Fun Learning is Happiness

 

Learning is a continuous process in our life and it is important to make it a happy experience for all. In my opinion, the best way to go about is to merge learning into part of our everyday life and let learning take place in the activities that we enjoy most.

For children who probably enjoy their playtime the most, learning regimes can be planned into their play activities such as learning to count when they play board games like 'Monopoly'. They can learn to sing and appreciate music when they go to concerts and learn new words in their Story-Telling activities.

For young adults who enjoy shopping or window shopping, we can learn about the different products and services available in the market and perhaps how to bargain for a good deal when we are attracted to buy the items displayed!

For working professionals, every working experience is a learning experience, consciously or unconsciously. Having been merged into part of our work and life, learning will become a natural occurrence and hence treated as a progression of our daily lives with little ill feelings. Happy learning will set in once learning can take place with no obstacles and resistance.

The community I live in recently rolled out a project for students to engage the elderly and retirees and impart basic computer skills to them during their school holidays. This additional skill will enable the elderly to use and access the internet to obtain updated information as well as for recreation purposes. The response was overwhelming and greeted with much zest and enthusiasm. The happy smiles on the faces of the elderly learners is really heart warming and yet another testimonial that fun learning has no age limits and no boundaries. The learning process itself can bring happiness and add meaning to our lives!  

With the advocate for life-long learning, more and more people begin to see the need for continuous learning and hence are more willing to make it a happy event.

Let put our heads together to explore different avenues of learning and choose to learn via the channel that is most enjoyable and happy for us!

Happy Learning to All!

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Deriving happiness through simple acts of kindness

As the saying goes, "Courtesy begets courtesy, Kindness begets kindness". Hence, I believe one simple act of kindness is enough to bring about another and it in turn inspires a third and then spread on to reach thousands and even millions because every act of kindness has a positive ripple effect.

The world will be such a wonderful place to live in if everyone of us show kindness to others and spread happiness around. A little bit of care and compassion to people around us can certainly make a great difference to our lives and enhance the quality of living.

When we come across someone in need, we can lend them a helping hand to see them through and this can be a simple act to give up your seat on public transport to an elderly person or someone who needs it more than you. When you see a child crying helplessly at one corner of a crowded shopping centre, would you stop to give him a hug to comfort him and then bring him/her to the reception counter to page for his/her parents?

When you see someone short of small change and is unable to board the bus or train to attend to an urgent matter, would you care to just give him the short change just to enable him/her to board the bus or train? The list can go on and on....

I believe that most living creatures live in communities of their own and humans being the most intelligent of all is no different. In fact, our ability to think and reason had made us all the more susceptible to show more compassion and kindness to our fellow mankind and animals alike.

Well, what about unkind souls among us? Do they deserve our kindness and compassion in times of need? Would they learn to appreciate or reciprocate the love and kindness that others had given to them? I believe they do if they can see the happiness and satisfaction that others have experienced when they share and spread their love to them, although some may take many such experiences to realise it.

Whatever it is, I feel that showing compassion and kindness should be a self-less act in which the giver do not request for any form of return. As such, the only way to reciprocate such heavenly acts is to give it to yet another who needs it in the 'Pay it Forward' concept.

My school days are the happiest days in my life!

School Days - They seem to have been such a long time ago but yet memories of those days are the clearest in my mind! The reason being those were the happiest days in my life!

During my school days, everything I experienced is fun. I enjoy the fun of learning, the fun of playing and making friends, the excitement of holidays and life is as carefree as a bird as the words 'problems' and 'worries' are out of my dictionary. I count my days earnestly everyday and look forward to each new day with zest and anticipation!

At home, the only duty my parents expected of me is to study hard, do well in my class assignments and pass my examinations with flying colours. In school, my teachers gave praises freely to those who are attentive and can complete their assignments promptly in class of which I always did. Most of my classmates and schoolmates were from the same neighbourhood and hence, we often went to school and back together. There were so much to be shared in one another's company and life is ever so interesting and enriching.

During the school holidays, we even organised our own field trips to the National Library, Singapore Science Centre, the cinemas to watch movies and even went hiking at Bukit Timah Nature Reserve  when one of our parents is available to tag along with us!  There were no financial issues to worry about as we could always get enough pocket money for these activities. For those who were less well-off, they would save up a larger portion of their daily pocket money and there were still shortfall, the others would chip-in to make up the difference for them.

As we move on to high school, we grouped ourselves up and together went hunting for part-time jobs during the holidays to earn some extra pocket money. The stint we had at MC Donalds fast food restaurant while we were waiting for our O Levels results was the most unforgettable one.

