I have written on the importance of encouraging any kind of interest our children may have. My elder son, for example, has a lot of interests and all of them are encouraged by me at all times. He was interested in stamps and I took out my stamp collection to help him get started. Every opportunity my son, my wife and I had, we looked for stamps from all over. He had a wonderful time arranging them in stamp albums. From them he learned a lot from the various stamps from the many countries they came from.
He was also interested in coins and notes, collecting coins and notes whenever he found the chance and time to do so, putting the notes and coins in albums, appreciating not just the designs but also their rarity.
And today, in the news was an item about an exceedingly rare coin, the 1787 gold Brasher doubloon, which was sold for 7.4 million US dollars which was one of the highest prices ever paid for a gold coin. The identities of the buyer and seller were not disclosed. The company which brokered the deal was Blanchard and Co., a New Orleans-based coin and precious metals company.(Note: The Brasher doubloon is considered the first American-made gold coin denominated in dollars; the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia didn't begin striking coins until the 1790s.)
As it can be seen from the above, hobbies such as coin and stamp collecting can be as much an investment as antiques and paintings. They are worthwhile interests to cultivate as it takes those interested to a desire to know more which could lead to language learning and further reading. Life can never be boring when there are things to be interested in.
So, let us help our children develop more of such interests instead of insisting upon them to read and learn without the motivation to do so. Yes, it is the lack of motivation that leaves children without a purpose in learning, be it language or skill.
Showing posts with label interest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label interest. Show all posts
Monday, December 12, 2011
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Growing the passion.
Passion in something is important if we want our children to be extremely good at it. So, if a child were to be truly interested in something, searching for knowledge on it, doing everything needed to understand it well and constantly as well as tirelessly working at it would never be a chore. It would always be a pleasure. There is no need for the parents to fear that the child would give up easily in his/her search for further knowledge when he/she is passionate about that something.
However, we have also seen children who do not seem to have much interest in anything. Of course, they do get interested in things but not for long. There just isn't that great interest that would stand the test of time and energy. So, in the face of such circumstances, what does the parent do?
To explore everything in his surroundings and become exposed to as many things as possible could be a first move. After getting to know his/her own house well, take him/her out to explore and experience things in the park, at the club, on the beach, up a hill or along the roads. Introduce to the child the birds, insects and animals, plants, trees, flowers and their fruits, the buildings, the people or workers in them, and the various types of vehicles. And the list of things to see, appreciate and know goes on.
When my kids were young, I took them anywhere we could afford to go. Certainly, they were interested in many things. They were interested in animals such as the monkeys in the botanical gardens. A visit to the zoo or some kind of animal-farm was always greeted with delight. Fond of fish in streams and lakes, they would watch intently for many minutes. They delighted in the fruits on the trees and the colourful flowers which they encountered. And today, one of them is a nature lover who cares for animals. This interest has lead him to read so much on animals and become a veterinarian. Today, he still continues to further his knowledge on animals, precious stones and plants.
Next move could be to make available the tools, the objects of interest or the instruments. With them, the child can further his interest should any develop. Of course, be ready for some waste and things left around without any hope of them being used. I have two tennis rackets that has remained used only once. I have musical instruments such as the guitar and harmonicas which interested my children only fleetingly. Never mind for all it takes is just one strike and our children would have a beautiful life ahead. Studies and work connected to their interest would be easy as there could be nothing boring in what they are really interested in.
One of things I have bought my children were watches. Well, normally parents buy watches for their children expecting nothing but their looking at them for the time. The younger of my two sons do not look at watches as time-indicators. To him it was something puzzling that moves its hands so consistently. He just had to know what caused that. So, he dismantled the back cover, studied it and replaced it. That, of course, resulted in it no longer being water-proofed. And he had a spoiled watch. Then when he was about ten or eleven years old, there was this electronic Japanese toy which allows a child to own a pet in it. The owner of the toy has to feed the pet and look after it. As it was too costly, he purchased spoiled ones, repaired them, resold them and earned enough money to buy such a toy. This son became interested in electronic things and even before attending university he was welding, repairing televisions and computers. He is now in his final year in engineering.
Thus, as can be seen, given the opportunities to meet something a child can be passionate about, provided with the necessary things to foster his/her growth in it and given all the aids essential to his/her progress, there can only be one path forward-the path to successful mastery of his passion.
However, we have also seen children who do not seem to have much interest in anything. Of course, they do get interested in things but not for long. There just isn't that great interest that would stand the test of time and energy. So, in the face of such circumstances, what does the parent do?
To explore everything in his surroundings and become exposed to as many things as possible could be a first move. After getting to know his/her own house well, take him/her out to explore and experience things in the park, at the club, on the beach, up a hill or along the roads. Introduce to the child the birds, insects and animals, plants, trees, flowers and their fruits, the buildings, the people or workers in them, and the various types of vehicles. And the list of things to see, appreciate and know goes on.
When my kids were young, I took them anywhere we could afford to go. Certainly, they were interested in many things. They were interested in animals such as the monkeys in the botanical gardens. A visit to the zoo or some kind of animal-farm was always greeted with delight. Fond of fish in streams and lakes, they would watch intently for many minutes. They delighted in the fruits on the trees and the colourful flowers which they encountered. And today, one of them is a nature lover who cares for animals. This interest has lead him to read so much on animals and become a veterinarian. Today, he still continues to further his knowledge on animals, precious stones and plants.
Next move could be to make available the tools, the objects of interest or the instruments. With them, the child can further his interest should any develop. Of course, be ready for some waste and things left around without any hope of them being used. I have two tennis rackets that has remained used only once. I have musical instruments such as the guitar and harmonicas which interested my children only fleetingly. Never mind for all it takes is just one strike and our children would have a beautiful life ahead. Studies and work connected to their interest would be easy as there could be nothing boring in what they are really interested in.
One of things I have bought my children were watches. Well, normally parents buy watches for their children expecting nothing but their looking at them for the time. The younger of my two sons do not look at watches as time-indicators. To him it was something puzzling that moves its hands so consistently. He just had to know what caused that. So, he dismantled the back cover, studied it and replaced it. That, of course, resulted in it no longer being water-proofed. And he had a spoiled watch. Then when he was about ten or eleven years old, there was this electronic Japanese toy which allows a child to own a pet in it. The owner of the toy has to feed the pet and look after it. As it was too costly, he purchased spoiled ones, repaired them, resold them and earned enough money to buy such a toy. This son became interested in electronic things and even before attending university he was welding, repairing televisions and computers. He is now in his final year in engineering.
Thus, as can be seen, given the opportunities to meet something a child can be passionate about, provided with the necessary things to foster his/her growth in it and given all the aids essential to his/her progress, there can only be one path forward-the path to successful mastery of his passion.
Thursday, February 03, 2011
No need to be apologetic. Time is ours to spend happily..
Yesterday evening, to prepare myself for a hike up a hill in Yan, Kedah, I bought some bread from one of the sundry shops in my area. Upon seeing me, the man told me,"Today, there's hardly anything to do. I watched television for a while and did some gardening. Time drags. It was still early afternoon with so much time on my hands." And he, a Chinese on Chinese New Year day, had nothing to do. So, he came to his shop, opened it and stood behind his counter to wait for someone to come so that he could occupy his time serving somebody and talking to someone. His tone of voice was apologetic. He realised he ought to be somewhere enjoying his Chinese New Year.
Actually, there was no necessity to feel bad about doing business or working on a holiday. After all, time is ours to spend as we wish. If we are happy doing it, who is to say it ought not to be done. But then if it is no joy to work at a business and yet have to do it just to kill time, then there is obviously something very wrong somewhere.
That is the reason we should cultivate some kind of hobby and have friends. Thinking about hobbies, I have so many that I could never find the time to enjoy all of them. And when it comes to friends, when one is friendly, there is no worry about having nobody to do things with. Everything about hobbies and friendship is as simple as that.
All of us have an inclination towards something. The more active people are usually interested in some kind of activities, be they indoor or outdoor. The quieter type has a lot of of things they can be involved in too. You can have a game of chess, participation in a discussion group or a sharing group.Perhaps reading or searching the internet is your kind of fun. Whatever it is, do find some kind of interest or hobby for it will come in useful some time.
And some of these activities lead to friendship for people of the same interest flock together to enjoy their likes. And such friends usually meet very often to quench their desire to participate and exchange knowledge in the same activity. So, in some hobbies, knowledge, friends and activities go together.
From what has been written it is without a doubt that humans need activities to live a satisfactory way, to find happiness in being alive. What is the use of being alive if time drags by and leave us uncertain of what to do with it?
Actually, there was no necessity to feel bad about doing business or working on a holiday. After all, time is ours to spend as we wish. If we are happy doing it, who is to say it ought not to be done. But then if it is no joy to work at a business and yet have to do it just to kill time, then there is obviously something very wrong somewhere.
That is the reason we should cultivate some kind of hobby and have friends. Thinking about hobbies, I have so many that I could never find the time to enjoy all of them. And when it comes to friends, when one is friendly, there is no worry about having nobody to do things with. Everything about hobbies and friendship is as simple as that.
All of us have an inclination towards something. The more active people are usually interested in some kind of activities, be they indoor or outdoor. The quieter type has a lot of of things they can be involved in too. You can have a game of chess, participation in a discussion group or a sharing group.Perhaps reading or searching the internet is your kind of fun. Whatever it is, do find some kind of interest or hobby for it will come in useful some time.
And some of these activities lead to friendship for people of the same interest flock together to enjoy their likes. And such friends usually meet very often to quench their desire to participate and exchange knowledge in the same activity. So, in some hobbies, knowledge, friends and activities go together.
From what has been written it is without a doubt that humans need activities to live a satisfactory way, to find happiness in being alive. What is the use of being alive if time drags by and leave us uncertain of what to do with it?
Friday, December 17, 2010
Be aware that childrem learn fast.
"F*** you," he shouted to the sister.
The mother was shocked at the words the first time she heard it from her son. "What did you say?" she inquired the little son who has just returned from the kindergarten.
Laughing with delight at the mother's astonishment at his mastery of words in just a few hours, he replied, "I said f*** you."
Yes, children learn real fast and they are so innocent about what they had inadvertently learned that they they reveal their knowledge to all they come into contact with. In their innocence, they believe all knowledge is good, be it vulgar or not. So, in a way, it is easy to know what they have just learned so that parents can remove the dirt and filth immediately before the use of such words become a habit.
It depends upon the parents whether what has been learned will be in usage. Learning that such words are in existence and there are people using them is acceptable but if it comes into the child's everyday language, then he has acquired the use of unnecessary language. Such language is not useful, in fact detrimental to the child's welfare, in life. As adults, when we understand that someone has been brought up with the use of such language, we might accept it but there are times when such use of language becomes embarrassing besides it being unnecessary.
So parents should be aware of what their children have learned and discourage or encourage the usage of the newly acquired knowledge. If unnecessary or harmful knowledge has been learned and practised, it could lead to the child's future downfall.
One such harmful habit is acquired from friends or pushers who invite unwitting children to try smoking and from there to cigarettes spiked with drugs. And if the child learns that his parents dislike smoking, the child may even have the new knowledge concealed from the parents. However, parents who are aware or close with the child will be able to smell the difference. The smell of cigarette smoke in the mouth or fingers of smokers is strong. (When I was a teacher, I had been able to detect the smell as a student walked past me after returning from a smoke. Upon searching the pockets I had found cigarettes and a lighter in such a student, evidence that he smoked.) If the parent were to explain to the child the dangers of smoke in our lungs, then it might prevent further practice of the activity.
Of course, not all knowledge or activity is bad, just as not all knowledge or activity is good. Knowing a child's knowledge and interest early, parents can assist the child to be involved more deeply into it and have it become a hobby or stepping stone to further knowledge and interest in books with such knowledge. Interest in books can lead the child to improve his language capabilities and other interests. And from here, the sky is the limit as far as the acquiring of knowledge is concerned.
