or creative part of the brain,or right hemisphere tend to paint, dance, act better or have greater understanding and appreciation of arts.

I have been volunteering in a primary school, helping students in maths ranging from Prep to Year 6. I have been given a free hand by the teachers to help students with learning difficulty.

There are many reasons why some cannot do well, not only in maths but also in other subjects. In general, it has nothing to do with brain development.

It takes time, patience and power of observation to unlock each individual's problems.

I have tried and successfully helped a number of students by building up their confidence, self-esteem, changing mindset, showing them how to approach problems from different angles, etc.

Once the blockage is realised and unblocked, the students can be left to their own devices.

The teachers appreciate my effort very much, and invite me back term after the term, and the Principal and Assistant Principals treat me like another staff member.

Thank you for reading.

My Story - A day helping at a primary school

Posted to Facebook on 23/2/2020 at 3:24 AM
My Story - A day helping at a primary school

Written on 23 February 2020

On Monday, 17 February 2020, I dropped by at the primary school I volunteered in last year to check with the teachers when I should resume my service this term.

Two out of three teachers I helped are using different classrooms, except the Prep class teacher. The former Year 5 teacher is teaching Year 1 this term.

Only the Year 4 teacher was ready, while the other two asked me to delay for another week or two when they get things sorted out.

Tuesday, 18 February, the rain bucketed down as I was about to walk to the school. I had no choice but to drive for just half a kilometer in order not get myself drenched. This was the first day I sat behind the steering wheel after my surgery.

I met the Year 4 students. They were doing maths on number value and position. My role in the class is to help a designated group of students when necessary, otherwise I just help whoever require my attention or assistance.

I am a very strict teacher, and when I see a student makes a mistake, I want it fixed without delay. However, I make sure the student understands why the mistake was made, and how it can be fixed. I do not like to see a straight line crooked, not drawn with a ruler, or a mistake not rubbed off properly, before new information is written over it.

The class teacher pointed out to me two students who were rather difficult to manage, because they seldom followed instructions or paid attention. I did have a chance to deal with one of them, and I put him "straight" by doing it my "proper" way.

Children do need to learn to behave, especially in a group environment, and do things properly in order to build a firm foundation for future undertaking.

There were two girls reading with their books held at very close distance. Both were not wearing glasses. I asked them to mention to their parents that they needed to have their eyes check out.

For about half an hour, the class was switched from maths to English. I then supervised the students doing some English activities.

The class teacher asked a girl who just joined the school this year to read me a story from some printed sheets. She had a soft voice, and a problem with her diction. Many people, not students only, speak with monotone.

I stopped her after she finished the first page. I just wanted her to relax and had a casual chat with her. I asked whether she liked acting, or made a speech on stage in front of an audience. She had a smile on her face, and replied she liked acting. I told her she could make it if she listened to my advice.

I never mentioned the word confidence to her; I did not tell her about her "negatives", but I advised her not to bend her neck, look at the sentence first before reading it aloud; and raise or drop her tone according to the punctuation.

With my guidance, she no longer read the story; she was telling the story confidently with expression and proper tonation. Most importantly, she enjoyed my lesson!

Thank you for reading.

Like being thrown off a bus': Mentor program to ease load on teachers

Posted to Facebook on 29/2/2020 2:44 PM
Posted to The Age (18/2/2020) on 19/2/2020 (Not published by the newspaper)
Commenting on "'Like being thrown off a bus': Mentor program to ease load on teachers"
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/like-being-thrown-off-a-bus-mentor-program-to-ease-load-on-teachers-20200218-p541zo.html

There is a Chinese saying, "It takes 10 years to grow a tree, but takes 100 years to grow a person".

Although all of us live on the same planet, many young people segmented themselves in their world of instant result and glorification, and therefore teaching is not really suited for them, even if teaching was their ideal and ambition when they were children.

There is a misconception and misuse of the words teacher and educator, and therefore the any articles referring teachers as educators could be wrong.