Those were the days where we not only share the hard work as a team but also the joy as well as the 'fruits of our labour' (our pay) together as we knew that we were able to move on to the next chapter of our lives after that as not everyone of us would take the same path after our O Level results were out. We knew that we would probably ended up in different schools thereafter, not to mention that a few of them were lucky enough to pursue an overseas education fully funded by their parents!

As I move on with my life after my post-secondary school days, I began to experience more of life's challenges and words like 'disappointment', 'worries', 'responsibilities' and 'failure' started to crawl into my dictionary.

Upon entry to the labour market, I realised that true friendship is hard to come by and one has to work hard in order to achieve whatever one desires. Gone are the carefree days where I can concentrate solely on my studies and then enjoy life to its fullest with a bunch of buddies who are ever so true and sincere to me.

Moving on to the next phase of my life, I establish a wholly different kind of social ties, shouldered a different bag of responsibilities and also meet many different type of people and make different category of friends! As I look back to my old school days, I realised that those were good old days that are gone forever and I can only rekindled those precious moments as I move down memory lane.

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A good teacher can make a difference to a child's learning

A teacher not only teach and imparts skills and knowledge to the pupils, he/she also acts as a mentor and role model for the pupils.

In my opinion, there are three factors that make a good teacher who can effectively make a difference to a child's learning.

First of all, we need to acknowledge that there is a difference between having the intellectual knowledge and being able to share or teach it so that students are able to benefit from that knowledge. Hence, a person with a high intellectual knowledge may not be a good teacher if he is unable to stand in front of a class and impart his intellectual knowledge effectively.

Secondly, a good teacher teaches with a heart. This essentially means that the teacher is able to see each student as an individual and not just one in a class of forty pupils. The teacher must be willing to make the extra effort to engage his students and ensure that every student in his class is able to "get it". This may involve additional hours spent after class, over the weekend so as to ensure that those who might not grasp the essence of the lesson the first time would now fully comprehend the topic.

Thirdly, the teacher must be willing and able to introduce innovative and meaningful ways of teaching to engage his students and capture their attention at all times. Hence, the traditional "Ï talk, you listen" approach certainly needs some revamping. A good teacher needs to recognise that every student learn differently. Hence, he must be willing and able to invest time in exploring the answers to "how else can I teach so the students will learn and absorb the knowledge much more effectively."

However, I do believe that some of the qualities of a good teacher are 'ín-born' while some are cultivated in the upbringing of the teacher himself. Besides, a passion to teach can also make a great difference to the effectiveness of the teacher.

In a nutshell, to be a good teacher, one has to have the aptitude, passion and love for teaching and keen in children development. Any teacher who is lacking in any one these attributes can make a lot of differences to a child's learning process.   

Education provides the foundation for learning

 

 

Education provides the foundation for learning. Without a basic education system comprising of schools with basic facilities and dedicated teachers, formal learning cannot take place. However, everyday learning through the daily activities we do is happening all the time.

 

From the day we are born, a baby learns to drink milk, roll his eyes, turn his head, stretch his arms, kick his legs and later on sit up, stand up and then start to walk before he learn to run, jump, skip and hop. Apart from the basic instincts that one is born with, everything else has to be learned at some stage of our lives. As such, it is an undisputable fact that learning is a life-long process and will only end when one stops breathing.

 

However, learning can take place in many ways. We can learn from people around us by imitating what they do, we can learn from the recorded experiences of our ancestors through books and from the teachings conducted in our schools.

 

To a lot of young children, the learning they undergo in school is largely through information and knowledge imparted by their teachers and those recorded on their textbooks. However, the speed and manner these knowledge are absorbed actually varies from individual to individual. Some simply memorise the facts and regurgitated them when tested while others may care to add a little reasoning to it to make the knowledge more convincing. This is what some of us referred to as 'critical thinking in education'.

 

If we take a broad-based look at learning and education, I really felt that it is a blessing for young children to be able to attend school and learn in a formal education system. As most countries take pains to build up a good education system for their people, the learning environment, curriculum and learning materials are all prepared specially for them in order to develop these young minds into useful assets who can contribute to the country when they grow up.

 

From the foundation laid down by the education system, young adults who graduated from their schools can then form their own learning traits and continue their learning journey for the rest of their lives!  As the saying goes: 'Give a man a fish to feed him for a day, teach him to fish and you can feed him for life'.

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Learning through Online Engagement

The world-wide web or Internet is a familiar channel for many people to obtain information, communicate, work, learn and play today. In fact, since the inception of the world wide web by the United States over five decades ago, its intrusion to human life has changed the way that many people work and learn now to the extension of excessive reliance on it for some cases.