Besides knowledge, another important aspect of interests is the eventual realisation that there is so much to know, learn and do, making life so meaningful and wonderful. It makes life not just eating, resting, sleeping and working but living and enjoying each day, thus such a person looks forward to each precious minute with eagerness. That's what makes life precious!
The mother was shocked at the words the first time she heard it from her son. "What did you say?" she inquired the little son who has just returned from the kindergarten.
Laughing with delight at the mother's astonishment at his mastery of words in just a few hours, he replied, "I said f*** you."
Yes, children learn real fast and they are so innocent about what they had inadvertently learned that they they reveal their knowledge to all they come into contact with. In their innocence, they believe all knowledge is good, be it vulgar or not. So, in a way, it is easy to know what they have just learned so that parents can remove the dirt and filth immediately before the use of such words become a habit.
It depends upon the parents whether what has been learned will be in usage. Learning that such words are in existence and there are people using them is acceptable but if it comes into the child's everyday language, then he has acquired the use of unnecessary language. Such language is not useful, in fact detrimental to the child's welfare, in life. As adults, when we understand that someone has been brought up with the use of such language, we might accept it but there are times when such use of language becomes embarrassing besides it being unnecessary.
So parents should be aware of what their children have learned and discourage or encourage the usage of the newly acquired knowledge. If unnecessary or harmful knowledge has been learned and practised, it could lead to the child's future downfall.
One such harmful habit is acquired from friends or pushers who invite unwitting children to try smoking and from there to cigarettes spiked with drugs. And if the child learns that his parents dislike smoking, the child may even have the new knowledge concealed from the parents. However, parents who are aware or close with the child will be able to smell the difference. The smell of cigarette smoke in the mouth or fingers of smokers is strong. (When I was a teacher, I had been able to detect the smell as a student walked past me after returning from a smoke. Upon searching the pockets I had found cigarettes and a lighter in such a student, evidence that he smoked.) If the parent were to explain to the child the dangers of smoke in our lungs, then it might prevent further practice of the activity.
Of course, not all knowledge or activity is bad, just as not all knowledge or activity is good. Knowing a child's knowledge and interest early, parents can assist the child to be involved more deeply into it and have it become a hobby or stepping stone to further knowledge and interest in books with such knowledge. Interest in books can lead the child to improve his language capabilities and other interests. And from here, the sky is the limit as far as the acquiring of knowledge is concerned.
Besides knowledge, another important aspect of interests is the eventual realisation that there is so much to know, learn and do, making life so meaningful and wonderful. It makes life not just eating, resting, sleeping and working but living and enjoying each day, thus such a person looks forward to each precious minute with eagerness. That's what makes life precious!
Monday, August 02, 2010
Reality is sometimes so different.
An ex-colleague of mine has a daughter who was told as well as read of the glamorous life of an air-hostess. Those beautiful air-hostesses with their sweet smiles and beautiful complexion caught her eye and she dreamt of becoming one someday. She studied hard and always looked into her mirror, forever wondering whether her looks were good enough, her smile sufficiently attractive or not or her complexion could be considered good to qualify for the position of air-hostess in one of the airlines.
When the time came she applied for the post in Malaysian Airlines. The people there were so particular in their choice that she had to go through so many interviews but each succeeding interview took her nearer to her goal. Eventually she secured the position she wanted.
From what I was told, she had studied the last few years in a college with a scholarship from that airline and so when she got her post she has to serve for a minimum of two years. Work was so much different from the stories she heard. During those two years, she had so much work to do and the hours were not the same as ordinary jobs. On the plane there were times when she had to help passengers to put their luggage up and as such luggage can sometimes be quite heavy, her hands were often painful. Then she had to serve the every passengers with food and drinks unlike another airline with cheaper flights which sells such food and drinks and so need to serve only when there are people who buy the food or drinks.
As for travelling round the world to enjoy it, most of the time she was so tired at the end of the flight that she would just flop down onto a bed to rest. There was not much time for sight-seeing unless leave is applied for so that the holiday can start at the time of reaching a foreign country.
And should a flight be scheduled to start at five o'clock the next morning, she can be placed on call from three o'clock. So, sometimes, there just could not be enough sleep.
So it was a tough life but then one man's meat is another man's poison. So, it possible that others would tell a different story. One day I hope to hear someone else tell such a different story so that I can expand my knowledge on the work of air-stewardesses. Till then this is what I have.
Well, when her bond was up, she applied for another job. Well, she is still young and can start a new career and she is lucky to discover that that first job was not for her. Let us hope she will find something that suits her. That's life!
And suddenly what seemed so important, height, beauty and complexion, are not so important after all. Interest and suitability of the job could be more relevant factors.
When the time came she applied for the post in Malaysian Airlines. The people there were so particular in their choice that she had to go through so many interviews but each succeeding interview took her nearer to her goal. Eventually she secured the position she wanted.
From what I was told, she had studied the last few years in a college with a scholarship from that airline and so when she got her post she has to serve for a minimum of two years. Work was so much different from the stories she heard. During those two years, she had so much work to do and the hours were not the same as ordinary jobs. On the plane there were times when she had to help passengers to put their luggage up and as such luggage can sometimes be quite heavy, her hands were often painful. Then she had to serve the every passengers with food and drinks unlike another airline with cheaper flights which sells such food and drinks and so need to serve only when there are people who buy the food or drinks.
As for travelling round the world to enjoy it, most of the time she was so tired at the end of the flight that she would just flop down onto a bed to rest. There was not much time for sight-seeing unless leave is applied for so that the holiday can start at the time of reaching a foreign country.
And should a flight be scheduled to start at five o'clock the next morning, she can be placed on call from three o'clock. So, sometimes, there just could not be enough sleep.
So it was a tough life but then one man's meat is another man's poison. So, it possible that others would tell a different story. One day I hope to hear someone else tell such a different story so that I can expand my knowledge on the work of air-stewardesses. Till then this is what I have.
Well, when her bond was up, she applied for another job. Well, she is still young and can start a new career and she is lucky to discover that that first job was not for her. Let us hope she will find something that suits her. That's life!
And suddenly what seemed so important, height, beauty and complexion, are not so important after all. Interest and suitability of the job could be more relevant factors.
Thursday, July 01, 2010
A plant of interest from a nursery.
The other day, it was a Tuesday, my son and I went to an orchid farm at Sungai Dua as he is interested in orchids and wishes to know more about them. We did not manage to see the inside of the farm as Michael, the owner of the farm was not in and his workers are instructed not to allow anybody in when he is not around. So, we went to the pottery shop of his parents and bought some pots instead. Then, we headed for home.
On the way home, almost near Kepala Batas, there was a nursery with very attractive pots on display in full view of road users passing the place. We stopped to have a look at the pots as well as the plants in the nursery. There were numerous pots with such beautiful designs and patterns. However, I was so taken up with some of the seldom and rarely seen plants in the place that I totally forgot about photographing them. I must make it a point to visit the place again and get some pictures.
As for the plants, the owner of the nursery had wild jungle orchids and some strange plants. One of them is the Jari Lipan (Translated into English, this is Centipede’s Finger), a name which belongs to an aquatic plant in the internet, and not the ‘Centipede’s Finger that we bought. However, it was strange enough and sufficiently interesting to be acquired. You see, the plant does look like some kind of witch’s finger. Interesting! According to the seller, it has anticancer properties. To use it, the ‘fingers’ are boiled and the resultant brew drunk. Well, he certainly was no doctor as he could not be specific when it comes to amount of leaves and water or the dosage for a cure. So, have you folks out there heard about it. How about sharing knowledge with me and our friends.
Still, I believe we can eventually find a reliable cure for cancer from nature. From what I have read, the amount of experiences of such cures is mounting. I certainly hope it could be soon as the present reliance upon chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery brings much undesirable side-effects and uncertainty.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
All in the name of love.
On the evening of the 3rd of May,2010, I telephoned my elder son and was told that he was at a police-station to make a police report on an assault on a friend who was with him at the time of the attack. He said he was some distance away when the incident took place. According to my son, it all started because of a girl. That was the bad news.
The good news was that my son was alright. No harm had come to him. Thank God for that. To top it all, was I delighted to hear that he has passed his final veterinarian examination. I thanked God for that too. But, this son of mine do deserve to pass as he was not only diligent; he was really interested in the subject. If you have read my previous postings, you would have read how he was interested in animals and fish since the age of nine. Since then we have had fish and animals in the compound of our house. Today, we still have birds, discus fish, guppies, flower-horn, platty, chillen, corydoras, plecos, fresh-water crayfish, half-beaks, red Cherry Shrimps, Golden shrimps and green shrimps, pig-nosed turtles and star tortoises.
It has been five years of hard work with working holidays through which he worked at various places to gain experience. He was in a pig farm in Kedah, another farm in mainland Penang, Langkawi Underwater World, Indonesia and an animal hospital in Bangkok to gain as much experience as possible. And he was so happy to forfeit his own holidays to work at all those places. Even now, just after his examination results, he was wondering where he could work and gain further knowledge and experience. Not only that, he has already ordered some rare shrimps and would be bringing home exotic fish to study and breed.
He requested for space for additional aquariums. Fortunately, we have a big compound in our corner house, something I insisted on looking for when I bought the house for I realised that a small house will be sufficient but a big outdoor area for fun and joy is essential. Yes, I bought it with myself, my wife and my children in mind. You see, I am one of those who could never get used to being cooped up in a place enclosed by four walls. That is one reason I could not resist the call to wander up the hills, into forests and the winding rivers and the fabulous waterfalls.
When we have the things we love in and around us, the world is a paradise; a joy to be in and life is nothing but happiness. With love for a subject, no matter how tough are the five years of study, it passes quickly and steadily. Work becomes a joy even during holidays and holidays bring fulfillment as it gives opportunities to experience more of what is loved.
Of course, as seen from the beating someone had as a result of love gone wrong, there is possibly some sadness and pain. However, if there is love, love will find the way to the heart and there is no need for a struggle to attain it.
On Friday, the 7th of May, I traveled with my two sons to meet a young guy who, despite being very young at twenty-three years of age, knew so much about aquarium fish, shrimps and crayfish, the breeding of some rare ones and the sourcing of such delightful beauties.
Meeting him at Penanti, Penang, he took us to his house where one portion of the compound of his house was built four big cement tanks and a number of aquariums for guppies of the less common types, most of them albinos.
Then he took us into his bedroom where his shrimps were kept in three long aquariums occupying one whole stretch of a wall. There was a book shelf filled with books on fish. It was an air-conditioned room, the sir-conditioning necessary for keeping the shrimps in a temperature cold enough for them to survive and breed. Imagine the measures enthusiasts would take to ensure success in their breeding programme.
The back portion of the house contained some aquariums with certain rare fish species. This young man has certainly spent a lot of time with his fish.
It is not just time but also money that has gone into his interests. According to him, he had ordered rare fish from importers and sometimes all would die within two weeks. One a friend managed to get a pair of beautiful fish to lose them just after getting some ten fries from the pair. And from the ten, only one is a male. Fortunately, the male was of a good attractive colours. Of course, he is looking after them carefully so as to have sufficient numbers to breed them successfully.
He has put in a lot of work but then it is never tiring as it is a work of love. In fact, his dreams are very much alive and he is planning to start a shop and concentrate more on rare, small, exotic fish.
He is so enthusiastic about his hobby that time passed so quickly as he told us after his many breeding attempts, his successes and failures. Well, when something interests us, time is not a factor. The interchange of knowledge and understanding is of utmost importance.
The good news was that my son was alright. No harm had come to him. Thank God for that. To top it all, was I delighted to hear that he has passed his final veterinarian examination. I thanked God for that too. But, this son of mine do deserve to pass as he was not only diligent; he was really interested in the subject. If you have read my previous postings, you would have read how he was interested in animals and fish since the age of nine. Since then we have had fish and animals in the compound of our house. Today, we still have birds, discus fish, guppies, flower-horn, platty, chillen, corydoras, plecos, fresh-water crayfish, half-beaks, red Cherry Shrimps, Golden shrimps and green shrimps, pig-nosed turtles and star tortoises.