While an educator is a skilled teacher, not all teachers are educators. An educator does not focus on curriculum and syllabus like a teacher, but on development and progress.

I was a lecturer and teacher in the tertiary sector for over 2 decades. For the last two years, I have been a volunteer working hands-on in classrooms with prep and primary students. The Principal and those teachers I have helped appreciated the way I "coached" the students, and invited me back again this year.

During my time in class, I have met several young upcoming teachers in internship or workplacement. I can visualise the tough journey ahead of them. They may have the formal qualifications, but lack the life experience to deal with rather unpredictable behaviour of young children and explosive behaviour of teenagers.

How can a young teacher, unlikely to possess the knack to pacify a child like a parent or handle a teenager even bigger in size? (I had a student at a college who failed in his assignment wanted to punch me because he could not accept the verdict!)

The big competence gap of students within a class is a complete nightmare for many experienced teachers, let alone the inexperienced young ones. The education system decides that streaming is bad for social interaction, and allows the very smart students to be among the very average and slow learners in a class.

Who should the teacher give more attention to? When attention is paid to one group, the others are left out and feel frustrated. The overall performance is just average, and that is not what a young teacher, or in fact for the experienced ones as well, aimed to achieve. The teachers might think that they fail to be good teachers!

Being passionate in teaching is not good enough. What they received in their formal training may not be adequate. They need to learn to be smart to deal with many different situations using "Sun Zi Bing Fa" - Sun Zi Military Strategies or Sun Tze - The Art of War (incorrect translation of the book title); they need to learn marketing to promote their presence in the class, develop techniques for the current teaching style and help the students to recognise their learning styles.

Many people get turned off by the word "marketing". The normal off-the-shelf marketing course will not suit the classroom environment. It has to be modified, like many TAFE courses, to target specifically at education.

While mentoring may help young graduates and teachers to overcome some of the pressures anxiety, I believe they need a very patient inspirational motivator too boost their confidence level and improve their grit mindset.

Thank you for reading. 

Like being thrown off a bus': Mentor program to ease load on teachers

I quit: why do so many young teachers abandon the profession?

Posted to Facebook on 16/2/2020 on 1:04 PM
Commenting on "I quit: why do so many young teachers abandon the profession?"
https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/i-quit-why-do-so-many-young-teachers-abandon-the-profession-20160126-gmebbu.html

Written on 16 February 2020

There is a Chinese saying, "It takes 10 years to grow a tree, but takes 100 years to grow a person".

Although all of us live on the same planet, many young people segmented themselves in their world of instant result and glorification, and therefore teaching is not really suited for them, even if teaching was their ideal and ambition when they were children.

There is a misconception and misuse of the words teacher and educator, and therefore the any articles referring teachers as educators are wrong.

While an educator is a skilled teacher, but not all teachers are educators. An educator does not focus on curriculum and syllabus like a teacher, but on development and progress.

During my time as a volunteer working handson in classrooms with prep and primary students, I met several young upcoming teachers in internship or workplacement. I can visualise the tough journey ahead of them. They may have the formal qualification, but lack the life experience to deal with rather unpredictable behaviour of young children and explosive behaviour of teenagers.

How can a young teacher, unlikely to possess the knack to pacify a child like a parent or handle a teenager even bigger in size? I had a student in a college who failed in his assignment wanted to punch me because he did not accept the verdict!

The big competence gap of students within a class is a complete nightmare for many experienced teachers, let alone the young ones. The education system decides that straming is bad for social interaction, and allows the very smart students to be among the very average and slow learners in a class.

Who should the teacher give more attention to? When attention is paid to one group, the others are left out and feel frustrated. The overall performance is just average, and that is not what a young teacher, or in fact for the experienced ones as well, aimed to achieve. The teachers might think that they fail to be good teachers!

