Author: Derek

Voluntary Sessions

31 August 2017

I was invited on 12th August and 19th August 2017 to conduct lectures on English Paper 1 & Paper 2 for both parents and students. These were voluntary sessions for Chong De Cultural Association.

The feedback I got for both sessions was very encouraging. At the end of the final session, I was presented with tokens of appreciation. More touching moments include parents coming up to thank me personally and a father who even got his son to thank me in person. It’s moments like these that make me feel it’s all worthwhile… Fulfilment!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

01 January 2017

happy 2017

I feel very blessed 2016 had been a wonderful year for me.  I sincerely express my gratitude and deep appreciation for all my students (past and present), parents and stakeholders who have made all the wonderful things possible.

We are seeing turbulent times ahead and for some of us, our resilience may be put to the test.  Whatever it may be, always remember to count our blessings and never be defeated.  I would like to share a favourite quote from the famous boxing show ‘Rocky’.  “Success ain’t how hard you hit.  It’s how hard you can get hit and keep moving till you get there”. 

Indeed, it is not how good or much you can achieve, but how hard you can fall and stand up, and move forward when life hits you hard.  Fall again, stand up, and trudge on till you get to your dreams when life continues to rain punches at you.  That’s what a REAL WINNER is!  Not easily crushed or defeated.

Happy New Year and wishing everyone good health!

My Pride…

08 August 2016.

I am very happy to learn that my books are used by the teachers in Hwa Chong Institution! One of the top schools in Singapore.. The students have been encouraged to purchase them from their bookshop.

The O-Level English Oral book consists of 40 practices covering a wide range of topics that are commonly discussed in the oral exams.   All the pictures in the book were personally taken by me; here in Singapore as well as overseas. 

Another key highlight about the book is that it comes with Assessment Criteria based on MOE’s marking scheme.


非常高兴我以下的两本书被华侨中学纳为参考书！（华侨中学 是新加坡的名校）老师们都鼓励学生们购买。

这本英语口语书共有四十多类的标题。都是普遍在O水准口语考试所会讨论的题目。书里的每一张照片都是本人在本地和外国所拍下来的。 希望以最真实的画面呈现给学生。

书里的得分标准也是跟据教育部的评分规则所定的。

The Upper Secondary – Visual Text Comprehension book is also another unique book.

All the posters and advertisements found in the book are real advertisements and posters that appear in newspapers and magazines. However due to copyright issues, I am not able to reproduce them in its original form.  Hence with the help of my wife, she re-created all the graphics in the posters and advertisements.  The words were re-phrased by me while retaining as much the authenticity of the articles. This enable students to understand the underlying messages in real posters and advertisements.

这是图片形式理解书，是另一本对我来说蛮独特的书。

所用的图片都是在报账或杂志所能看到的真实广告！但因为版权问题，我不能使用原版的图片。感谢我的太太帮我把图片改版。而我也把宣传语以另一个方式改写，但还是保存了原有广告的含义。 这样学生们可以真正的学到真实广告背后的含义。

It is truly very encouraging that a top school appreciates the effort put in to write both books.  Such recognition keeps me motivated in continuing to come up with good material to benefit our young minds!

写这两本书所花费的精力，居然能够被这所名校认同，让我备受鼓励，并且十分荣幸。这样的支持能够激励我再接再厉，继续写出能够让学生们获益匪浅的书！

My book… one of the Top 10 best selling..

06 August 2015.

The Visual Text Comprehension – Lower Secondary, was first launched in Aug 2013.  It was the ONLY visual text assessment available in the market then. 

Today, it is still the Top 10 best seller after being launched for 2 years.  It is truly very encouraging… Such things just keep me motivated to continue to come up with good material to benefit our students.

Triple Tragedy…

29 July 2015

(With reference to The Straits Times dated 27 July 2015 – Straight A Student Commits Suicide Over O-level Results, Mum Takes Her Own Life Months Later.)

Is this what we want ultimately? 

We are so obsessed with perfection that we lose more than what we gain.  It’s perfectly fine that we strive for excellence and work towards our dream.  Then again, in our pursuit towards our goal, we must never be blinded by obsession.  As Aristotle Golden Mean Principle aptly points out, everything must be taken in moderation.

In fact, grades are only an indication of your understanding at that point in time.  Not having an ‘A’ does not make you less of a person.  Similarly, what is straight As when you crumble at the slightest test of your resilience – dealing with disappointment.

So remember, so long as you are able to look yourself in the mirror and say, “I have really done my best”, that’s the most important and give yourself a pat.  There are more meaningful things in life waiting for us to explore and discover.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

21 December 2014

Read a good book lately?  Well, if you haven’t or don’t know what’s interesting, let me introduce you to this book, “How Life Works” by Andrew Matthews.

This book is NEITHER a novel nor a typical self help book that preaches.  It’s rather interesting and can be comical at times.  Yet, this book captures your attention with graphics and scientific facts about how life really works.

I would like to share a particular segment where it demonstrates how your thoughts can create a reality.

Dirty water was collected from a dam and a picture of the water molecules taken:

Molecules of Dirty Water

Next, the experiment had someone filled with happy thoughts and saying nice things to the jar of water.  Amazingly, the molecules responded to his conversation!  Also, another picture was taken after a prayer was offered to the jar of water.

Molecules (with happy thoughts)      
Molecules (after a prayer)

The experiments show the water crystals reflect the quality of one’s thoughts.

So this book actually explains why:

1. it’s not WHAT you know
2. it’s not WHO you know
3. it’s all about how you FEEL and THINK. 

Well, if you haven’t read it yet, I strongly suggest you go grab a copy or borrow it (like I did) from any of our libraries!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

No iPads for Steve Jobs’ kids

21 Sep 2014

(With reference to The Straits Times – Boy, 9, Asked Woman If He Could Sleep With Her)

Electronic gadgets; love them or hate them, have become indispensable in our lives.  Even tech geniuses who created these revolutionary products are well aware of the dangers these products can do to children – addiction, pornography, cyber-bullying just to name a few.  I am sure many parents share similar sentiments and gripes.

It’s no wonder the bosses of tech giants such as Steve Jobs limit or even ban the use of electronic gadgets for their kids – no smartphones until the kids are 14 and no data plan until 16.

Well, perhaps parents can take a tip or two from these visionaries on how to better manage the use of tech products for their children.  And for those students out there who may have been spending too much time on such gadgets, why even smart people like Steve Jobs ban the use of iPads and iPhones for beloved little ones?  Think about it…