My Blog

A very long time ago in Italy, a young artist made a living by selling his paintings on the street.  A very rich woman offered him $1,000 to have her portrait painted. The poor artist was fully committed to paint the best he could of her.

When it was completed, the woman didn’t like how she look (in fact, that was exactly how she looked) and backed out on her promise. She refused to pay for the work and called it “a piece of trash”. The artist was extremely hurt by her insult but told her that one day, she would buy that painting back at more than 600 times the price. The woman scoffed and left.

The humiliated artist returned to his hometown. 10 years had gone by and he soon became a renowned artist. His works attracted the rich and famous, including friends and associates of the woman who trampled on him a decade ago.

Friends of the woman who attended the artist’s exhibition had told her that all his paintings but one, were snapped up.  It was the portrait of a woman and it was not for sale.  Everyone commented that the portrait looked so much like her.  Curious, the woman went to the art gallery.  There, at the centre of the gallery was the portrait of her that the artist painted 10 years ago.  It was titled “THIEF”.  The woman was dumbfounded and apologised to the artist. And yes, she paid 600 times above the original price for that piece of painting she once called it “a piece of trash” – $600,000. That artist was Picasso.

By sharing this story with you, I hope just like Picasso, believe in yourself and never let others underestimate your worth.

A little boy was playing at the playground on his own while his parents were occupied with their screens.  The boy was seen calling out to his parents on many instances; apparently trying to get some attention or perhaps, re-assuring nods for the fun he had.  However, his father continued gaming on the phone while his mother, merely responded with cursory nods; her eyes glued to the social media feed.  I could see the kid’s dejected expression when his parents were more interested in their screens than paying attention to him.

On another occasion, a little girl was seen playing badminton with her dad at an open space.  Her dad was holding the racket on one hand and his phone on the other.  He was watching a football match whilst playing badminton.  Most times, he would miss the shuttlecock because he was engrossed in his phone.  Instead of having a good badminton game, the poor girl was mostly serving the shuttlecock over to her dad – because her father would miss the shuttlecock.  And at one point, I heard the little girl pleaded “dad, can you please stop looking at your phone already…?”

Parents often lament that their children especially the teenagers, are more interested in their “rectangular friends”, than having a good conversation with them.  When children are in their formative years, do parents send the wrong signals like the ones mentioned earlier?  Think about it…

Have you ever wondered the difference between Intelligence and Wisdom?  By definition, Intelligence is the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills; whereas Wisdom is the ability to think sensibly.

Indeed, Intelligence is about one’s intellectual capability and Wisdom is discerning right from wrong.  

Possessing both Intelligence and Wisdom would be ideal, but if you can’t have the best of both worlds, which is more important?  Intelligence or wisdom?

A doctor recently had his medical license revoked by the Ministry of Health for 14 counts of professional misconduct (https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/moh-revokes-suspended-gp-s-licence-to-provide-outpatient-medical-services)

In a separate incident, a Singapore diplomat was suspended after allegedly filming teen at public bath in Japan (https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/singapore-diplomat-japan-film-teen-public-bath-mfa-probe-diplomatic-immunity-4308991).

Certainly, these well-learned individuals are no less intelligent to become doctors or senior government officials.  However, because of their lack of wisdom, they have got themselves into trouble and lost everything that they have worked hard for.  

The moral of this article; Intelligence may help you achieve what you want in life.  But the lack of Wisdom will make you lose everything.  So if you have to choose between Intelligence and Wisdom, I am sure you know what to choose.

The PSLE results have finally been released.

Congratulations to those who have done well and to those who have fallen short, don’t be disheartened. You have merely yet to shine. Remember, every situation can present itself as an obstacle or an opportunity. You must never stop believing in yourself.

Many years ago, a boy took his PSLE and was greatly anticipated to earn himself a place in one of the top schools.  Not only did he fail to secure a place in the coveted schools, he was unceremoniously posted to one of the neighbourhood schools (in the past, you had to choose your schools first before the results were released).  Yet, he did not stop believing he could soar to greater heights.  As he was one of the better students in the non-elite school he was posted to, he excelled both in his studies and in sports.  He became a Head Prefect and a Basketball team Captain.  He was always eager to help his straggling peers and was well-liked by friends and teachers alike.  He thrived in the environment; something which probably might not have happened in an elite school.  He eventually fared handsomely at the GCE O-levels with straight As for all his subjects. He got into a top junior college and aced his GCE A levels; winning a university scholarship.  The rest is history… The boy is none other than my beloved brother.

My brother was not crushed when faced with a disappointing result initially.  Instead, he embraced it positively and believed that he could still make a difference.

Before I conclude, I would like to leave you with a famous quote from Forrest Gump. 

“Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.”

Never stop believing, really…

When writing essays, apart from mature and logical arguments, the use of of BIG vocabulary is another pre-requisite if you want to achieve a distinction.  According to official marking scheme by the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB), these are called ambitious or complex vocabulary.  Sounds complex?  Not really.  

These words are actually found in the comprehension passages of various schools, newspapers and books, of course!  Whenever I come across them, I note it down and over the years, I have a collection of almost 300 of them (and still counting…).  I share these words with the upp sec and JC students.  They use them in their practice essays.  Of course, the ultimate aim is for them to use in the exams.  And for those who do, they score in language.  