Being passionate in teaching is not good enough. What they received in their formal training may not be adequate. They need to learn to be smart to deal with many different situations using "Sun Zi Bing Fa" - Sun Zi Strategies of War; they need to learn marketing to promote their presence in the class, develop techniques for the corrent teaching style and help the students to recogniose their learning styles.


Thank you for reading.

I quit: why do so many young teachers abandon the profession?

An art lesson in Primary 1 that triggered my right hemisphere to like arts

Posted to Facebook on 10/2/2020 at 2:03 AM
An art lesson in Primary 1 that triggered my right hemisphere to like arts

Written on 9 February 2020

An art lesson in Primary 1 that triggered my right hemisphere to like arts I was in Primary 1. The classroom was at the far end of the school; in fact it was the very last one in the school building which was in the shape of the Chinese characterd for mountain 山. I never complained about the location, because it was closest to the toilet block, and that came in handy. It saved me a lot of time and energy to walk there. Can't you remember what I just told you that I was in Primary 1? My legs were much shorter then.

My class teacher was a lady, slightly plumpish, and wore a pair of glasses. The students including me addressed her as Teacher Liang. She was approachable, and carried a smile on her face most of the time. Besides teaching us reading and writing in Mandarin, she also taught us singing, and drawing / painting. She played the piano.

Despite having a memory like an elephant, I could only remember one or two things about Teacher Liang and her teaching. I remember I visited her at the end of the year with Mum to thank her for being a good teacher.

During those days, there was a big "dark green board" mounted on the wall in front of the classroom. I was not a tall boy, and therefore, lucky me, I sat in the front row just facing the board. I could see the board without straining my eyes, and hear clearly what the teachers delivered. I did not care about other students making noise in the class.

White chalk was used to write on the board, except when the teacher wanted to highlight something, then colour chalks were used.

Besides that, colour chalks were used for drawing. On this particular day, Teacher Liaung drew something that changed part of my life, not the whole life, but only the development of the artistic part of my brain. Teacher Liang drew a lot things on the board before, but this gigantic drawing filled in purple and green was something unusual about it. It was a vegetable, not the usual one I was familiar with.
It was a Brinjal. Oops, the brinjal I knew was not a big fat one like that. It should be like the size of a cucumber instead. I should know this, because Dad had a market store in the Central Market in Kuala Lumpur, selling all sorts of fresh vegetables.

When I arrived in Australia years after, I learnt that Australians had no idea what a brinjal was. The big big fat "brinjal" Teacher Leung drew was known as an Egg Plant.

Purple was not a common colour that I encountered in daily life, and the shape of the brinjal drawn by Teacher Liang was similar to a baby's milk bottle. Was there a correlation between the two features? I could not figure out even until now. Strangely, I can still recall that image just like when I first saw it drawn on the dark green board.

This experience convinces me that what children learn in early childhood and in primary schooling will have an impact in their future development and undertakings. However, most people do not realise, because they never think those early days matter.

I shall write more about my "artistic skill" development in my future blogs yet to be written and published in my special interest group.

Thank you for reading.

My Story - My first degree

Posted to Facebook 4/2/2020 10:59 PM
My Story - My first degree

Written on 4 February 2020

The basic degree is just the beginning, and that applies to Malaysia and all other countries, including Australia, that‘s where I am.

In the early days, many male Malaysians came to Australia to study Engineering, economics or accounting. The number of females could be counted just with my fingers.

My HSC results were good enough even for medicine, but I chose science, a course which required much lower score. Many friends were puzzled!

There were two good reasons for my choice:

1. Hardly anyone knew about computers, what they could do and whether there was a future in this unknown field.

Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology RMIT offered computer science course which covered a bit more on hardware then software. However, I chose Melbourne University for a degree course in Information Science which had a few subjects that involved computer logic and programming, plus mathematics. I knew I wanted to study something that would be in great demand in the coming years. I was spot on.

2. I wanted to study a course that required the least time and easier to complete. The sooner I got out of the University, the sooner I could join the workforce “to bring home the bacon”.

I neither studied for my interest, nor for prestige for example to be a doctor. I study for my first employment.

Choosing an easier course meant that I did not impose too much stress on myself, and I could achieve my first major “success” in life with a piece of paper to prove. Like the adage goes, “Success breeds success”!

I shot bulleyes on both.

Thank you for reading.

More and more graduates are facing unemployment in Malaysia

Posted to Facebook om 4/2/2000 at 8:06 PM
Commenting on "More and more graduates are facing unemployment in Malaysia"
https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2020/02/562309/more-and-more-graduates-are-facing-unemployment-malaysia

Written on 4 February 2020

With a brain that enables them to gain entrance to university and become graduated, but do not use it to find out the usefulness of the course to enable them to gain employment, that is the true failure.

Do not blame the system. It’s your own life. Find out the supply and demand before enrolling in a course. Many students study for their interests at that time, but they do not realise that piece of framed degree paper can’t feed empty stomachs.

A lot of people spend more time in researching for a pair of brand name shoes, gadgets, household appliances, cars, but do not do the same for big ticket items like a house or a degree course. Ironic indeed.

Thank you for reading.

More and more graduates are facing unemployment in Malaysia

Appetite for this style of education is growing': Victoria's newest schools

Posted to Facebook on 2/2/2020 at 5:28 PM
Posted to The Age (2/2/2020) on 2/2/2020 (not published by the newspaper)
Commenting on "Appetite for this style of education is growing': Victoria's newest schools" https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/appetite-for-this-style-of-education-is-growing-victoria-s-newest-schools-20191203-p53gf6.html

A school is just a building. With technology, virtual school does not rely or mega million dollars up market swish building.

The ultimate goal of a school is to "produce" the right sort of the students or graduates who can serve the community, and that requires the right sort of teachers.

I sincerely hope the school funding is used for raising the quality of teaching rather than cosmetically beautifying the facet of the brick-and-mortar.

Thank you for reading.

Appetite for this style of education is growing': Victoria's newest schools

Coding to be mandatory in primary, early high school

Posted to Facebook on 2/2/2020 at 3:28 AM
Commenting on "Coding to be mandatory in primary, early high school"
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/coding-to-be-mandatory-in-primary-early-high-school-20180817-p4zy5d.html

I wonder how many students will turn out to be good coders. During my early days, I was known as a programmer. Don’t get me wrong, I still like to be known as a computer programmer.

This is another burden to the young students, and almost all the primary school teachers are not trained to teach or guide the students.

Many people don’t understand what a computer bug can do a programmer. A computer bug is not something that spread disease like flu and cold, but it can cause undue stress to many young mind.

A bug is something coded incorrectly that causes the program to perform errornuosly, including terminating abruptly, doing things repeatedly that could not be stopped normally, or producing disastrous outcome.

A seemingly easy to fix bug is never easy to fix. Once a bug is removed, it may cause another to surface, and sometimes the so called simple bug can take days or even longer to fix.

The process of fixing the problem is known as debugging the program. There are tools available to debug the most obviously ones, but “life is not meant to be easy” especially for a programmer. Big programs can contain many thousands or more lines of instructions, and finding the culprit is like “finding a needle in a hay stack”.

Unfortunately, this is a drain to valuable resource for the schools, and a teacher cannot waste too much time helping the very frustrated students to debug the program.

Some schools are introducing 3D printing, and the equipment and materials used are very expensive. It is bad enough that some schools are forcing the students to buy computer in early primary years, and expenses just piling up after that. What if 3D becomes mandatory, and the students pester the parents to buy the equipment?

After helping students up to Year 5 last year, I know coding is definitely not for these students or under. It is not just my opinion, but my professional opinion with the backing of 50 years of hands-on programming experience.

Thank you for reading.

Coding to be mandatory in primary, early high school

My Story - A function at Dixon House Neighbourhood Learning Centre

Posted to Facebook on 31/1/2020 at 3:37 AM
My Story - A function at Dixon House Neighbourhood Learning Centre

Dixon House Neighbourhood Learning Centre hosted an event on 28/11/2019 evening to thank the volunteers. I was invited for being a mentor to job seekers and a guest speaker on an occasion.

A few weeks ago, as a guest speaker I gave a 10-minute presentation on Communication and Communication Skill. The content of the presentation covered how to handle Stage Fright.

For people who have met me in person can testify that I have no problems in communicating on 1-to-1 basis or with a large audience.

In my true form, I mingled with many guestsat the volunteer function, including the person who gave impetus for my presentation on communication.

Did he benefit from my presetation? Sure did, and he thanked me for the rechnique in hadling stage fright.

Thank you for reading.

Knowledge is everywhere - do not get bogged down with tunnel vision

Posted to Facebook on 30/1/2020 at 9:38 AM
Knowledge is everywhere - do not get bogged down with tunnel vision

Knowledge is everywhere. You can read it, listen to it, feel it, smell it and even taste it.

Be like a 4-year old child and asks why, then grow up to be like a 6-year old and asks how. Obviously, try to get to the bottom of it.

According to a source, "Corporate companies when interview fresh graduates lately found out that many youth including those who did very well in their studies are weak in general knowledge".

A book worm is only a worm. They crawl so slowly, in a very small area. While parents are partly to blame, they are not educators and likely do not possess wealth of knowledge.

Good students or rather smart ones should understand that knowledge does not come from textbooks / Dr Google alone, and colleges / universities do not prepare students to deal with myriads of life issues.

Seek and you'll find; such as talking with people from all walks of life and all ages, visiting places with open mind, DO NOT get bogged down on tunnel vision of religious belief, read all sorts of materials, watch various television program's, etc.

Thank you for reading.

Parents count the cost as classrooms dump textbooks for MacBooks

Posted to Facebook on 26/1/2020 on 11:47 AM
Posted to The Age (25/1/2020) on 26/1/2020 (comment not published by the newspaper)
Commenting on "Parents count the cost as classrooms dump textbooks for MacBooks"
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/parents-count-the-cost-as-classrooms-dump-textbooks-for-macbooks-20200125-p53uoi.html

With devices “connected” to a central server, updates of software including operating system OS is the job of a professional in the organisation. Any problems encountered is just a phone call away.

It is not just the cost of the device but also associated costs like new software, or upgrades of certain application software incompatible to the new OS.

How can a teacher supervise or stop a student from switching from one application to another in a class of 20 students when their back is turned?

It is a complete nightmare to “mark” assignments submitted online. Teacher has to be at a table or having the device on hand in order to read them. It is a bigger nightmare to comment on digital submission. Not every school has the proper platform to simulate or handle classroom environment. It is very time consuming to open and close each individual folder and identify the relevant submission.

Imagine an assignment having a number of pages, and at certain point, it refers to materials pages somewhere. With paper base submission, the pages could be spread across a table top for ease of reference. Even with digital links, the screen normally is suitable to display certain amount of information in a suitable readable size.

At younger age, students learn to write and draw the old fashion way. This is entirely different from a digital pen, and many children do have problems manipulating those digital accessories.

Watching a video on a device saves a lot of time, but do students understand what they are watching? Teachers are not able to see the body language of the students, and it is difficult to fix their problems aftermath.

I volunteer in a primary school helping teachers to help students require additional attention in their class work. The students use the school computers.

A lot of time is wasted to fix a computer problem in class, be it hardware or software, even with my experience. The rest of the students requiring help are put on hold, unless another “good” computer is available.

Teachers are not technical experts, and they are not paid to fix such problems. How do the teachers know that the digital “homework”, if any, is done by the students not someone else?

Thank you for reading.

