why ol' foggers won't understand you

http://www.hetemeel.com/einsteinform.php

i like to think that i've seen a lot, heard a lot and certainly did a lot. i came from a education background that forbade me to question and accept what was dished out by teachers in front of the blackboard. The suppression made me promise never to do such if ever i had the opportunity. Opportunity knocked 11 years ago.

how i got into education was somewhat farcical; i was with a dotcom as was everyone else during the dotcom boom. Many won't know this but a dotcom have severely BIG overheads as such you would normally get your local unscrupulous 'china'man abusing the money given by corporations to develop web apps so instead of spending on official licenses, he buys a new fucking 2 door benz SLK much to the dismay of his staff. So the day came when green eyed envy became hatred in a form of retaliation. The enforcement came in the height of the dotcom boom to check if legitimate software was used; long story cut short, i was earning full pay by just chilling out at the RSGC pool. *bliss*

not everyone has an ability to look ahead, but it really doesn't need a genius to tell you that even after selling his benz, he wouldn't be able to recoup the trust in corps as once you fuck up consider that your "go to jail" card without passing GO. So as i was chilling at the pool contemplating my next move on the life chess board, i received a phone call. hey it's my old school. right did i not pay my fees, im sure i did and not spend it all on that brick of hash.

scott whiteside asked a question which today i still ponder upon ........ 

"do you want to use your skills at your alma mater?"

my first thought was what? and become some old foggy in front of a board? then reality hit me. if the dotcom comes a crashing (which it will) i'll spend another 2 years looking for a job which i did during the 97' crash. i need to carefully thread this; will the kids like me? aren't i too young to teach? what do i have offer? and then it hit, what if they think that im teaching because i can't 'do'. scott was waiting for an answer............but i haven't done it before ...........................


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yes, i'll give it a try


so entering class for the first day, i saw some faces questioning what i had been thinking. My first words then and now have never changed. "welcome back everyone, "my name is Mr. J and i will be your ..... facilitator but you don't have to call me SIR". (blinks eye) has it been 10 years already? i've lost count of all the classes but i still remember faces not names anymore. How things have changed but i still remain optimistic about what i said i'd do; i will not teach but facilitate learning.


As i switched to a supposed greener pasture, i realise not many subscribe to this idea of facilitation. i regularly retreat to the staffroom only to hear groaning and moaning from the older set determined to teach and not facilitate. Many are still saying the same thing they did 10 years ago.


"these students come in 30 minutes late, it's so irritating, i wish i can lock the door".
"i've repeated this over & over again, still in the exam they can't write the same definition"
"why are these students so daft"
"you failed because you're not up to standard"
"i talk you listen"
"i don't have to tell you why it's wrong, it just is"


what we have here is failure not on the part of the student but teacher-lecturer-facilitator. We are still stuck in that suppression, change the method before the method changes you. Many old schoolers maintain control in the class and gawk at how i release almost all control to students; classes are no longer one way communication, it's time to evolve as with the media of our world. I learn from students and students learn from me; it's never only one way. 

1. relinquish some your control and you'd get better response in class
2. Learn to listen rather than shut off. You'll get more ideas on how to approach them
3. Adopt or Perish. you are forcing a square peg into a round hole, the more you force, the more scarring happens
4. They are adults not children; which is why they pay you to help them achieve something better in life NOT mould them into your old ways
5. It's about a balance not only your convenience or their convenience.
6. Respect comes from you first then you'll get buckets load after.

My school of thought maybe hard to swallow but like craig charles said

"It's evolve or die, really, you have to evolve, you have to move on otherwise it just becomes stagnant."

Today the problem is you!

i know i complain a lot about gen Y and i'm not gonna stop.


There are a couple of things i've wanted to get off my chest but i didn't until today. Of course stale news being better than no news, Amy Winehouse passed on OR as some gen Yer's so gently put it pumped shit and clogged it so she could end her miserable life. i refer to a FB status i came across ...

"Amy Winehouse is dead? I am so shocked. I totally did not see how an alcoholic drug junkie could wind up like that. Let's all have tributes now and say how much we actually cared about her all along. She's not Michael Jackson. Not in talent and not in integrity. Don't give her that much credit."

You fucking insensitive dipshit; firstly yes she is a junkie and an alcoholic but what made you a physic to be able to peer thru her life as though yours was any better, mommy's boy? Comparing her to Michael Jackson, yeah a bleached black man with a falling nose junked up on meds; talent wise, she didn't have grab her crotch or sleep with children. I don't endorse the shit she pumped in herself but i respected her talent and for you question her integrity almost makes you sound like you have none, you moralistic cunt. So before you judge others, please look at yourself gen Yer.

Gen Y: the fucking problem is us

If you haven't already noticed or known that i work with a lot of gen Y; whilst i'm always patient but up till recently it seems my patience has depleted. but there is plenty wrong with gen Y, so if you would let this old man from the gen X tell you a thing or two, it would be my pleasure to give the low down on why the only way you would succeed is to own your business.


