Do We Have a Role to Play?

Can heave a sigh of relief now.
I finally got out of the house to catch "the dark knight' on Wed. The last one was so good with the directing and acting that I wouldn't want to miss this before the curtains fall in the next few weeks. Crossing the road to buy a cup of cafe mocha from Starbucks, I met a schoolmate from R-I who is now a pilot and looking good still - a good thing really since we are all theoretically reaching the prime of our life..although some are less fortunate in the 'ageing gracefully' department. We made small talk and we agreed that half the world has seen the show. A simple conversation and it made me realise that watching movies has stopped becoming a priority in our lives. In the past the movie theatres were exciting destinations for us and for me, it was an intense 2-hr session of plot, wit and drama. Talking during show or eating popcorn was a no-no and for that 2-hr you just lose yourself to another exciting world. I started watching movies on my own when I was P5. After school on Friday which was early dismissal day, I would head down to TP library to devour books or watch a movie at either of the two theatres there. In the past, the ticket stubs comes in either pink/blue or yellow and there are even circle seats. using a waxy pencil, the ticket lady would write your seat number on the stub after crossing out the same number on her seating plan. you take the stub and hand it over to one of the old uncles at the doors very much like those in Lido.
you dun get carpeted floor or plush seat but theatres in those day are huge (imagine the existence of circle seat on another level), seats are wrapped with synthetic leather and creaked with resistance. once, I saw a cockroach scurrying away.those were the days....

As we grow older, our priorities in life do change and in the last decade, with the emergence of internet and interconnectivity of the world, there is a perceptible change in landscape and the playground. How much do we need the theatres when there are so many online streaming venues?
Yesterday I went for a course and we talked about the loads of information that can be found at one's fingertips. If information is so readily accessible (last time we can only rely on books) online, is there a place for the teachers? What are our roles? If knowledge is no longer as powerful as it once was, what is?
one of my friends struggled with the notion but I told him that there still so much to do other that the answers that we give to the kids. If we want to secure the grades, we can just push and demand. But as the speakers from yesterday said, classroom is a place where we impart not only knowledge but also skills. Skills that empower our kids to cope with life and to reality. Our education has merely provided us with a simple, direct path that we can walk upon but there are other smaller foot paths that we can also take only if we choose to stop to smell the roses and then to discover them.
If you ask me, it is not about the greatness they attained in their future but I hope that they will have a life well-lived with integrity and love.

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I was troubled for a long time now until a friend I met up recently reminded me that the world has changed much since we left school and we have grown older as well. With
that, it is natural and perfectly fine to lose that simple innocence in things around us. It doesn't have to make you a worse person than before but simply wiser/more knowledgable. But keep that innocence in relationship I said because it is that essence that makes the world a better place to live in.

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Will not write anymore for now. Was so stressed up with marking in the middle of the week that I couldn't sleep well for a few nights. There was a night I slept at 2am but only to wake up at 6am to continue marking because I was so worried that I couldnt finish marking before hols ends and there are so many other things to do. My parents got a bit worried because I wasn't in a good state. But I eventually completed yesterday so I shall cherish these moments of bliss and rest early. And perhaps contemplate about the many questions that came up.


All the best pple!