Parents count the cost as classrooms dump textbooks for MacBooks

9 July is the most suitable day as the Australia Day

Posted to Facebook on 25/1/2020 at 8:08 AM
9 July is the most suitable day as the Australia Day

26 January has been celebrated as the Australia Day since 1935. Many Australians, especially the Indigenous Australians, are unhappy about the current date and want it changed. After some extensive search, I come to conclusion that 9 July is the most suitable day.

The following article was written on 25/1/2017

In 1770, Lieutenant James Cook sailed along and mapped the east coast, which he named New South Wales and claimed for Great Britain.

On 13 May 1787 a fleet of 11 ships which came to be known as the First Fleet, was sent by the British Admiralty from England to Australia under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip, to establish a new penal colony in New South Wales.

The raising of the Flag of Great Britain at Sydney Cove, Port Jackson, on 26 January 1788 marked the proclamation of British sovereignty over the eastern seaboard of Australia.

British settlements led to the foundation of Tasmania which became a separate colony in 1825. The British Government formally claimed the western part of Western Australia in 1828. Separate colonies were carved from parts of New South Wales: South Australia in 1836, Victoria in 1851, and Queensland in 1859. Between 1855 and 1890, the six colonies individually gained responsible government, managing most of their own affairs while remaining part of the British Empire.

The Australian Constitution Bill was drafted at a series of constitutional conventions held in the 1890s. Almost a decade of planning, consultation and voting in referendums, the final draft of the Australian Constitution was taken to British Parliament in 1900 by a delegation led by Edmund Barton.
ommonwealth of Australia,
Queen Victoria approved the bill on 9 July 1900 by signing the Royal Commission of Assent. The bill providing for the creation of the Commonwealth of Australia became law, enacting the Australian Constitution and the founding of the Commonwealth.

On 1 January 1901, the six colonies federated. Before then Australia did not exist as a nation and was a collection of six British colonies under the law-making power of the British Parliament.

It was not until 1935 that all Australian states and territories had adopted use of the term "Australia Day" to mark the date, 26 January. However, Indigenous Australians regard Australia Day as a symbol of the adverse impacts of British settlement on Australia's Indigenous peoples. Historically speaking, 26 January was the proclamation day of British sovereignty over the eastern seaboard of Australia only.

Several dates have been proposed to move Australia Day to an alternative date.

As early as 1957, 1 January was suggested as a possible alternative day, to commemorate the Federation of Australia, but was inappropriate as it coincided with New Year's Day.

Of all other dates being considered, 9 July seems to be the most appropriate because Queen Victoria gave her assent to the Constitution of Australia, thus forming the Commonwealth of Australia.

9 July 1900, Australia, the nation, was born!

Reference Sources
Wikipedia
Parliamentary Education Office
National Archives Australia

Silence is NOT golden

Posted to Facebook on 22/1/2020 at 12:13 PM
Is silence golden? Not necessary so

I never understood what this poster was about, until many years later. I saw a poster on a tram in 1970. I had no idea what it meant, who advertised it and for whom.

It was a drawing of a rather sad expressive face of a very young child, and the background was lemon yellow. I can still remember the words vividly, “Tell them you still love them”.

A lot of times, we assume everyone thinks the same, and reacts the same way. However, this is not the case.

When we live in Australia, there are certain accepted expectations for new comers to behave to be part of this country. No, I do not think these expectations are unrealistic. One of such expectations is "silence is NOT golden".

Generally speaking, most baby boomers’ childhood whether they were brought up in an Asian country or in Australia, many parents were very strict, and not expressive to show their love towards their children. There were some kind of unwritten rules that children should understand.

Unfortunately, many children might misunderstand that their parents did not love them because they never get any kisses or hugs. The parents would console and defend themselves by saying “we have given you everything, we sacrifice everything for you!”

What the children wanted was an expression of love, a simple sentence of “we love you!”

What do parents expect from children in return?

I was at JB Hifi. I child wanted to ”show off” to his mum that he could write on an iPad. He wrote, “I love you Mum”.