It has been five years of hard work with working holidays through which he worked at various places to gain experience. He was in a pig farm in Kedah, another farm in mainland Penang, Langkawi Underwater World, Indonesia and an animal hospital in Bangkok to gain as much experience as possible. And he was so happy to forfeit his own holidays to work at all those places. Even now, just after his examination results, he was wondering where he could work and gain further knowledge and experience. Not only that, he has already ordered some rare shrimps and would be bringing home exotic fish to study and breed.
He requested for space for additional aquariums. Fortunately, we have a big compound in our corner house, something I insisted on looking for when I bought the house for I realised that a small house will be sufficient but a big outdoor area for fun and joy is essential. Yes, I bought it with myself, my wife and my children in mind. You see, I am one of those who could never get used to being cooped up in a place enclosed by four walls. That is one reason I could not resist the call to wander up the hills, into forests and the winding rivers and the fabulous waterfalls.
When we have the things we love in and around us, the world is a paradise; a joy to be in and life is nothing but happiness. With love for a subject, no matter how tough are the five years of study, it passes quickly and steadily. Work becomes a joy even during holidays and holidays bring fulfillment as it gives opportunities to experience more of what is loved.
Of course, as seen from the beating someone had as a result of love gone wrong, there is possibly some sadness and pain. However, if there is love, love will find the way to the heart and there is no need for a struggle to attain it.
On Friday, the 7th of May, I traveled with my two sons to meet a young guy who, despite being very young at twenty-three years of age, knew so much about aquarium fish, shrimps and crayfish, the breeding of some rare ones and the sourcing of such delightful beauties.
Meeting him at Penanti, Penang, he took us to his house where one portion of the compound of his house was built four big cement tanks and a number of aquariums for guppies of the less common types, most of them albinos.
Then he took us into his bedroom where his shrimps were kept in three long aquariums occupying one whole stretch of a wall. There was a book shelf filled with books on fish. It was an air-conditioned room, the sir-conditioning necessary for keeping the shrimps in a temperature cold enough for them to survive and breed. Imagine the measures enthusiasts would take to ensure success in their breeding programme.
The back portion of the house contained some aquariums with certain rare fish species. This young man has certainly spent a lot of time with his fish.
It is not just time but also money that has gone into his interests. According to him, he had ordered rare fish from importers and sometimes all would die within two weeks. One a friend managed to get a pair of beautiful fish to lose them just after getting some ten fries from the pair. And from the ten, only one is a male. Fortunately, the male was of a good attractive colours. Of course, he is looking after them carefully so as to have sufficient numbers to breed them successfully.
He has put in a lot of work but then it is never tiring as it is a work of love. In fact, his dreams are very much alive and he is planning to start a shop and concentrate more on rare, small, exotic fish.
He is so enthusiastic about his hobby that time passed so quickly as he told us after his many breeding attempts, his successes and failures. Well, when something interests us, time is not a factor. The interchange of knowledge and understanding is of utmost importance.
Monday, April 19, 2010
The glorious creations of God.
Just take a look at the fantastic beauties below that are scattered here and there in the home of nature
At first sight, I thought those were blue plastic beads. Wow!
Look at the above attractive textured waxy plant.
And from the top of Gunung Bintang water flows to form a waterfall.
Here's something seldom seen, so white and like a kind of huge mushroom.
Such beautiful flowers abound up Gunung Bintang. The above is a ginger flower.
That's a scene almost at the top with the glorious cloudy warm sunny sky contrasting with the cool air under the canopy of those trees up there.
Above is another mushroom, below a flower so tiny yet still sufficient to capture one's attention.
And here's natural beauty in the eye of this beholder.
And finally here's a rare butterfly on Gunung Bintang.
Did you read about my trek up Gunung Bintang and how, after four hours, we were told by someone that we were still seven hours from the top? Well, that was about two months ago. A few weeks ago, four of us made another trip up that mountain hoping to reach the very top in one day. That was what we thought as friends of mine had cycled up the tarred path up Gunung Jerai in a little more than two hours.
We started early in the morning at six-forty-five from Sungai Petani. We reached the waterfalls at Sedim, Southern Kedah at eight-thirty. From there it was a trek with beautiful scenery, plants of various textures, insects, moths and butterflies.
We went up one hill, down it a little to go to another hill and another hill to reach Gunung Bintang. The mountain was not steep but the way up it was long and winding. After passing three waterfalls, we had not reached the summit. By three-thirty in the afternoon, although tired but game enough to continue if we believed that we had the time to return to the foot of the mountain before dark, we decided it was time to turn back.
It had been raining the last few days and the ground was wet and in some places slippery. Everyone of us fell at least three times. Wet socks and muddy shoes were not kind to our feet, especially the toes. One of my big toes suffered the most with it constantly jammed against the shoe each time my foot slipped forward in the damp slippery inner soles of the shoe despite the wet socks. I still have a blue-blacked nail to show today.
Perhaps the shoes were a little too loose. Next time, I would wear more tight fitting shoes for the climb.
Eventually,with pain in the toes or the foot, we eventually reached the bottom when it was already dark at eight-forty-five. Luckily for us, darkness comes later at this time of the year.
Although tired, we had enjoyed our day as all of us were appreciative of the beauty and wonder of nature. One of the ladies who was always ready with her camera to capture the many fascinating scenes and captivating delights of nature was most vocal in her thanks for such a fantastically wonderful time.
Search and you will find. Look and you will see all the glorious creations of God. Actually it is everywhere, in you, in me, in all things big and small created by Him. As I have written we are also a creation of God and anyone who say otherwise do not believe in Him. That is why each and everyone of us is unique in his/her own way. So, starting now, think of your ability to bring out the best in you and enrich this world with whatever you can do for it. The first and easiest thing you can do is smile to yourself in the mirror first thing in the morning. Let the glow of happiness start with you. Then, as you meet your family members and friends, smile to them and see the smile spread, bringing a smile to everyone's lips with the delight of sharing and togetherness in this world.
At first sight, I thought those were blue plastic beads. Wow!
Look at the above attractive textured waxy plant.
And from the top of Gunung Bintang water flows to form a waterfall.
Here's something seldom seen, so white and like a kind of huge mushroom.
Such beautiful flowers abound up Gunung Bintang. The above is a ginger flower.
That's a scene almost at the top with the glorious cloudy warm sunny sky contrasting with the cool air under the canopy of those trees up there.
Above is another mushroom, below a flower so tiny yet still sufficient to capture one's attention.
And here's natural beauty in the eye of this beholder.
And finally here's a rare butterfly on Gunung Bintang.
Did you read about my trek up Gunung Bintang and how, after four hours, we were told by someone that we were still seven hours from the top? Well, that was about two months ago. A few weeks ago, four of us made another trip up that mountain hoping to reach the very top in one day. That was what we thought as friends of mine had cycled up the tarred path up Gunung Jerai in a little more than two hours.
We started early in the morning at six-forty-five from Sungai Petani. We reached the waterfalls at Sedim, Southern Kedah at eight-thirty. From there it was a trek with beautiful scenery, plants of various textures, insects, moths and butterflies.
We went up one hill, down it a little to go to another hill and another hill to reach Gunung Bintang. The mountain was not steep but the way up it was long and winding. After passing three waterfalls, we had not reached the summit. By three-thirty in the afternoon, although tired but game enough to continue if we believed that we had the time to return to the foot of the mountain before dark, we decided it was time to turn back.
It had been raining the last few days and the ground was wet and in some places slippery. Everyone of us fell at least three times. Wet socks and muddy shoes were not kind to our feet, especially the toes. One of my big toes suffered the most with it constantly jammed against the shoe each time my foot slipped forward in the damp slippery inner soles of the shoe despite the wet socks. I still have a blue-blacked nail to show today.
Perhaps the shoes were a little too loose. Next time, I would wear more tight fitting shoes for the climb.
Eventually,with pain in the toes or the foot, we eventually reached the bottom when it was already dark at eight-forty-five. Luckily for us, darkness comes later at this time of the year.
Although tired, we had enjoyed our day as all of us were appreciative of the beauty and wonder of nature. One of the ladies who was always ready with her camera to capture the many fascinating scenes and captivating delights of nature was most vocal in her thanks for such a fantastically wonderful time.
Search and you will find. Look and you will see all the glorious creations of God. Actually it is everywhere, in you, in me, in all things big and small created by Him. As I have written we are also a creation of God and anyone who say otherwise do not believe in Him. That is why each and everyone of us is unique in his/her own way. So, starting now, think of your ability to bring out the best in you and enrich this world with whatever you can do for it. The first and easiest thing you can do is smile to yourself in the mirror first thing in the morning. Let the glow of happiness start with you. Then, as you meet your family members and friends, smile to them and see the smile spread, bringing a smile to everyone's lips with the delight of sharing and togetherness in this world.
Monday, February 01, 2010
To stimulate the brain.
When we wish to proceed with a project, and we have settled the problem of giving time to it, then we ought to start with it immediately when we know what to do to achieve the necessary success. As we already know, we should start developing our children's brain, together with its body, the day the children are born, if not after the fourth month of conception in the womb.
The next question is what can we do to stimulate the growth and development of our beloved children. Yes, the aim is to stimulate so that the brain would respond and develop to accommodate the knowledge or skill necessary for the child's growth in every possible sphere.
Knowledge involves understanding while skill involves movement. Together they help the child to develop every part of him/her to the highest potential possible. Both ought to be developed together.
In stimulating the brains of our children, the parents are the most important people. They are the children's first and most suitable teachers. Teaching begins with them and they are the ones most knowledgeable or understanding of their own children. If, due to circumstances beyond their control, parents are unable to spend sufficient time with their children to make a difference, then these parents still have the responsibility to ensure the right guardians or child-minders are selected to do the job of stimulating the minds of their children.
Where does all the stimulation and training start? Well, the whole world is our classroom and all audio visual aids as well as practical training venues are found in it. How big your world is depends upon the time available and the expences needed. Everything else in here in this world.
For a start, the cot and the surrounding space in a room is the baby;s world. In it are also the parents, possibly brothers or sisters and grandparents. Of course, there are the toys hung above the cot.
Linguistic intelligence and interpersonal intelligence are the starting points. Parents and other humans who come into contact should speak in proper language and not baby talk which will be useless and discarded soon. Talk to the baby even though there is no responce. Greet the baby, ask questions or make comments on the baby's actions, smile, toys, food and the weather. We could talk as though the baby understands everything there is to say. Vocabulary is being registered in the brain. Later, all this will quicken the child's learning process.
Play with the child, get him/her to smile and laugh. Move the toy hung above the cot and get his eyes to follow the action as early as possible. The suitable toy should provide sound as well as moovement. Let the baby enjoy and register the sound of bells or any other clanging sounds.
Next, we can introduce texture to the child. Let the child know smoothness and roughness and any other textures available. Introduce the new words on textures. Allow the baby to mouth his/her fingers and toys after ensuring that they are clean and safe from dirt, germs and lead.
Then, there is movement. Get the child to move his hands and legs as well as turn his/her head.
Carry the baby and give the baby a chance to bond. Play with your baby. Let others bond with your baby too so that your child has an early start at interpersonal intelliegence development. Some children are so used to only their parents and siblings that they avoid strangers and find it difficult to enjoy the closeness of others.
From the cot and the home, the child widens his/her world into the garden and the neighbourhood. Talk about the new things he/she encounters here. Let the child experience the places. Parents' method of stimulating the child's brain for knowledge and skill is similar with slight variations. Again the verbal-linguistic intelligence is stimulated except that the child by now could start to ask questions which needed to be answered. If the parents can read up or learn in order to provide interesting and provoking answers to arouse curiousity, the brain would want to know more. Of course, the more is known, the more there is to know. If parents cannot provide the right answers, then the parents can take the child further afield to the library, the book-shop, the internet, the acquarium (At this point I still remember very well the little boy I saw at an acquarium shop who was full of questions for his delightful mother on all the fish and creatures seen in that place), the sundry shop, the supermarket, the wet-market, the public gardens, the zoo, art studios, musuems, the sea-side, the hills, the swamps, the rivers and any other place we can find in and around our town or village.