So, don’t underestimate the power of vocabulary if you want to ace your essay.  Attached samples of students who use them in exams.

Every year, I am invited by the Buddhist Society to conduct O-level English seminar for parents and students.  The seminar held last Tuesday was the 7^th year since I started conducting the annual session, as a way to do good for society for what I have been blessed with.

Among the feedback that I received from the participants, I am most inspired by one that commented what he/she had learnt in that 3 hours, was more than what he/she learnt at school.  It’s flattering but it’s very motivating to have parents walked up to me after the seminar, thanking me for a job well-done.

You can view more pictures by clicking  https://moenrichment.com/photo-gallery-2023/

Recently, a JC student left his/her previous tuition class and asked me if he/she could join my lessons instead.  I asked him/her if he/she could share with me the reason for leaving the previous tuition.

The lessons were online and students were not required (even not allowed)  to switch their camera or microphone on.  The teacher would be delivering the lessons and students just had to listen and make notes.  They were not allowed to ask questions.  There was also no homework at all.

I believe to many students, lessons like these would be “perfect” for them as it’s a breeze to just listen and no work needs to be done.  Since the camera is also switched off, students can do their own things while the lesson is in progress.  To students who really think this is the best kind of tuition, think again…

Lessons like these have no interest if students learn and follow.  The fees are cheap, but it’s really a waste of parents’ hard-earned money.  

The student failed GP eventually…  To all my students, now you know why I have been strict with you.  That’s because I care.

Many parents are put off by online lessons.  Common concerns include the lack of supervision and students can simply “tune out” while the lesson is in progress.  In fact, whether these concerns are valid depend really on the teacher conducting the lessons.  

I used to conduct physical lessons before the pandemic.  During the pandemic, no physical lessons were allowed.  I had to pivot all my students to online learning.  And it’s no looking back since….

Contrary to popular beliefs, there is no compromise in the  quality of online lessons.  To ensure that every student benefits, the group is kept small (max 6 each session).  And every student must switch on the camera and speaker.  No student is allowed to mute or turn off the speaker without permission.  This enables me to engage every single one of them and to know if they are following the lesson.  When we discuss an essay, every one contributes and brainstorms.  Similarly for compreshension, every student will be required to provide answers.  In short, my online lessons are fully interactive.

Every lesson online is similar to how I would have delivered face to face.  However, online lessons have  a lot more benefits.  There is no need for students to travel physically (saves time and costs).  Online lessons can also be recorded and played back.  Parents can view them at their own convenience.  Students can also review them for anything they might have missed.  Parents can also choose to learn together by logging in from their devices (observing with their camera and mic switched off).  And finally, previously, many students could not benefit from my lessons due to proximity issue.  With online lessons, I can reach out to students regardless of locations.

The all important question.  What about the effectiveness?  Many students have achieved distinctions (attached some screen shots).

I hope by sharing this article, those who are ambivalent about online lessons can give it a thought.  It really boils down to the teacher.  Think about it; if a teacher is not concerned whether students pay attention during lesson, even if the lesson in face to face, it’s simply a waste of students’ time and parents’ money.

I embrace technology.  The internet was only available to the masses from 1995. I grew up without the internet as a teenager and truly marvel at what technology can do to make our lives easier and more efficient.  Those who were teenagers like me before the internet age would fully understand.

Much as technology has transformed our lives, presumably for the better, there are some aspects that can cripple us.  This is particularly so if we do not know how to wield its power wisely.  Lets talk about the latest wonder, ChatGPT.  This technology is so intelligent that schools and Institutes of Higher Learning are grappling to leverage its power.  To many students, it is a godsend.  Yet, many students do not realise with the wonders that AI has created for them, it is perniciously robbing them of their writing skills.

I would like to share with you a piece of writing to show how deleterious AI can be.  Previously, this student was able to form fairly varied sentence structures correctly.  However, with AI, it was so easy for him to cut and paste his work.  On one occasion, I verified that his piece of work was actually done by AI.  I got him to rewrite, and the piece written by him had numerous sentence structure issues.  There is clearly a deterioration in the quality of his writing.

To all students, if you want your writing to get better, the only way is to keep writing and make mistakes.  Jumping blindly on the AI bandwagon will only weaken your linguistic abilities.

The O-level results was released last week.  I am particularly pleased, for two straight years, even the weakest among all my charges had delivered a B.  Certainly, I congratulate those who had done exceptionally well.  I knew you would deliver, I was never worried.

Instead, I would like to share my thoughts about the weakest student.  You were always struggling, both in school and in my lessons.  Your usual teacher was suddenly transferred out and replaced by a relief teacher.  It didn’t help that the relief teacher only showed videos during lessons, or read excepts from comprehension passages.  In your words “there was no real teaching at all”.

C6 and D7 were your usual grades, you wanted desperately to inch into the B category.  You set your sights on getting into a JC.  But, what happened in your school was tearing you further away from your dream.  There were times you were so dejected that you began to doubt if you could do it all.  Not to mention the numerous pounding from me (because I believe in your potential). I wanted to show you, comfort and growth simply do not co-exist.  You cried hard, but soldiered on again the following day.  I admire your resilience.

When you called me last week, you were overwhelmed by joy.  I knew then, it’s all worth it.  YL, you rose to the occasion.  I am proud of you.  You finally did it!