His mother told the child, “I am here. You don’t have to write it. It will mean more if you say it to me”

In my next blog, I shall discuss about the magic words, “Thank You”.

Thank you for reading.

Expert raises doubts over 'growth mindset' phenomenon

Posted to Facebook on 18/1/2020 at 10:13 AM
Comme nting on :Expert raises doubts over 'growth mindset' phenomenon"
https://www.theage.com.au/education/schools-will-dump-it-expert-raises-doubts-over-growth-mindset-phenomenon-20190913-p52r5d.html

Many years ago, a senior staff (in position) at Box Hill TAFE told me that I was not just a teacher, but an educator. There is a big difference between a teacher and an educator.

A teacher is one who knows the content, and presents the information to the students, while an educator makes relationship more important than content, and is proficient in all kinds of strategies including differentiation, meaningful and authentic assessments, etc.

While Edward De Bono promulgated Lateral Thinking, I like to go one dimension further and call myself a Spherical Thinker. Lateral Thinking implies 2-dimensional thinking, while Spherical Thinking goes far beyond the present accepted theories and arguments by the experts, and look into space, time dimensions, and abstract concepts. A Spherical Thinker is more open-minded, and listens to the views of the skeptics.

To be a Spherical Thinker, one acquires knowledge from as many sources as possible, in whatever form the knowledge is delivered. The knowledge is multi-discipline, spanning from ordinary sciences to cosmology, from supply and demand curve of economy to real life poverty, from Genghis Khan extending his empire border to European side of Russia to business partnering in globalisation.

Thank you for reading.

Expert raises doubts over 'growth mindset' phenomenon

Your stubborn child might just turn out to be more successful and wealthier, but lonely

Posted to Facebook on 18/1/2020 at 9:18 AM
Commenting on "Your Stubborn Child Might Just Turn Out To Be More Successful And Wealthier, Says Study"
https://understandingcompassion.com/articles/your-stubborn-child-might-just-turn-out-to-be-more-successful-and-wealthier-says-study/

Your household may not have boundaries, but the society at large has.

You may pamper them when young, but others can’t tolerate theIr behaviour when they become adults.

They may turn out to be successful and wealthy, but they may be very lonely too.

Many psychologists may not live the day to witness what stubborn children turn out to be when they grow old and live in aged care homes. These turn out to be the biggest pain to the carers.

Even when they become demented, they may not eat and spit out the food if they do not like it, and behave just as stubborn children as they once were.

Many children become as successful as any stubborn children when they turn adulthood. Obviously, the term success must be defined in a broader sense. A stubborn person may be a success in one field but regarded as complete failure in many aspects.

A child suffering from Asperger's Syndrome may be regarded as stubborn, but many of them turn out to be someone with totally unacceptable behaviour in a social environment. These may have IQ well over 140 or 180.

The real world does not pamper anyone, and therefore stubborn children that receive unacceptable level of attention may not survive easily when merge with the real people.

It is important to realise that motivation comes from within. No one can motivate another person if the recipient is a stubborn mule.

Thank you.

Your stubborn child might just turn out to be more successful and wealthier

My Story - What did my nephews learn by watching Superman II with me?

Posted to Facebook 9/1/2020 at 10:37 AM
My Story - What did my nephews learn by watching Superman II with me?

My wife and I hosted a dinner for in-laws of the same generation, my nephews and grandnephew.

My nephews are no longer young boys; three finished their university last year, and one will be in Monash this year.

More than a decade ago, two nephews live close-by, and they came with their parents to our house often. Although we do not have children, my love for children is no less than many parents. No matter how busy I was, I would stop doing whatever I was doing, and spent time with any young child coming to visit me.

I had watched Superman II with these two nephews at least 10 times. It was their favorite. Do they still remember the time I spent with them? I bet ya, they do, although not in entirety.