From here on, go and explore wherever and whatever is possible and within reach. Let the child know all there is to know within those six or seven years of his/her life.
Teach him/her to read and stimulate his/her love for reading. A love for reading is important as it is through books and the experiences of other people that we know and understand so many other things which is beyond our time and expenses to have.
Play is an important part of learning. Imagination is just as important. A child may discover the wonderful feeling of being able to cure others through pretending to be a doctor with a toy stethoscope and a stringe. Playing and taking apart watches and radios may anger parents as the expensive objects are destroyed in the process but it could be the result of curiousity to understand the workings of such things. We may be having an engineer or an inventor in our midst.
Talking about imagination, there was a time I saw parents dressing up their little children in graduates' attire and having them photographed. That was good, had the parents continued the process by telling the child that the first step to graduation is the ability to understand words well, read books and able to put thoughts and ideas on paper or in words. Then constantly remind the child of the path towards it with more stimulation towards whatever interests which could move the child towards that goal.
Many things in life require some kind of skill. For instance, a start could be made on skill development when the child has a bicycle. Show the child how to change a tyre or a bulb. Later, when the child grows up and is stronger, this child would know how to do it with a spanner and other instruments. Start with simple skills and go on to more difficult ones. Once a child has some skills mastered, he/she will be more than willing to learn whatever skills he/she comes across.
What about the child's bodily-kinesthetic intelligence? It all starts with walking, running, jumping, balancing, riding a bicycle, kicking footballs, throwing balls, bouncing balls; all of which leads to development of balance, agility, coordination, control, strength, stamina and endurance. With all these well developed, a child has the confidence to take on any sport he/she is interested in. He/She will not be left out in this field. Not only that, as many everyday actions require all these developments, he/she will find life so much easier to enjoy and be happy with. Almost anything would be within his/her reach. And the child will be stronger, healthier and fitter too. I wish to especially stress this point as an increasing number of parents think physical development not as important as verbal-linguistic development.
I remember that the one most important factor that removed whatever inferiority complex that I had as a child, was a strong and healthy body able to take on anythign physical as well as linguistic. With a healthy body, circulation is better and therefore, concentration is longer; and concentration is important in the classroom or the lecture room.
Well, all this will come to nought unless there are parents who would take on the job of developing their children's brains and bodies to their highest potential.
The next question is what can we do to stimulate the growth and development of our beloved children. Yes, the aim is to stimulate so that the brain would respond and develop to accommodate the knowledge or skill necessary for the child's growth in every possible sphere.
Knowledge involves understanding while skill involves movement. Together they help the child to develop every part of him/her to the highest potential possible. Both ought to be developed together.
In stimulating the brains of our children, the parents are the most important people. They are the children's first and most suitable teachers. Teaching begins with them and they are the ones most knowledgeable or understanding of their own children. If, due to circumstances beyond their control, parents are unable to spend sufficient time with their children to make a difference, then these parents still have the responsibility to ensure the right guardians or child-minders are selected to do the job of stimulating the minds of their children.
Where does all the stimulation and training start? Well, the whole world is our classroom and all audio visual aids as well as practical training venues are found in it. How big your world is depends upon the time available and the expences needed. Everything else in here in this world.
For a start, the cot and the surrounding space in a room is the baby;s world. In it are also the parents, possibly brothers or sisters and grandparents. Of course, there are the toys hung above the cot.
Linguistic intelligence and interpersonal intelligence are the starting points. Parents and other humans who come into contact should speak in proper language and not baby talk which will be useless and discarded soon. Talk to the baby even though there is no responce. Greet the baby, ask questions or make comments on the baby's actions, smile, toys, food and the weather. We could talk as though the baby understands everything there is to say. Vocabulary is being registered in the brain. Later, all this will quicken the child's learning process.
Play with the child, get him/her to smile and laugh. Move the toy hung above the cot and get his eyes to follow the action as early as possible. The suitable toy should provide sound as well as moovement. Let the baby enjoy and register the sound of bells or any other clanging sounds.
Next, we can introduce texture to the child. Let the child know smoothness and roughness and any other textures available. Introduce the new words on textures. Allow the baby to mouth his/her fingers and toys after ensuring that they are clean and safe from dirt, germs and lead.
Then, there is movement. Get the child to move his hands and legs as well as turn his/her head.
Carry the baby and give the baby a chance to bond. Play with your baby. Let others bond with your baby too so that your child has an early start at interpersonal intelliegence development. Some children are so used to only their parents and siblings that they avoid strangers and find it difficult to enjoy the closeness of others.
From the cot and the home, the child widens his/her world into the garden and the neighbourhood. Talk about the new things he/she encounters here. Let the child experience the places. Parents' method of stimulating the child's brain for knowledge and skill is similar with slight variations. Again the verbal-linguistic intelligence is stimulated except that the child by now could start to ask questions which needed to be answered. If the parents can read up or learn in order to provide interesting and provoking answers to arouse curiousity, the brain would want to know more. Of course, the more is known, the more there is to know. If parents cannot provide the right answers, then the parents can take the child further afield to the library, the book-shop, the internet, the acquarium (At this point I still remember very well the little boy I saw at an acquarium shop who was full of questions for his delightful mother on all the fish and creatures seen in that place), the sundry shop, the supermarket, the wet-market, the public gardens, the zoo, art studios, musuems, the sea-side, the hills, the swamps, the rivers and any other place we can find in and around our town or village.
From here on, go and explore wherever and whatever is possible and within reach. Let the child know all there is to know within those six or seven years of his/her life.
Teach him/her to read and stimulate his/her love for reading. A love for reading is important as it is through books and the experiences of other people that we know and understand so many other things which is beyond our time and expenses to have.
Play is an important part of learning. Imagination is just as important. A child may discover the wonderful feeling of being able to cure others through pretending to be a doctor with a toy stethoscope and a stringe. Playing and taking apart watches and radios may anger parents as the expensive objects are destroyed in the process but it could be the result of curiousity to understand the workings of such things. We may be having an engineer or an inventor in our midst.
Talking about imagination, there was a time I saw parents dressing up their little children in graduates' attire and having them photographed. That was good, had the parents continued the process by telling the child that the first step to graduation is the ability to understand words well, read books and able to put thoughts and ideas on paper or in words. Then constantly remind the child of the path towards it with more stimulation towards whatever interests which could move the child towards that goal.
Many things in life require some kind of skill. For instance, a start could be made on skill development when the child has a bicycle. Show the child how to change a tyre or a bulb. Later, when the child grows up and is stronger, this child would know how to do it with a spanner and other instruments. Start with simple skills and go on to more difficult ones. Once a child has some skills mastered, he/she will be more than willing to learn whatever skills he/she comes across.
What about the child's bodily-kinesthetic intelligence? It all starts with walking, running, jumping, balancing, riding a bicycle, kicking footballs, throwing balls, bouncing balls; all of which leads to development of balance, agility, coordination, control, strength, stamina and endurance. With all these well developed, a child has the confidence to take on any sport he/she is interested in. He/She will not be left out in this field. Not only that, as many everyday actions require all these developments, he/she will find life so much easier to enjoy and be happy with. Almost anything would be within his/her reach. And the child will be stronger, healthier and fitter too. I wish to especially stress this point as an increasing number of parents think physical development not as important as verbal-linguistic development.
I remember that the one most important factor that removed whatever inferiority complex that I had as a child, was a strong and healthy body able to take on anythign physical as well as linguistic. With a healthy body, circulation is better and therefore, concentration is longer; and concentration is important in the classroom or the lecture room.
Well, all this will come to nought unless there are parents who would take on the job of developing their children's brains and bodies to their highest potential.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Innate intelligence to develop: Part 2
A day ago, I have covered visual-spatial intelligence, musical intelligence, verbal-linguistic intelligence and bodily-kinestic intelligence.
Yesterday, I have written about my son who loves nature, having great fun, exploring the muddy swamps of Tanjung Dawai in Kedah. When a young toddler, he would take a sprinkle and water the plants in my garden. The first sentence he uttered, at hardly one year of age, was 'I water the plants.' He has a love for animals and a curiousity about them. He had his first hen at the age of three years, wondered why the eggs did not hatch into chickens, got the answer from me, and so went to hunt for a cockerel. Our chickens live among the tree-tops in my garden and my son would hunt for the eggs laid at various places. Once the hen built a nest on a jutting window ledge, sat each day up there, observed by my inquisitive son till the day the eggs hatched and the chicks jumped and flew down to the ground. The excitement of the event expressed on the face of my son was a delight to see. Since then, we had ducks, geese, rabbits, pigeons, parakeets, budgerigars, discus, hamsters, roboskies, tortoises, fresh-water turtles and many other types of fish. Each of the animals were studied as they were reared. Books came from the library or the book-stores and knowledge as well as linguistic improvement took place. It gave him a love for books and knowledge. This son is born with strong naturalistic intelligence. He can remember scientific names of natural things so well, something I am weak at.
Encouragement to his interest resulting from his naturalistic intelligence has seen him improve in many areas of his life. Where linguistic ability is concerned, he has developed the love for books and knowledge. He is able to converse especially well on things concerning nature. since he loved watching animal cartoons, music and songs became a part of his early life. He enjoys listening to songs. He compares the lives of animals, their similar sicknesses and treatment, with humans and himself, reaching an understanding of himself. He realises he is an introvert but through his observation skills developed through observing animals and nature, he is able to understand others. Of course, besides his strong naturalistic intelligence he has other fairly prominant intelliegence which is enhanced as he used them in his interest on nature.
People who have prominant innate naturalistic intelligence are among biologist, landscape artist, scientists, veterinarians and geologists.
My second son is someone interested in the workings of machines and electronic things. Even before he entered university to study engineering, he could repair televisions and radios.
Today, I have a new television I have used only for a week because my son repaired the old television after I have decided to throw it out. The old television had been having problems and each time I sent it to a professional repairman, the television worked for just a few weeks before it broke down again. After the fourth time, I decided that it was no longer economically viable to go on repairing it. I bought a new television just before this son returned home from his residential school for his final holidays. He saw the television, told me he wished to open it up for a look inside and when he did, it took just a few minutes before he told me he saw the problem and would like to repair it. That he did and today, that television, after about four years, is still working with no further repairs needed.
Obviously, logical-mathematical intelligence is this son's strong point. He has repaired a clock, radios, disc-players and televisions of some friends. People like him can be possible matematicians, scientists, engineers, or accountants.
Some people are very quiet when young. They observe others and think much about themselves and life. In their persuit of an understanding of life, they may find themselves interested in spiritual things.
I am one of them. In fact, when I was young I was so quiet that my parents thought I was dumb. They did not realise that exchange of thoughts took place not between people but within my own mind. I searched for spiritual truth and knowledge even to this day. I observed a lot of things and so was able to understand people even better through sharpened observation. Today, though I can be very vocal, I can also draw inwards into myself and my mind in order to make observations quietly. People like me have what is known as intrapersonal intelligence.
People with such intelligence are the spiritual leaders, psychologists, teachers and philosophers. I was a teacher and my appreciation of myself as well as others helped me to understand children and plan ways to encourage their strengths as well as overcome their weaknesses. I am now writing in this blog also to share my observations and knowledge, hoping to help plan and direct lives to greater heights, more happiness and constant good health as a result of this intelligence in me. By doing so, I head towards more knowledge, greater understanding and an improved, more meaningful life. Thus, where this blog is concerned, everyone is a winner.
There are those who have the knack of interacting with others well. They are able to feel others' emotions easily and so are able to adjust themselves to people. They are the Public Relations Officers. Since these people mix well with others, they cultivate language skills easily and are usually good at verbal as well as non-verbal skills. Besides public relations, they can be excellent teachers, social workers and politicians.
Then, we have people who are inclined to religion. These are the people whose intelligence lead them to the understanding of human existence, meaning of life, death and the thereafter, eventually straight to God and divinity. They are the priests, the monks, the preachers, the thinkers and the writers.
Everyone is unique and has a role to play in our society. Each must be allowed, as well as encouraged, to find his niche in life. When a person is enjoying his/her talent, his/her talent-related work is pleasurable as it no longer is work but joy, a sort of hobby. When that happens, the person will develop even further the other intelligence that he possess, although to a lesser degree. For no person possess just one or two intelligence. All of us have them all, it is just the degree of the intelligence which is different and most of us have not been given the opportunity to develop all our intelligence to the full. Researchers tell us only a very small percentage of our brain has been utilised. Therefore, there is still so much more, no matter what age we are at, to learn and develop.
Yesterday, I have written about my son who loves nature, having great fun, exploring the muddy swamps of Tanjung Dawai in Kedah. When a young toddler, he would take a sprinkle and water the plants in my garden. The first sentence he uttered, at hardly one year of age, was 'I water the plants.' He has a love for animals and a curiousity about them. He had his first hen at the age of three years, wondered why the eggs did not hatch into chickens, got the answer from me, and so went to hunt for a cockerel. Our chickens live among the tree-tops in my garden and my son would hunt for the eggs laid at various places. Once the hen built a nest on a jutting window ledge, sat each day up there, observed by my inquisitive son till the day the eggs hatched and the chicks jumped and flew down to the ground. The excitement of the event expressed on the face of my son was a delight to see. Since then, we had ducks, geese, rabbits, pigeons, parakeets, budgerigars, discus, hamsters, roboskies, tortoises, fresh-water turtles and many other types of fish. Each of the animals were studied as they were reared. Books came from the library or the book-stores and knowledge as well as linguistic improvement took place. It gave him a love for books and knowledge. This son is born with strong naturalistic intelligence. He can remember scientific names of natural things so well, something I am weak at.
Encouragement to his interest resulting from his naturalistic intelligence has seen him improve in many areas of his life. Where linguistic ability is concerned, he has developed the love for books and knowledge. He is able to converse especially well on things concerning nature. since he loved watching animal cartoons, music and songs became a part of his early life. He enjoys listening to songs. He compares the lives of animals, their similar sicknesses and treatment, with humans and himself, reaching an understanding of himself. He realises he is an introvert but through his observation skills developed through observing animals and nature, he is able to understand others. Of course, besides his strong naturalistic intelligence he has other fairly prominant intelliegence which is enhanced as he used them in his interest on nature.
People who have prominant innate naturalistic intelligence are among biologist, landscape artist, scientists, veterinarians and geologists.
My second son is someone interested in the workings of machines and electronic things. Even before he entered university to study engineering, he could repair televisions and radios.
Today, I have a new television I have used only for a week because my son repaired the old television after I have decided to throw it out. The old television had been having problems and each time I sent it to a professional repairman, the television worked for just a few weeks before it broke down again. After the fourth time, I decided that it was no longer economically viable to go on repairing it. I bought a new television just before this son returned home from his residential school for his final holidays. He saw the television, told me he wished to open it up for a look inside and when he did, it took just a few minutes before he told me he saw the problem and would like to repair it. That he did and today, that television, after about four years, is still working with no further repairs needed.
Obviously, logical-mathematical intelligence is this son's strong point. He has repaired a clock, radios, disc-players and televisions of some friends. People like him can be possible matematicians, scientists, engineers, or accountants.
Some people are very quiet when young. They observe others and think much about themselves and life. In their persuit of an understanding of life, they may find themselves interested in spiritual things.
I am one of them. In fact, when I was young I was so quiet that my parents thought I was dumb. They did not realise that exchange of thoughts took place not between people but within my own mind. I searched for spiritual truth and knowledge even to this day. I observed a lot of things and so was able to understand people even better through sharpened observation. Today, though I can be very vocal, I can also draw inwards into myself and my mind in order to make observations quietly. People like me have what is known as intrapersonal intelligence.
People with such intelligence are the spiritual leaders, psychologists, teachers and philosophers. I was a teacher and my appreciation of myself as well as others helped me to understand children and plan ways to encourage their strengths as well as overcome their weaknesses. I am now writing in this blog also to share my observations and knowledge, hoping to help plan and direct lives to greater heights, more happiness and constant good health as a result of this intelligence in me. By doing so, I head towards more knowledge, greater understanding and an improved, more meaningful life. Thus, where this blog is concerned, everyone is a winner.
There are those who have the knack of interacting with others well. They are able to feel others' emotions easily and so are able to adjust themselves to people. They are the Public Relations Officers. Since these people mix well with others, they cultivate language skills easily and are usually good at verbal as well as non-verbal skills. Besides public relations, they can be excellent teachers, social workers and politicians.
Then, we have people who are inclined to religion. These are the people whose intelligence lead them to the understanding of human existence, meaning of life, death and the thereafter, eventually straight to God and divinity. They are the priests, the monks, the preachers, the thinkers and the writers.
Everyone is unique and has a role to play in our society. Each must be allowed, as well as encouraged, to find his niche in life. When a person is enjoying his/her talent, his/her talent-related work is pleasurable as it no longer is work but joy, a sort of hobby. When that happens, the person will develop even further the other intelligence that he possess, although to a lesser degree. For no person possess just one or two intelligence. All of us have them all, it is just the degree of the intelligence which is different and most of us have not been given the opportunity to develop all our intelligence to the full. Researchers tell us only a very small percentage of our brain has been utilised. Therefore, there is still so much more, no matter what age we are at, to learn and develop.
Friday, January 01, 2010
Interest and Awareness is essential.
The other day, a relative of mine watched the news on television. Oh! How horrible! The previous Prime Minister’s wife is dead. Shocked and unable to contain the news further she told a friend at the morning market.
Later, this relative commented about that Prime Minister’s wife’s death to her husband. Upon hearing that, the husband told her she had heard the news wrongly. It was the previous Prime Minister’s wife’s mother who had died.
“Oh, my gosh!” she exclaimed. “Are you sure about that?” she enquired.
“Of course, I’m sure of what I heard,” the husband told her.
“Then what I told my friend is wrong. How embarrassing!” she put her hands to her head in despair.
This relative has the habit of listening to unattentively to the news. That was not the first time she got the news wrong. The trouble is that she did not give the news reader her full attention. And she is always so eager to tell others of what she had heard that she often beat the news reader to the end of the particular news. As a result she often jumps to her own conclusion before the news reader could finish the sentence on the news.
There are two possibilities when such a consequence can come about. The person could be not fully aware of what had been said or she had already speeded ahead and formed her own conclusions.Both can lead to getting wrong facts or knowledge.
When it comes to children, they ought to be made to realize that attention in class is important. Discuss with them the reason some people seem to remember or understand things easier or better than others although most children in the class are of almost the same average intelligence. In fact many clever scientists and great intelligent people were once deemed to be weak in their studies.
So, we have to get our children to realise that the difference lie in the interest of the persons in their studies. When the people are interested, they pay greater attention to what is being said. They are aware of what is being explained. Awareness of the logic of the subject brings greater understanding and understanding needs no great memory to retain the subject in the mind. And certainly, they can never get their facts wrong.
However, it is possible that we need to study or understand certain things which are of no interest to us. However, this does not means we cannot generate interest in the topic. Yes, when interest does not come naturally, we have to generate it for our own benefit.
To say that was easy. Right. But, it is easy. All we need to generate that interest is to realize the importance of that particular subject in us, in our future, in our lives. Take for example, the English Language. Since we know it is the international language important enough to make the difference between a good career in an international corporation and a position in a small local company, it would be a great incentive to have us put in effort to master it. That’s right. To generate interest that does not come naturally, there has to be a sufficiently good incentive. So, look for such an incentive.
Sometimes, the incentive may not be direct. It can come through wanting to impress somebody. Although indirect, it serves its purpose, sometimes even better than a direct incentive. A girlfriend can be the push for a guy to do even better just as a boyfriend can be such an energetic force to propel a girl to excellence. Overcoming fate-placed obstacles could be other possible incentives. Dale Carnegie, Napolean Hill, Norman Vincent Peale and many others who have looked into the success stories of many successful people and found that fate-dealt poverty, loss of a beloved and even failures to be incentives to strive for a successful future.
So, incentives are actually what is created by our own mind. For example, if we are born poor, we could use that unfortunate situation as an excuse to remain excusably poor. However, we could also refuse to accept the situation and put in every possible effort to effect change. ( In my previous postings, I have at least one student who did just that. Last week, as the regional manager of a big corporation, he came to my house to invite me to his wedding.He is what I would call a self-made man. He did it despite the odds.)
Enough said about incentives.. With incentives, interest is ever present. Studying of any subject becomes easy.
When a child pays attention in class, there is very little need for revision or tuition. There is more time for rest and recreation, resulting in better development of the child.We have a happier child with greater achievement when there is full attention in class. The self-esteem is also great as teachers like such children not only for their attention but also for the response to questions and results in examination.
As can be seen from the relative’s inattentiveness to the news, paying attention becomes a habit and such habits are beneficial in every aspect of our lives.
Later, this relative commented about that Prime Minister’s wife’s death to her husband. Upon hearing that, the husband told her she had heard the news wrongly. It was the previous Prime Minister’s wife’s mother who had died.
“Oh, my gosh!” she exclaimed. “Are you sure about that?” she enquired.
“Of course, I’m sure of what I heard,” the husband told her.
“Then what I told my friend is wrong. How embarrassing!” she put her hands to her head in despair.
This relative has the habit of listening to unattentively to the news. That was not the first time she got the news wrong. The trouble is that she did not give the news reader her full attention. And she is always so eager to tell others of what she had heard that she often beat the news reader to the end of the particular news. As a result she often jumps to her own conclusion before the news reader could finish the sentence on the news.
There are two possibilities when such a consequence can come about. The person could be not fully aware of what had been said or she had already speeded ahead and formed her own conclusions.Both can lead to getting wrong facts or knowledge.
When it comes to children, they ought to be made to realize that attention in class is important. Discuss with them the reason some people seem to remember or understand things easier or better than others although most children in the class are of almost the same average intelligence. In fact many clever scientists and great intelligent people were once deemed to be weak in their studies.
So, we have to get our children to realise that the difference lie in the interest of the persons in their studies. When the people are interested, they pay greater attention to what is being said. They are aware of what is being explained. Awareness of the logic of the subject brings greater understanding and understanding needs no great memory to retain the subject in the mind. And certainly, they can never get their facts wrong.
However, it is possible that we need to study or understand certain things which are of no interest to us. However, this does not means we cannot generate interest in the topic. Yes, when interest does not come naturally, we have to generate it for our own benefit.
To say that was easy. Right. But, it is easy. All we need to generate that interest is to realize the importance of that particular subject in us, in our future, in our lives. Take for example, the English Language. Since we know it is the international language important enough to make the difference between a good career in an international corporation and a position in a small local company, it would be a great incentive to have us put in effort to master it. That’s right. To generate interest that does not come naturally, there has to be a sufficiently good incentive. So, look for such an incentive.
Sometimes, the incentive may not be direct. It can come through wanting to impress somebody. Although indirect, it serves its purpose, sometimes even better than a direct incentive. A girlfriend can be the push for a guy to do even better just as a boyfriend can be such an energetic force to propel a girl to excellence. Overcoming fate-placed obstacles could be other possible incentives. Dale Carnegie, Napolean Hill, Norman Vincent Peale and many others who have looked into the success stories of many successful people and found that fate-dealt poverty, loss of a beloved and even failures to be incentives to strive for a successful future.
So, incentives are actually what is created by our own mind. For example, if we are born poor, we could use that unfortunate situation as an excuse to remain excusably poor. However, we could also refuse to accept the situation and put in every possible effort to effect change. ( In my previous postings, I have at least one student who did just that. Last week, as the regional manager of a big corporation, he came to my house to invite me to his wedding.He is what I would call a self-made man. He did it despite the odds.)
Enough said about incentives.. With incentives, interest is ever present. Studying of any subject becomes easy.
When a child pays attention in class, there is very little need for revision or tuition. There is more time for rest and recreation, resulting in better development of the child.We have a happier child with greater achievement when there is full attention in class. The self-esteem is also great as teachers like such children not only for their attention but also for the response to questions and results in examination.
As can be seen from the relative’s inattentiveness to the news, paying attention becomes a habit and such habits are beneficial in every aspect of our lives.
Monday, November 09, 2009
Unpredictability in life can be beneficial.
I had an appointment to meet someone this morning. It was an old friend whom I had seen only the day before and he was healthy although paralysed from the chest down to his feet. However, an hour before the time of appointment his wife telephoned me to inform that he was warded in a hospital in another state as a result of a bloated stamach and fever the night before.
So, I was unable to see him today. My plans for the day had to be changed. Instead, I used the time allocated to him, to go to the bank as well as the library to study information on cancer. I read of a doctor who found some patients able to fight their own cancer cells. He believed it was due to the immune system. From here on, this doctor, Dr. Steven Rosenberg set out to find out if immunotherapy and ,later, gene therapy could succeed as he had seen many cases where surgery, chemotheraphy and radiation had failed to help cancer patients recover from cancer. His first successes came in 1984 when he found that the tumour of a patient had shrunk. Was this a new solution to cancer treatment? Although it was hoped that the answer could be positive, that doctor found that it was still too early and so was cautious in his optimism. Interesting! It has given me a new direction to explore for cancer cures.
According to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, the combination of chemotherapy, T cells and high-dose IL-2 was shown to be effective even in patients who had previously failed high-dose IL-2 treatment. IL-2 is the name of the genes created by Dr. Steven Rosenberg.
According to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 'it was not the first time that gene therapy was used in cancer. Tumor cells modified with a gene for immune growth factors such as GM-CSF, had been used many years previously and continue to be used as an effective form of gene therapy and immunotherapy for cancer.'
If life had not been unpredictable and the extra time afforded me to dig for knowledge in another place, I would not have read about the above doctor. So, unpredictability of each day in life can be interesting and adventurous. We can be given a different path to travel and discover new things. And each time I read something new, I realise that there is so much more to know, so much more to live for and so important to live life to the full.
So, I was unable to see him today. My plans for the day had to be changed. Instead, I used the time allocated to him, to go to the bank as well as the library to study information on cancer. I read of a doctor who found some patients able to fight their own cancer cells. He believed it was due to the immune system. From here on, this doctor, Dr. Steven Rosenberg set out to find out if immunotherapy and ,later, gene therapy could succeed as he had seen many cases where surgery, chemotheraphy and radiation had failed to help cancer patients recover from cancer. His first successes came in 1984 when he found that the tumour of a patient had shrunk. Was this a new solution to cancer treatment? Although it was hoped that the answer could be positive, that doctor found that it was still too early and so was cautious in his optimism. Interesting! It has given me a new direction to explore for cancer cures.
According to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, the combination of chemotherapy, T cells and high-dose IL-2 was shown to be effective even in patients who had previously failed high-dose IL-2 treatment. IL-2 is the name of the genes created by Dr. Steven Rosenberg.
According to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 'it was not the first time that gene therapy was used in cancer. Tumor cells modified with a gene for immune growth factors such as GM-CSF, had been used many years previously and continue to be used as an effective form of gene therapy and immunotherapy for cancer.'
If life had not been unpredictable and the extra time afforded me to dig for knowledge in another place, I would not have read about the above doctor. So, unpredictability of each day in life can be interesting and adventurous. We can be given a different path to travel and discover new things. And each time I read something new, I realise that there is so much more to know, so much more to live for and so important to live life to the full.
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Learning can be fun
A bird can be a child's pet.
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Children learn from books and personal experiences, discoveries and inventions, if any. In fact, just about everybody learn the same way.
When we learn from books we are learning the experiences and knowledge of other people; knowledge gained from research and discoveries as well as experiences. With the knowledge from other people, from that which is known, we may venture into the unknown, into new discoveries, research and inventions.
Learning can also be active or passive. Passively, we read and gather knowledge from others. We can also take an active role and make observations, do some kind of research or experiment and thus make discoveries that may not have been made by others before our time.
As we can see learning is important to the progress of mankind. As such, we ought to encourage learning. Of course, active learning through participation or our own observation and even through play is certainly more enjoyable than passive learning.
Initially, children should be encouraged to learn joyfully through active learning. Once a child is interested in the joys of learning, it would be easy to have them eager to learn even more. Once their hunger for knowledge is insatiable, parents need very little effort to get them to learn everything there is to know in this world.
Acquiring an interest in a hobby or a pet is a good way to start. It is easy and sometimes it does not require great expenses. Once a child is interested in the subject of his/her hobby or pet, the child would obviously, with a little encouragement, want to know more. Depending upon the age and the reading level, parents can make the knowledge required available. If the child have not yet started reading, the parent can keep the interest burning and help provide the knowledge through visiting places where such an interest can be found, where the people there can talk to you and your child about the matter concerned.
If the child has acquired the ability to read and understand books, then books on the subject concerned could be obtained and made available to the child. If you feed his/her interest consistently, the interest can gather momentum and soon we have a child who is knowledgeable on his/her hobby, pet or interest.
Of course, as the child grows the interest can change. That is good as it will lead the child to new pastures and new knowledge. In time, the knowledge gathered in this manner will be substantial. Besides knowledge, his vocabulary will be enlarged and the language proficiency will grow.
As we can we, learning with joy in this manner can lead a child to better language proficiency and lots of knowledge. So, to all parents with young children, do try it and watch the results with satisfaction.
Saturday, September 05, 2009
Make learning interesting for your child.
There's a whole wide world out there.
Take your child down the road.
To the fish and water creatures in the stream that winds through the land.
With its life-sustaining vegetation and wondrous animals such a sight to behold.
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In yesterday’s posting, I beseech everyone to give some time to the wonders of nature. Yes, show interest in the world around us with enthusiasm. When parents show enthusiasm, the enthusiasm can overflow onto the children, resulting in children being interested in their world.
As I have so often said, the world is our audio visual aids (AVA). Knowledge of their surroundings is always possible when we take children on an appreciation trip.
Look at the flowers and the fruits of the cannon-ball tree, for example. Use the opportunity to talk about size, colours and shapes. Feel and touch the fruits. Know the fruit’s textures. Is the fruit smooth, rough, hairy or prickly?
Wonder at the beauty and fragrance of the big flowers and the unique fruits. Use contrast to direct them to the different fragrances in flowers, on mummy and other women, the perfumes and so on. Words such as strong, weak, pungent, enticing, revolting and whatever adjectives the parents can think of which could be used, doing a revision of words the children has learnt. Make it a fun and ego thing. See how many words each one can think of.
Direct their attention to the purpose of such fragrance in flowers. Why are different flowers having different smells? What insects do they hope to attract?
Tell them what real cannon-balls are. Boom! The metal balls shoot out towards the enemy at sea or on land. Are the real cannon-balls and the fruit balls of the same colour? Tell them stories. Tell them about cannons. Children love listening to stories.
From interest about the tree, depending upon their age and acquaintance with the computer, parents can either introduce the child to the fantastic amount of knowledge in the internet or teach the child how to search the net for information. .Thus, books and magazines are not the only places for information from other people’s knowledge.
So, from stories in books and magazines, the childen can progress to the computer and the internet through which our children can avail themselves of knowledge from all the four corners of the world.
And who knows? Such an introduction to plants could be the first step into the world of botany for a possible world renown botanist.
Of course, we do not limit ourselves to just botany. The whole world is there for us. Explore it and marvel at God’s creation. It can be the ignition of a passion for some kind of expertise. Who knows? Just be prepared for what comes.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Search and you will find life so wonderful.
One day I met a retired teacher at a bank. We sat down to talk about days gone past. They were happy memories.
Then this retired teacher bemoaned the present retirement time; how slow time crawled by. He watched television in the morning, then read the newspapers from front to back, top to bottom before returning to his television again. Time was too long. He just did not know how to fill it.
I asked him about his hobbies. Well, now is the best time to continue with his hobbies, with the things he was interested in but could not find the time to indulge in them previously. I told him about my fish, my edible leaves and plants, my tortoises, my birds, my reading, my qi kung, my meditation, yoga and my daily trek up a hill. Those are the things I love to do. In fact, there are still a few interests which I still could not find time for.
It looked like he had no such interests. What a poor fellow he was!
Then I told him he could do volunteer work. There are so many Non-Government Organisations which need our help. Be a volunteer and discover the pleasure of being able to assist others. And such work does not cost you a cent. There is Tzu Chi and other organisations known world-wide. There are old folks' homes and orphanages. I told him about The Art of Living which is sending its trained teachers to schools to help teachers and students overcome tension, to prisons to help prisoners realise and be aware of their mistakes, to love themselves as well as others, to find the divine spirit in themselves. I told him about the charity work done by The Art of Living. And to know more about this organisation, I directed him to http://www.artofliving.org for further information.
He was not interested. I finally discovered that he was still thinking of material gains; he was thinking of money. He could not imagine himself doing work for the benefit of others.
If his pension was a small miserable sum which could not be sufficient to support him through his days, then he was right to think of work and more money. However, I am talking about a guy whose pension was more than most people's salary. See? He was so well-do-to, yet he was so bored with life because he was stingy with his time. And time became a burden, each day bringing more boredom.
Finally, I asked him whether he had ever heard of the saying: GIVE IN ORDER THAT YOU MAY RECEIVE. I told him of the happiness I got from helping and doing such volunteer work, the type of happiness which money can never buy.
I could do nothing else but hope that he could find the right path to the same joy and happiness I derived from my type of work. His path might be different but if he could achieve it, that is all anyone can wish for.
Life is what we make of it. Just do it and everything will be fine.
Then this retired teacher bemoaned the present retirement time; how slow time crawled by. He watched television in the morning, then read the newspapers from front to back, top to bottom before returning to his television again. Time was too long. He just did not know how to fill it.
I asked him about his hobbies. Well, now is the best time to continue with his hobbies, with the things he was interested in but could not find the time to indulge in them previously. I told him about my fish, my edible leaves and plants, my tortoises, my birds, my reading, my qi kung, my meditation, yoga and my daily trek up a hill. Those are the things I love to do. In fact, there are still a few interests which I still could not find time for.
It looked like he had no such interests. What a poor fellow he was!
Then I told him he could do volunteer work. There are so many Non-Government Organisations which need our help. Be a volunteer and discover the pleasure of being able to assist others. And such work does not cost you a cent. There is Tzu Chi and other organisations known world-wide. There are old folks' homes and orphanages. I told him about The Art of Living which is sending its trained teachers to schools to help teachers and students overcome tension, to prisons to help prisoners realise and be aware of their mistakes, to love themselves as well as others, to find the divine spirit in themselves. I told him about the charity work done by The Art of Living. And to know more about this organisation, I directed him to http://www.artofliving.org for further information.
He was not interested. I finally discovered that he was still thinking of material gains; he was thinking of money. He could not imagine himself doing work for the benefit of others.
If his pension was a small miserable sum which could not be sufficient to support him through his days, then he was right to think of work and more money. However, I am talking about a guy whose pension was more than most people's salary. See? He was so well-do-to, yet he was so bored with life because he was stingy with his time. And time became a burden, each day bringing more boredom.
Finally, I asked him whether he had ever heard of the saying: GIVE IN ORDER THAT YOU MAY RECEIVE. I told him of the happiness I got from helping and doing such volunteer work, the type of happiness which money can never buy.
I could do nothing else but hope that he could find the right path to the same joy and happiness I derived from my type of work. His path might be different but if he could achieve it, that is all anyone can wish for.
Life is what we make of it. Just do it and everything will be fine.
Sunday, August 02, 2009
Doodling, drawing and painting to a better imagination.
If you want something custom-made, which means you want a particular pattern, design or structure, then you have at least an idea of how it should look like and what it can be used for.
Go to a carpenter to have a custom-made built-in cupboard and shelves for your house and he would like you to draw the object or objects you wish to order. If you do not know how to draw, then you have to be able to describe precisely what is wanted. If that carpenter can draw then, from the description, the objects will be well illustrated. From the illustration, you will be able to see whether the objects drawn are exactly what is needed.
The outcome of this will depend upon your imagination, description, the carpenter's understanding of what is required and the illustration either of you could produce.
If your imagination is faulty, the description would be hazy with a number of things not pictured accurately and the end product will not be satisfactory, especially when the carpenter is unable to illustrate what you desire.
Thus, being good in imagination and drawing are important. As someone pointed out: a picture is worth a thousand words.
How then can we further stimulate the imagination?
One way is to encourage drawing. I am not talking about an artist's piece of work. I am just encouraging children to draw simple objects, getting that part of the brain to focus on an object and drawing simple shapes like circles or balls, cylinders, squares, rectangles and boxes, triangles and pyramids, oblong boxesand egg-shapes. From these shapes, all the other shapes in this world is derived to form more complex shapes.
After that allow imagination to run free to form any other shape. It can be interesting if there is sufficient encouragement from parents and teachers.
However, I would caution that competitions should not be held at too early an age as they have the tendency to destroy interest or discourage those who are not as capable. The aim here is not to produce artists but to enoucrage imagination and the skill of drawing.
In fact, have you noticed that there are very young children who concentrate more on knowledge of colours, how to light and shade, rather than give their imagination to produce the child's view of things. What we see as winners are not children's art but adults' art.
And what is even worse is adults trying to get their children to win by telling them; sometimes it's more like dictating them what colours to use and where certain parts have to be darkened. The poor child is even scolded for darkening the wrong places. Imagine being scolded for not able to imagine where it should be darker! In such a situation, who is the actual winner? Of course, the child does get his/her prize. Except for that piece of pride, what has the child gained. Especially so when that child one day discovers fro himself, he is no artist in the true sense of the word but merely someone good at drawing and colouring or painting.
What about his imagination? Did it help his/her imagination? If a parent were to say that it really did, I would be the first to congratulate the person, for that is an achievement, no matter how we look at it.
Encouraging children to doodle, draw and paint can help to stimulate imagination. Of course, some children would find other ways better than this. After all, all children are individuals, and they respond to things differently.
This only means that parents themselves have to be creative.
Go to a carpenter to have a custom-made built-in cupboard and shelves for your house and he would like you to draw the object or objects you wish to order. If you do not know how to draw, then you have to be able to describe precisely what is wanted. If that carpenter can draw then, from the description, the objects will be well illustrated. From the illustration, you will be able to see whether the objects drawn are exactly what is needed.
The outcome of this will depend upon your imagination, description, the carpenter's understanding of what is required and the illustration either of you could produce.
If your imagination is faulty, the description would be hazy with a number of things not pictured accurately and the end product will not be satisfactory, especially when the carpenter is unable to illustrate what you desire.
Thus, being good in imagination and drawing are important. As someone pointed out: a picture is worth a thousand words.
How then can we further stimulate the imagination?
One way is to encourage drawing. I am not talking about an artist's piece of work. I am just encouraging children to draw simple objects, getting that part of the brain to focus on an object and drawing simple shapes like circles or balls, cylinders, squares, rectangles and boxes, triangles and pyramids, oblong boxesand egg-shapes. From these shapes, all the other shapes in this world is derived to form more complex shapes.
After that allow imagination to run free to form any other shape. It can be interesting if there is sufficient encouragement from parents and teachers.
However, I would caution that competitions should not be held at too early an age as they have the tendency to destroy interest or discourage those who are not as capable. The aim here is not to produce artists but to enoucrage imagination and the skill of drawing.
In fact, have you noticed that there are very young children who concentrate more on knowledge of colours, how to light and shade, rather than give their imagination to produce the child's view of things. What we see as winners are not children's art but adults' art.
And what is even worse is adults trying to get their children to win by telling them; sometimes it's more like dictating them what colours to use and where certain parts have to be darkened. The poor child is even scolded for darkening the wrong places. Imagine being scolded for not able to imagine where it should be darker! In such a situation, who is the actual winner? Of course, the child does get his/her prize. Except for that piece of pride, what has the child gained. Especially so when that child one day discovers fro himself, he is no artist in the true sense of the word but merely someone good at drawing and colouring or painting.
What about his imagination? Did it help his/her imagination? If a parent were to say that it really did, I would be the first to congratulate the person, for that is an achievement, no matter how we look at it.
Encouraging children to doodle, draw and paint can help to stimulate imagination. Of course, some children would find other ways better than this. After all, all children are individuals, and they respond to things differently.
This only means that parents themselves have to be creative.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Allow your child to benefit from his interest.
Allow your child the opportunity to benefit from his interest.
As your child grows, he/she develops certain interests in things in and around his environment. Unless it is something which you simply cannot accommodate no matter how much you want to, allow him/her to develop his interests. You will be happily surprised at the amount of knowledge, experience and benefits he/she will gain from it. Besides, you can never know where such interests can lead your precious child to. Such interests are the best incentives to acquiring knowledge and experience.
Take my nephew, Ong Jin Hock, for instance. Today, my newphew is good at English due to his interest in story-books and inspirational books by Napolean Hill and Dale Carnegie. His excellent English and encouragement from me lead him to take part and win elocution contests. He developed confidence through his popularity among his peers and his ability to imitate Michael Jackson as well as sing his songs. In this manner, he develop in leaps and bounds to the boy who made a name for himself in Malaysia through the fantastic, never heard of results he created in the 2000 SPM examination. He did it through his courage and determination to be the best, to assure himself of a scholarship. He proved that all things are possible to those who truly believe in their abilities and have the courage to put into action what they have conceived.
As for my son, Jin Seng; in my previous posting, I have written of his success through his interest in animals and fish. As a result he finds biology his favourite subject. He had also an excellent command of English through his interest in English books and English books on nature.
Then, when he was given the privilege of studying in the Pokok Sena Science School, a boarding school, where only 5% of the non-Malay school population are given places, he found the study of the Japanese Language very interesting. To help him develop his interest I bought Japanese Language tapes and discs with films and serials. In the year 2000, at the age of fifteen, he took part in a national competition. As a result, he won the first prize which was a sum of money and a trip to Japan, with his ability at understanding a Japanese film and writing a commentary on it in the English Language. So, in 2001 he had the opportunity to travel to Japan, see places of interest there, was amazed at the advanced Japanese technology and was thrilled by the wondrous beauty of Japanese tourist spots.
My younger son, Jin Ho, found himself in a university with the subject of his choice, engineering through his own development of his interest which I have already gone into in a previous posting.
I know a dentist’s son whose interest in cars lead him to further reading in magazines and books. This lead to improved English and of course triggered his thirst for knowledge. Today, he is studying to be a doctor.
Thus, we can see how the simple act of encouraging our children to have interest and in such a manner stimulate the thirst for knowledge can lead our children to greater development and success.
As your child grows, he/she develops certain interests in things in and around his environment. Unless it is something which you simply cannot accommodate no matter how much you want to, allow him/her to develop his interests. You will be happily surprised at the amount of knowledge, experience and benefits he/she will gain from it. Besides, you can never know where such interests can lead your precious child to. Such interests are the best incentives to acquiring knowledge and experience.
Take my nephew, Ong Jin Hock, for instance. Today, my newphew is good at English due to his interest in story-books and inspirational books by Napolean Hill and Dale Carnegie. His excellent English and encouragement from me lead him to take part and win elocution contests. He developed confidence through his popularity among his peers and his ability to imitate Michael Jackson as well as sing his songs. In this manner, he develop in leaps and bounds to the boy who made a name for himself in Malaysia through the fantastic, never heard of results he created in the 2000 SPM examination. He did it through his courage and determination to be the best, to assure himself of a scholarship. He proved that all things are possible to those who truly believe in their abilities and have the courage to put into action what they have conceived.
As for my son, Jin Seng; in my previous posting, I have written of his success through his interest in animals and fish. As a result he finds biology his favourite subject. He had also an excellent command of English through his interest in English books and English books on nature.
Then, when he was given the privilege of studying in the Pokok Sena Science School, a boarding school, where only 5% of the non-Malay school population are given places, he found the study of the Japanese Language very interesting. To help him develop his interest I bought Japanese Language tapes and discs with films and serials. In the year 2000, at the age of fifteen, he took part in a national competition. As a result, he won the first prize which was a sum of money and a trip to Japan, with his ability at understanding a Japanese film and writing a commentary on it in the English Language. So, in 2001 he had the opportunity to travel to Japan, see places of interest there, was amazed at the advanced Japanese technology and was thrilled by the wondrous beauty of Japanese tourist spots.
My younger son, Jin Ho, found himself in a university with the subject of his choice, engineering through his own development of his interest which I have already gone into in a previous posting.
I know a dentist’s son whose interest in cars lead him to further reading in magazines and books. This lead to improved English and of course triggered his thirst for knowledge. Today, he is studying to be a doctor.
Thus, we can see how the simple act of encouraging our children to have interest and in such a manner stimulate the thirst for knowledge can lead our children to greater development and success.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Fostering the desire to learn.
Without the desire to learn there can be no wish to obtain new knowledge. It is because of the desire to know even more knowledge than what our own limited experience can offer that we resort to watching documentary programmes, listening to others who possess knowledge that we have yet to come across and reading books and other materials that give us understanding on subjects otherwise not within our reach.
As we know the importance of the desire to learn, we would certainly like to know how we can foster such a desire? How do we gradually lead the child to want to know more?
Firstly, all learning goes from the known to the unknown. Take, for example, a child’s path to literacy. The child must begin with the sounds for things in his/her environment. When he/she has understood such sounds as ‘flower’, ‘book’ and ‘ice-cream’, then only can he/she proceed to the written word. When he/she has achieved the ability to recognize and read words, he would like to show that he can do it.
When my son first knew how his name, 'Seng’ was spelt, he would point out words having his name on boards bearing the names of shops; names such as ‘ Wah Seng Doby’, ‘Lee Seng Coffee Shop’ and so on. With praise for his ability to read other words too, he would look forward to learning even more words. The desire to improve his vocabulary has begun.
As I have said before, the whole world is the parents’ audio visual aid to assist the parents to teach their children. However, unless we use these freely available aids, they are useless and meaningless. Parents have to be the teachers in this world classroom. Talk to your children. With enthusiasm, point out things the child have yet to learn, name them and tell them how wonderful the things are. If parents do not think flowers beautiful, certain fruits strange(Strange to the children), constructed buildings marvelous, views breath-taking, ponds lovely, the breeze sweeping over the water surface creating linear movement on it exhilarating and such wonders of man and nature fascinating, how can the children be aroused to realise what great, incredible beauties surround us! With such introductions to their surroundings, children can begin to take interest and see the wonders around them. With the interest aroused in them, they would want to learn more. Later when they read of them in books, there is association of the new information with knowledge already established from the actual environment by the parents. Taking children out to enjoy, see and appreciate however much it is possible for parents to offer them is taking the first step to spark the desire for knowledge.
My sons and nephew were taken to the Ipoh zoo. We had one of the most enjoyable days in our lives watching the delightful movements, the beautiful colours of the many creatures and birds, and listening to the various sounds they emit. As parents, we pointed out all these and indirectly have them listen to and imitate as well as use new words; sounds and vocabulary that would otherwise hold no meaning for them.
Then, some days later, at the library, books on animals proved to be interesting, with them pointing to animals they have seen at the zoo, delightfully expressing themselves on what they know of those animals and birds, connecting with the places they were seen. From here, they went on to animals not found in the zoo and parents could arouse curiosity with questions such as ‘Why do you think such animals are not in the zoo we went to?’ Of course, parents may have to supply the answers but that is how interesting knowledge is dispensed to the eager, curious minds. Thus, in like manner, we can introduce other things to our children and continue to sustain such interest with appropriate reading materials and pictures.
When children develop a thirst for knowledge, learning becomes a pleasure which sweeps aside even tiredness. That is the power of the desire to learn.
From here on, all our precious children need is encouragement with appropriate materials such as books, toys and, if possible, the real-life objects such as pet- birds, dogs, cats and fish.
With the care for real things, parents can cultivate a love for such things. And love is one of the most important, beautiful feelings in our world. That will have to be discussed in a future posting. Without love, where can there be purpose in life?
As we know the importance of the desire to learn, we would certainly like to know how we can foster such a desire? How do we gradually lead the child to want to know more?
Firstly, all learning goes from the known to the unknown. Take, for example, a child’s path to literacy. The child must begin with the sounds for things in his/her environment. When he/she has understood such sounds as ‘flower’, ‘book’ and ‘ice-cream’, then only can he/she proceed to the written word. When he/she has achieved the ability to recognize and read words, he would like to show that he can do it.
When my son first knew how his name, 'Seng’ was spelt, he would point out words having his name on boards bearing the names of shops; names such as ‘ Wah Seng Doby’, ‘Lee Seng Coffee Shop’ and so on. With praise for his ability to read other words too, he would look forward to learning even more words. The desire to improve his vocabulary has begun.
As I have said before, the whole world is the parents’ audio visual aid to assist the parents to teach their children. However, unless we use these freely available aids, they are useless and meaningless. Parents have to be the teachers in this world classroom. Talk to your children. With enthusiasm, point out things the child have yet to learn, name them and tell them how wonderful the things are. If parents do not think flowers beautiful, certain fruits strange(Strange to the children), constructed buildings marvelous, views breath-taking, ponds lovely, the breeze sweeping over the water surface creating linear movement on it exhilarating and such wonders of man and nature fascinating, how can the children be aroused to realise what great, incredible beauties surround us! With such introductions to their surroundings, children can begin to take interest and see the wonders around them. With the interest aroused in them, they would want to learn more. Later when they read of them in books, there is association of the new information with knowledge already established from the actual environment by the parents. Taking children out to enjoy, see and appreciate however much it is possible for parents to offer them is taking the first step to spark the desire for knowledge.
My sons and nephew were taken to the Ipoh zoo. We had one of the most enjoyable days in our lives watching the delightful movements, the beautiful colours of the many creatures and birds, and listening to the various sounds they emit. As parents, we pointed out all these and indirectly have them listen to and imitate as well as use new words; sounds and vocabulary that would otherwise hold no meaning for them.
Then, some days later, at the library, books on animals proved to be interesting, with them pointing to animals they have seen at the zoo, delightfully expressing themselves on what they know of those animals and birds, connecting with the places they were seen. From here, they went on to animals not found in the zoo and parents could arouse curiosity with questions such as ‘Why do you think such animals are not in the zoo we went to?’ Of course, parents may have to supply the answers but that is how interesting knowledge is dispensed to the eager, curious minds. Thus, in like manner, we can introduce other things to our children and continue to sustain such interest with appropriate reading materials and pictures.
When children develop a thirst for knowledge, learning becomes a pleasure which sweeps aside even tiredness. That is the power of the desire to learn.
From here on, all our precious children need is encouragement with appropriate materials such as books, toys and, if possible, the real-life objects such as pet- birds, dogs, cats and fish.
With the care for real things, parents can cultivate a love for such things. And love is one of the most important, beautiful feelings in our world. That will have to be discussed in a future posting. Without love, where can there be purpose in life?
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Curiosity, the willingness to learn and the courage to take action.
Now that we have seen how important these qualities, curiosity and courage, are from an earlier posting, how do we help our children to strengthen them?
Of course, everybody have such innate qualities and capabilities as a result of their genes having DNA with such qualities. Despite this, such qualities and talents can be subdued by careless parents or people in contact with the children. This is a mistake I made although I knew that parents can suppress their children capabilities.
Firstly, children have an inborn sense of curiosity. Every child wants to know what that strange thing on the table is. Every child would want to touch, feel, see and know about it. Go to a toddler or a baby and show him/her your finger or spectacles. Unless you are a stranger to him/her, the child would want to touch it, hold it or put it into his/her mouth to know whether it could be eaten. Well, you cannot blame them as all they can think of is food, right? Of course, we do not allow the finger or the spectacles to go into the mouth as it can be full of bacteria, but we should not scold or frighten the child in any way. Perhaps we could replace the spectacles with a clean toy which can be held or sucked. We must encourage curiosity.
We must also encourage the desire to learn and to know anything which is not dangerous. If the child wishes to play with the blades of a table fan or electric sockets we must remove the dangerous objects. We do not have to scold. One day, when he/she understands the danger, he/she will not touch them.
Yes, we must encourage our children to learn and to know. Sometimes, it involves having to spend some money and what adults consider wastage. Whatever, it may be, parents have to be patient and understanding. If we understand that it is a necessary part of a learning process, then anger will not arise. In actual fact, we ought to be extremely happy to know that our children are capable of spontaneous learning on their own. Unfortunately, this is not always the case with parents and I myself almost forgot myself because of the amount of money I had to spend for the process to continue.
Well, this is my story. My younger son was very interested in watches when he was about ten years old. I bought him a watch just to discover him opening up every part of the watch to look at the inside. Again, he asked for another watch. The same thing was done to the second watch. After six watches in less than half a year, I became very irritated and told him watches were for telling the time and not to be played with. After that, there was a stop to the removing of the back of watches with a tiny screwdriver.
Fortunately for this father, my son did not stop exploring and learning. Next, he was interested in an electronic toy from Japan. It was expensive. I told him it cost too much money. Then, a few months later, I saw him with a new electronic toy. I asked him about it. He told me he bought it with his own money. Then, he explained that he had bought spoilt electronic toys for a few ringgits each, repaired them and sold them at a good profit. With the profit, he had more than enough money to buy the toy. His curiosity and the courage to go on doing what interested him saw him rewarded. Seeing his interest in electronic things, I started giving him money to buy parts to make his own digital clock as well as other things. Then, he helped a friend to repair her daughter’s alarm clock.
A few years ago, a television which I had condemned as not repairable as it had been to the repair shop a number of times in just three months, was repaired by him just as I was thinking of how I should dispose of it. In fact a new television had already been bought when he wanted to take it apart to search for the problem. He found the problem but did not have to replace any part. Today, the repaired television is still good! My son is studying mechanical engineering in a university. His action towards this end was encouraged.
As for my elder son, it was pets. When he was about ten years old, he was interested in chickens. We bought a hen for him. The hen laid eggs but he would not allow the eggs to be eaten. We were not even allowed to touch them. “Why were there no chicks?” He was curious to know. We had to explain that chicks can only come from eggs when eggs are fertilised by a cockerel. So, a cockerel had to be bought. Then, there were chicks. Nests were found under a bush, above a window ledge and outside our compound. One white chick from the window ledge flew down one morning and was named White Eagle. His curiosity did not stop there. From chicks, we went on to ducks and geese. Later, there were tortoises, roboskies, birds, fish, rabbits, guinea-pigs and hamsters. Nature’s wonders and places with ponds, rivers, waterfalls and sea-sides became his favourite picnic spots. From his interest, he learned so much. His interest and curiosity took him to magazines and books on nature and animals. Today, he is studying to be a veterinarian.
As you can see, they were encouraged. In their teenage years, they learned and developed the necessary knowledge to indulge and further their interests. They were encouraged to satisfy their curiosity in the field they enjoy. Many friends told me animal doctors do not earn as much as doctors who treat humans. Well, I was delighted to hear my son tell me a happy life is more important than earning more money for I totally agree with him. To me, he has made the right move and that is what is important.
Of course, everybody have such innate qualities and capabilities as a result of their genes having DNA with such qualities. Despite this, such qualities and talents can be subdued by careless parents or people in contact with the children. This is a mistake I made although I knew that parents can suppress their children capabilities.
Firstly, children have an inborn sense of curiosity. Every child wants to know what that strange thing on the table is. Every child would want to touch, feel, see and know about it. Go to a toddler or a baby and show him/her your finger or spectacles. Unless you are a stranger to him/her, the child would want to touch it, hold it or put it into his/her mouth to know whether it could be eaten. Well, you cannot blame them as all they can think of is food, right? Of course, we do not allow the finger or the spectacles to go into the mouth as it can be full of bacteria, but we should not scold or frighten the child in any way. Perhaps we could replace the spectacles with a clean toy which can be held or sucked. We must encourage curiosity.
We must also encourage the desire to learn and to know anything which is not dangerous. If the child wishes to play with the blades of a table fan or electric sockets we must remove the dangerous objects. We do not have to scold. One day, when he/she understands the danger, he/she will not touch them.
Yes, we must encourage our children to learn and to know. Sometimes, it involves having to spend some money and what adults consider wastage. Whatever, it may be, parents have to be patient and understanding. If we understand that it is a necessary part of a learning process, then anger will not arise. In actual fact, we ought to be extremely happy to know that our children are capable of spontaneous learning on their own. Unfortunately, this is not always the case with parents and I myself almost forgot myself because of the amount of money I had to spend for the process to continue.
Well, this is my story. My younger son was very interested in watches when he was about ten years old. I bought him a watch just to discover him opening up every part of the watch to look at the inside. Again, he asked for another watch. The same thing was done to the second watch. After six watches in less than half a year, I became very irritated and told him watches were for telling the time and not to be played with. After that, there was a stop to the removing of the back of watches with a tiny screwdriver.
Fortunately for this father, my son did not stop exploring and learning. Next, he was interested in an electronic toy from Japan. It was expensive. I told him it cost too much money. Then, a few months later, I saw him with a new electronic toy. I asked him about it. He told me he bought it with his own money. Then, he explained that he had bought spoilt electronic toys for a few ringgits each, repaired them and sold them at a good profit. With the profit, he had more than enough money to buy the toy. His curiosity and the courage to go on doing what interested him saw him rewarded. Seeing his interest in electronic things, I started giving him money to buy parts to make his own digital clock as well as other things. Then, he helped a friend to repair her daughter’s alarm clock.
A few years ago, a television which I had condemned as not repairable as it had been to the repair shop a number of times in just three months, was repaired by him just as I was thinking of how I should dispose of it. In fact a new television had already been bought when he wanted to take it apart to search for the problem. He found the problem but did not have to replace any part. Today, the repaired television is still good! My son is studying mechanical engineering in a university. His action towards this end was encouraged.
As for my elder son, it was pets. When he was about ten years old, he was interested in chickens. We bought a hen for him. The hen laid eggs but he would not allow the eggs to be eaten. We were not even allowed to touch them. “Why were there no chicks?” He was curious to know. We had to explain that chicks can only come from eggs when eggs are fertilised by a cockerel. So, a cockerel had to be bought. Then, there were chicks. Nests were found under a bush, above a window ledge and outside our compound. One white chick from the window ledge flew down one morning and was named White Eagle. His curiosity did not stop there. From chicks, we went on to ducks and geese. Later, there were tortoises, roboskies, birds, fish, rabbits, guinea-pigs and hamsters. Nature’s wonders and places with ponds, rivers, waterfalls and sea-sides became his favourite picnic spots. From his interest, he learned so much. His interest and curiosity took him to magazines and books on nature and animals. Today, he is studying to be a veterinarian.
As you can see, they were encouraged. In their teenage years, they learned and developed the necessary knowledge to indulge and further their interests. They were encouraged to satisfy their curiosity in the field they enjoy. Many friends told me animal doctors do not earn as much as doctors who treat humans. Well, I was delighted to hear my son tell me a happy life is more important than earning more money for I totally agree with him. To me, he has made the right move and that is what is important.
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