Digital inventions

Post 130 Venture into the world of knowledge

An opportunity is the combination of timeliness, favourable environment, and support of people. Children of today are advantaged to be born at the right time to reap the benefits of digital inventions. The environment for learning is excellent because of the availability of resource centres, laptops and computers. Besides, they have all the learned people around to be their mentors in teaching them the finesse in life. What they need to do is just to ask, and ask humbly. At the time when I was young, listening to our favourite programmes over radio was something we looked forward to.

There is a Chinese saying ‘han niu chong dong’ (汗牛充栋) which literary means there are enough books to make the ox carrying them sweat. It can be likened to the English version of having an immense number of books to fill a house to the rafters. With the advent of internet, the number of reading materials made available to pupils can figuratively fill the air. Thus, pupils are at the threshold of a vast accumulation of both ancient and present literature for them to explore.

A workman must first sharpen his tools if he is to do his work well. Similarly if a pupil wants to do well in his study or career, he has to also first sharpen his tools. The tools that need to be sharpened are firstly his mastery of languages, and secondly his power of critical thinking. The modern digital inventions open up avenues for them to sharpen both the tools.

Intellectual tools are sharpened not by stones but the accumulation of knowledge.
- Quote by Ho Nee Yong

7 February 2012