It was the same video tape, same story, but every time they walked away with different understanding and new knowledge. The following is what they learnt, but the list is not exhaustive:

1. Location of Niagara Falls of Canada (geography)
2. Reason for water falling downwards (gravity in science)
3. Explosion of planet Krypton (chemistry)
4. Clark Kent as a report (role of reporter) secret identity as Superman
5. Superman flies to rescue the child fallen off the barrier (speed - maths and flight - science)
6. Superman takes Lois Lane to his Fortress of Solitude in the Arctic (geography, formation of ice geology)
7. Superman flies alongside a Jumbo jet (air flow, and speed of sound, physics)
8. Superman files to Eiffel Tower (History of the Tower, general knowledge about the weight and height of tower, construction material used) in Paris, France (geography)
9. Criminals try to destroy the Tower (law and order)
10. Criminals force the President of the United States (role of a President) to surrender on behalf of the entire planet (explain what a planet is) during an international television broadcast

All three of us enjoyed the movie, and as many people put it, it was our bonding time. I believe many adults would have walked away if their children asked to watch the same movie again and again.

Thank you for reading.

A Lesson on Earthquake for a 5 Years Old

Posted to Facebook on 9/1/2020 at 5:14 AM
A Lesson on Earthquake for a 5 Years Old

A Lesson on Earthquake for a 5 Years Old

My grandnephew came with his grandpa and grandma from Sydney to stay with us in Melbourne for a few days. He is just over 5 years old, very intelligent and inquisitive. He likes to see and feed my gold fish in the pond.

On the day he arrived, he observed the crack in our kitchen ceiling, and was very persistent to find out why it was there.

Grandaunt (my wife) told him that there was an earthquake (earth tremor) in Melbourne sometime ago that caused the crack. Grandaunt also showed him another crack in the laundry. However, grandaunt could not satisfy his curiosity nor explained in simple terms what earthquake is.

That's how I was assigned the task to explain what earthquake is and the trail of disasters could leave behind after an earthquake.

I Chromecast some YouTube videos about earthquake from my iPad to the television.

To explain earthquake, he needs to understand the some basic terms such as world, Earth, globe, and country. He has a globe at home, and he can name some countries, including Australia, China, and India.

Then I proceed to explain that he lives on planet Earth, and the hard surface of the Earth is known as crust.

I ask him to look out of different windows and describe what he sees on the surface. I highlight that the surface is made out of different patches of things and plants.

He can imagine each patch is kown as a plate. Since the plates are not glued together, the joints that can be seen are known as faults.

Unlike different sections of the plants which can grow into another without causing trouble, the Earth plates can move and crash into other plates. When a crash happens, and it creates an Earthquake.

The severity (how disastrous) of the earthquake depends how hard the plates crash with one another. I showed my grandnephew the pressure pushes up parts of the crust causing a lot of damage including the collapse of houses, loss of power, destruction of roads, death of humans and animals.

The people on the streets have to hold on to something, some cars and buses stopped in the street and appeared to be dancing sideway, things in supermarket shelves are thrown everywhere onto the floor, things and paper in an office or home slide off the table and fall onto the ground.

When there is no electricity, it is dangerous to move around at night, and hospital cannot help others to get well.

Although the lesson is on Earthquake, I take the opportunity to show some video clips on recent bushfires. I make sure he understand not to play with fire, and not to allow his friends to play with it, too.

Should he notice a fire starts to burn something abnormally, he has to inform an adult nearby, or call 000, asks for fire engine, and clearly states his home address, or the address where the fire is.

I resume my lesson on earthquake. I explain that if an earthquake happens in an an ocean, it can create big waves. These waves are known as Tsunami. it can be as high as a ten-storey building, and moves towards the shore, damaging houses, flooding the streets, people and cars floating on top, bringing down power line and no electricity. Even ambulance cannot drive around to rescue people.

By now, he has enough for the day. There will be a revision on the spelling of some of terms used. He likes to have a lesson on volcanoes and mountains.

Why not use my step-by-step material and teach your 5 years old or young students?

Thank you for reading.