1. the social network, uipdated 5 seconds ago.
all the talk about social networking in front of the computer and how we don't need to meet 'real' people in order to get business done. honestly would you rather get fat in your lazy boy in front of your alienware munching on the double big mac you ordered on mcdonalds.com.my using the latest HTC on android gingerbread? you would need to stop here if you did not comprehend any of the terms used. that's just it isn't it. i asked once before in class, why do you even need me when i'm up here blabbering and you guys are on facebook chatting with the girl next to you in class about how fucking boring the class is? it's true i don;t need to there and you can google right about anything nowadays. so why do i stay on? because there's just one thing a machine can never teach you; how to look at a person in the eye and tell his/her story just by the way her mannerism is in class. human communication was never meant to be on machine to machine. why type 20 to 30 emoticons in a chat window when all you wanted to say was i love you? are those 3 words so difficult to utter; typing i <3 u makes it easier? do we really mean what we type? i reckon so. you beg to differ? then tell me how many workhours you've wasted typing sentences that basically didn't mean anything at all? 


Gen Y purists beg to differ; stating that i merely do not understand their lifestyle. What lifestyle is sitting behing a machine? A social network means meeting people, laughing, drinking and just chatting till wee hours. how sad would it be if you asked me for a drink. a virtual drink? can you get drunk on a virtual drink, stumble and do stupid things that your friends will still talk about for the next 10 years.


2. any shortcuts?
if you ask for shortcuts in life, essentially you might as well take a shortcut to end life as well. the purpose of shortcuts is to make time work for you. The problem happens when the question arises can i take a shortcut through life; i heard this " i want to fast forward my life 20 years so i do not have to work for a living; it's so 1980s. Well your parents who worked to put that silver spoon in your mouth probably didn't want to fast forward in missing out 20 years of your life. Experiences defined us; you cannot google the experience of getting your first paycheck and blowing it on a car or a dinner or a hand bag. The way education is setup, you 'earn'the degree not shortcut through it why? because we're not teaching you what is in the books but to steer you in a direction that realises your potential. 


Gen Y argument: why spend 4 years getting a PHD when you can google everything? to feel proud of an achievement is a feeling that goes beyond having 5000 friends on facebook.


3. the complain society
when i studied or worked, i have never questioned not because i was not inquisitive but i understood hierarchy and i respected seniority. yes i've complained so has everyone but i do it through a proper channel not hiding through an IP address on facebook and feel massively triumphant that i had 1000 likes to my complain. this of course stems from the fact that many Gen Yers lack the human communication skills of talking to each other that they feel extremely 'powerful' when complaining on a social network or a blog. the superiority over a noob especially someone older gives an authoritarian feeling of power. well only if you are complaining about things worth talking about and most of the time we'd have to filter thru complaints that you hate HTML coding because it's so difficult and nerdy without realising that your facebook page uses HTML. 




if i could sum up everything i've seen over the past years - the gen Y are merely whiners in a complain society living in a sheltered society fearing for their lives; afraid to meet people in fear that they'll be shunned upon. They are opinionated for all the wrong reasons; willing to stand up for environment but unwillingly to learn new things but choose to whine about it online.

a year to date

a year to date, it still hurts like a plunging knife into the gall bladder. moving on has not been easy, when the heart still pines for what it is missing. but a year has passed and the heart grows colder, harder and blacker than the that heart shaped rock you stepped on. it feels like a lifetime. regrets accounts for nothing when time stands still. will we revisit next year. i do not think so. see you.

aww shucks

Sept 22, 2010 seemed a long time away; and i never even wished whatever readers i have left (wishful thinking) a happy new year. So i thought the right opportunity would be on the first day of Chinese New Year.


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RANTS FIRST
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I have a rather large bone to pick with elderly colleagues prying into love lives of others; particularly when the culprit is of the "senior citizen" category. Yes, i guess i'm lonely but it doesn't mean i'm desperate. When people interfere and pose a question,"you have to choose between X and Y" not only did you as a human being make a major fuckup but please evaluate your own situation. I can only imagine the awkwardness the poor girl would have felt because not only was it intrusive but shameful because i was never interested in her. i treat all female counterparts the same that one could mistaken to be a sign of interest but nevertheless i never signalled interest. If this is a sign of aging, then i fear for myself because at 55, i really don't want to be a bitch. 


So if you're approaching the retirement age of 55 with your virginity still intact; please concentrate on being poked yourself and leave my love life to me.


[still on the same culprit] i've met many different people in this life - friends, enemies, pretenders, dickless bullies, over-powering zealots, too creative for their own good, opinionators, slackers, softies aka weepers, BIG talkers not doers [the list goes on] but today i add another. eccentric scanters if you do not understand then read on ....


A scanter .....
if you've had the privilege to ride everyone else's car except [insert name]
if you've had opportunity to visit everyone else's home except [insert name]
if you are offered a home cooked meal but [insert name] will only cook at your home
if [insert name] travels to a mall 10 mins away but opts to travel 2 hours to get a FREE shuttle
if [insert name] goes for everything when only entitled for one
if [insert name] won't drive home yet because the road is still wet


then [insert name] is a scanter; what makes him or her eccentric is the reasoning.


An eccentric scanter
i don't allow people to ride in my car because i've parked in a prime spot
i don't allow people to visit my house because there's nothing much to see
i will cook in your house because i don't want to dirty mine
it's free and i have all the time, so why not?
it's free and i'm entitled to all as an employee. the company owes me more
i take care of my car, heck i don't even wind my window down because my car is dust free


GONG XI GONG XI
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE