Gathering

Last night, my CityU students arranged a gathering for the celebration of my birthday. But unluckily, I felt very sick due to the cold, so I didn't attend the event and felt very guilty. Well, I need to take this opportunity to say sorry to all of my students especially three ladies who treated me so well. They are Phoebe, Jenny and Karis. I have sent them an email to apologize for my absence and hope that they will forgive me. Hope they still had fun without me.

All these youngsters are very nice and friendly. I promise once I am less engaged with my teaching and research, I must treat them for tea or dinner. Keep in touch.

Sylvia

I can't believe that one of my students still remembers my birthday. She is called Sylvia. Actually I started teaching her almost ten years ago when I taught English evening classes at the Methodist Centre in Wan Chai. She is a very hardworking student and studied part-time in all my courses. Obviously, the courses I taught at that time were not free. She worked in day time and studied part-time. Sometimes, she even cooked some good food for me. Though we haven't met each other for at least four or five years, I think she still sent me Christmas cards and birthday cards every year. What I felt touched was not her cards or presents. Instead, she treated me like her friend or even a family member. I felt so great to have this superb student.

She told me she is with the Inland Revenue and she pretty enjoys five-day work. Good. Keep up with your English and send my regards to your husband and family members. How about your knees? Once you told me you got problems with your knees, keep doing exericise. Take care.

Assessment

Recently, I am teaching a Yr. 4 module titled 'Assessment for learning in the ESL classroom'. At the outset, some students of mine thought that the module was not easy at all as some of its concepts and practices are quite innovative. But when I explained to them with an example, they all understood that assessment, actually, is part of our life. I said, "Think about once we step out of our apartments, we start assessing or evaluating things. For instance, when we go shopping in a mall, we may unconsicously evaluate whether the shops are big and clean or we may assess if the air circulation is good in the mall. Sometimes, we may even talk about and explain why the mall is not good with reference to a set of criteria." So don't think assessment is a difficult subject discipline. Actually, it is a content-area which has a close link with our everyday life. Looking forward to reading your assignments!

A Diamond Ring

Yesterday, I received a diamond ring as my birthday present. This is the most valuable and expensive birthday present I have received to date. You may ask me how I felt about the present. Of course, I was elated as well as learn a lesson. On the one hand, I think the present symbolizes respect and love instead of its value though it is expensive. On the other hand, the gift can represent how caring and happy the sender is. Since I believe that a person is more blessed to give than to receive. I got this experience because when I bought a little gift for my friend last year, I am sure I was happier than she was. No doubt, those who can afford to give is much more fortunate than those who receive. Here, I am not saying that I am not fortunate at all. Oppositely, I bet I am the most spoiled husband in the world.

Walking

Few months ago, my friend and I talked about how to keep fit. We shared our experience. She told me that swimming was quite effective. She did it in the last summer and lost 5 pounds. And I told her my experience few years back. I used to run in the park for 50 minutes three times a week and I lasted for four months. I lost 8 pounds. Then, I told my friend I originally did not intend to lose weight as there is no need for me to do so. But the unexpectued side-effect of running is to lose pounds.

You may think you neither have time nor any energy to swim or run. Why don't you try walking? Recently, I realize that I don't have much exercise, so I spend some time purely on 'walking'. You may ask how and when. It's easy. As I live very close to HKU, my strategy is that I get off from the MTR in Central. Then, I start walking home from Soho area and stroll alongside Hollywood Road. It takes me about 20 to 25 minutes to go home. I think this exercise is pretty convenient. You don't need a partner, equipment or venue and you don't spend 'extra' time or money. You may try.

Gym

Once, my students asked me whether it was boring to go to the gym. I said, ‘No’. The majority may have this impression that going to the gym is a monotonous and mechanical activity. But I don’t think so. Actually, it is a focused and demanding sport which can discipline your lifestyle. Some people also think that going to the gym is a very laidback sport event. Again, it is wrong. Instead it needs a lot of planning and of course energy if one wants to achieve the purposes of keeping fit or loosing weight. Though I am not an expert, I did receive professional training as a coach some years ago. Therefore, I would like to take this opportunity to resolve some of the misunderstanding about working out in the gym.

Rumor no. 1: If I stop going to the gym, I will become fat very easily.
Truth: It is not the case. On the contrary, a lot of guys and ladies would look ‘thinner’ if they stop going to the gym because their muscle tissues no longer grow properly. Besides, there are a number of reasons to govern why a person gain weights after he or she quits going to the gym.

Rumor no. 2: If I go to the gym, I become very muscular.
Truth: Without strenuous and tough training, nobody can become muscular. Picking up a dumbbell would turn you into Madonna. It is true especially for ladies whose muscles are not that well-developed in comparison with guys.

Rumor no. 3: If I go to the gym regularly, I can eat a lot of sweet and fatty stuff.
Truth: Even though one has a strict weight training schedule, dieting is still very significant. No matter how efficient you are, weight training only contributes 30% to the outcome of workout and the other 70% of the expected outcome attributes to dieting. If one wants to become very ‘fit’ and muscular, he or she must stick to a healthy diet as well as a balanced workout schedule.

My Son

The following is my son's profile:

Name: Porkchop
Gender: Male
Age: 5
Horoscope: Capricorn
Breed: Shih Tzu
Height: Around 10 - 11 inches
Weight: 13.5 pounds
Hobby: Sleeping, eating and playing
Activity: Running and biting soft toys
Favourite food: My fingers / Chicken and apples
Favourite toy: Mr. Bean (the large one)
Character: Intelligent, snobbish and egocentric
Marital Status: Single (looking for an ugly girlfriend) / He likes female dogs with a black mouth.

Healthy Diet

Many friends or acquaintances of mine have asked me how to keep fit. When they asked me this question, I wondered if they did ask a right person as I am not a very healthy guy, but I do pay much attention to what I eat every day. It's great I can share these little tips with you here.

Things you shouldn't eat or drink too much:

1. Instant noodles or cup noodles
2. Cakes or sweets
3. Chocolate
4. Ice cream
5. Softdrinks
6. Beers
7. French toasts

Things you should eat or drink regularly:

1. Water
2. Tea (without sugar) or herbal tea
3. Apples
4. Vegetables
5. Rice

I have to emphasize here that it's really hard to avoid something like beers, cakes or chocolates unless you really want to be isloated from any social life. But try to refrain yourself from consuming too much on the 'shouldn't' list.

The Worst Student

Who is the worst student I have ever taught? You may guess he or she must be my secondary students. Then, you are wrong.

The worst student I have ever taught is an in-service teacher. I bet he is middle-aged and he teaches in a Band 1 boy school on Hong Kong Island. Why do I say he is my worst student? Last year, I was responsible to teach a professional development course. I remember the schedule of that cohort was on Saturday mornings. Most students tried to be punctual to the class. Most of them were polite and attentive in class except one. During the first session, this in-service teacher rushed into the classroom and asked me whether he could just sign in and quitted. I replied, ‘But I haven’t even started the session’. He then angrily sat down and read his SCMP. When almost all the participants arrived, I started the session by asking them to talk about their expectations of the course. Five minutes later, I invited a few students to share what they had discussed. When I walked near this male in-service teacher, he loudly told the whole class, ‘Well, I don't have any expectation. What I want is to go home.’ Guess what. I felt very calm and gave him a reply, ‘Yes, you may go home at any time.’ From my observation, his answers surprised a lot of his group mates instead of me. Few young lady teachers even stared at him. Needless to say, he was very inattentive during the class such as chatting to his colleague who works in the same school or reading his newspaper.

What do you think? You may say he is not the worst in comparison with some ‘active’ students in your school. I would say if kids are naughty and impolite to me, I can teach them or talk to them when they calm down. Surely, sometimes I am angry with these naughty students, but I tell myself they are still young. How about this in-service teacher? He is not young anymore. He is an adult. You can’t change him. What I really feel sorry about is not him but his students.

Success Criteria

The other day, I talked with a renowned scholar in Hong Kong about the success criteria of being a well-recognized academic in the field. We discussed for some time and worked out the following list which is prioritized according to the chronological order:

1. Diligence
2. Wisdom
3. Connection
4. Luck

It seems to me that these four criteria can apply to all professions not only the academics in the tertiary sector. For diligence, it is a key component if one aspires to be on top in their workplace or outdoes other competitors. For wisdom, this scholar and I argued whether it is necessary. But we concluded that as time goes by, through exposure to the fied and hard work, our wisdom can amass tremendously and one day we may become much more intelligent than before. For connection, one must have a close contact with certain people in the field. The intriguing relationship between burgeoning and established academics is like an expert teacher coaching an apprentice. In addition, these novice academics should be actively involved in all sorts of scholastic activities such as seminars, conferences and research. Last but not the least, luck seems to be too empty to be included in our success criteria. But having discussed its weighting, we think that it could not occupy more than 10% in the chart. I think luck is all around and they are out there. What we should do is to well equip ourselves and await luck to come. I am sure some may disagree if luck should be added to our success criteria. The answer is 'It depends...' If one is deterministic, one may agree that no. 4 criteria should be included. In my opinion, I will not tick out no. 4, but I strongly believe that no. 1 criteria is a must to those who strive for excellence on the planet!

Rosina

One of my beloved lecturers, Rosina, has been tortured by cancer since last year. Though I keep on emailing her, I did not get her reply until recently. She told me she is receiving the medical treatment of chemotherapy but it makes hervery painful and irritated. Though she is very sick, she still thinks about me. How great she is! I hope that she can totally recover from her illnesses and win the battle.

Rosina,

Grace and I always think about you. Don't fall down and a lot of your HKU students want to see you again on the campus. You must be strong and tough and combat all the obstacles in front of you. We are with you all the time. Forget the pain and stand up again. If you need any help, just ring us.

Regards,

Ricky

Graduation Photo

Today, my BEd. Yr. 4 students invited me to have the graduation photo taking. I felt so honoured to participate in this event though I have taught them for less than a year. What's my opinion of this group of Yr. 4 students? They are all nice kids (from my perspective, they are still kids). They are also very motivated and eager to learn. Though occasionally they felt exhausted and frustrated in their coursework and teaching practice, they could bravely stand up and faced all challenges. In very near future, they will become well-trained and qualified school teachers. I do believe that our education sector needs new blood like my students. Perhaps what they lack is experience; however, we all started off without any experience. I think what a good teacher should possess is a good heart. Without it, it is hard to become a good teacher. I wish all my Yr. 4 students every success in their future teaching and study career. Well done, BEd (P) students!!

A Good Start

I have read a lot of blogs of my students and friends. I think I should join them. Actually, I was motivated to set up my blog by one of the professors at HKU who is called Prof. Nancy Law. She said that in order to have a better communication with our students, we should use I.T. No doubt, what she said is right in this ear. Being a blogger could bring us and our students closer together. Then, I have browsed the blogs of two of my favourite scholars, Prof. Paul Matsuda and Prof. Icy Lee. My wish to write blog is intensified. I bet there is no better means to share our joy and sadness in life with others through blog.