Personally, I felt that one of the most valuable attributes of the internet is the speed at which people can obtain current and updated information at the shortest possible time. Before the advent of the internet, most of us relied on printed stuff like newspapers, magazines and books for information. However, information available on these printed materials are only accurate at the time of printing. To get an update on the materials, people need to wait for the next print or re-printed version. With the internet, information online can be updated immediately in minutes or even seconds.

Online engagement also provides people with a more interesting medium compared to dull, static printed information on paper. With exciting graphic stimulus and animated pictures and lively illustrations, reading online materials is also made more engaging than the conventional medium.

Another plus point is that access to materials on internet is often free of charge (apart from the data plan charges which is usually a fixed sum over a specific period of time). Moreover, more and more online businesses have mushroomed and such platforms are certainly more cost-effective than the conventional retail outlets which include rental as a fixed overhead notwithstanding the other business costs.

With more and more people going online, our mode of learning is also slowly moving into the electronic age as people now embrace e-learning over conventional learning as it eliminates the location constraints for the learners and trainers alike.  Training materials such as notes and videos can also be uploaded or downloaded online with ease.

Traditional textbooks in printed formats can now be replaced by eBooks and eReaders which is another advocate for nature's preservers as they echoed the call to go green and save the trees by not having to print so many books.

Technological advancements in electronic gadgets and people's general growing affluence to afford personal computers, tablets and smart phones are also contributory factors to the flourish of the internet.

In a nutshell, the internet enables us to learn on the spot, with the most updated information, with no distance and time constraints and at low or no costs are all evidences that online learning is the sure channel for us to stay connected, updated and active for many more years to come!

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Books as Life-Long Companions

We all started to learn the moment we were born. Besides using our five senses, much of our learning are done through the reading of books. Reading is definitely a worthwhile hobby to keep as it can start as early as three years old and continued till the end of our life journey!

Hence, an avid reader is most probably also a book lover and collector. A showcase of book titles at home is also likely to be one of the most valued and treasured life possessions of any serious reader. When one feels lonely and helpless at times, these books can well be the best companions they can find as they not only can offer solace to the sad soul, but they also allow one to vent their frustrations with absolutely no complaints.

To me, I have regarded my book collections as my life-long companions as most of them have been with me for decades and I am still reading them, over and over again. Believe it or not, each new read of the same favourite book never fail to miraculously offer new insights and a different perspective of the same issue to me!



I have recently tried reading eBooks and am totally amazed by the many advantages it has over conventional printed books such as the quick updates and portability conveniences. However, being a technical gadget, it somehow just simply does not come with the emotional attachment I can develop with printed books. As such, like it or not, I will surely continue to buy and read printed books for many years to come!

The printed books in my life-long collection can definitely form part of my estate when my life journey reaches its destination. These precious books I have collected all my life can then be passed on to future generations for them to continue learning from the wisdom of their ancestors.

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Happiness Index Versus Economic Growth

It has always been the Singapore government advocate to equate the people's level of wellness and happiness to the economic growth of the nation. However, do material comforts really mean happiness to all? I beg to differ.

Over the years, the people in Singapore have been told that the only passport to a better life and better future is to work hard and increase the productivity of our workforce. This proposition is portrayed  as the only way that we can do to contribute to the economic growth of the country and in so doing, all of us can enjoy a better living standard for ourselves and our future generations.

Having supported this proposition for almost three decades myself, I must say that the opportunity costs and the personal sacrifices that come with it are also high. When most of us worked ourselves crazy to meet the high expectations of our leaders, we lose a lot of the precious intangibles which are crucial factors in the assessment of the quality of our lives such as spending time with our families and loved ones, following our aspirations, art appreciation and achieving a personal state of happiness!

As the saying goes, "money cannot buy happiness" and "happiness certainly cannot be measured in dollars and cents". Moreover, it is common sense to most of us that the wealth attained and accumulated by our high economic growth are the fruits of our collective labour and hence ought to be shared proportionately with all the citizens of the country. Sad to say, the current disproportionate income distribution and widening income gap in our society only add on to the agony and unhappiness currently experienced by the lower and middle-income groups. These people work very hard to boost the economy but are placed at the lower income percentile, causing them to work all their life just to maintain a basic life style with little savings and little time to enjoy life's light moments. Naturally, the feeling of happiness hardly enter their minds or felt in their lives.

Hence, the idea of using the economic growth of the country to grade its success is definitely not an accurate or sound one. Conversely, using the "Happiness Index" of the people could be a more equitable one as a country is made up of its people!

The ideal would be to work hard enough to achieve the desired growth for the economy, leaving sufficient time for people to enjoy life and pursue life's little luxuries, both social and emotional and appreciate 'happiness' in the real sense of the word.