Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Time- keeping

Post 137 The big drum at the police station

I grew up in Kulim, a small town in the northern state of Kedah. In the 1950s I used to hear the beating sounds from a big drum at night. The sounds came from the police station five shop lots away from our family shop house. I later found out that the sounds were meant to be heard by policemen who were on night duty patrolling the town. When it was 1.00am, there would be one bang on the drum; two bangs would mean 2.00am and three would mean 3.00am. The beating of the drum would stop at 6.00am. To light sleepers staying nearby the police station, it must have been disturbing for them to hear the sound of drum every hour. However whenever I go back to visit my hometown, I would pass by the police station to see if the big drum was still hanging there.

The ancient timing system was based on the law of nature: early to bed and early to rise. In ancient China there was a common career called ‘Dageng’ (打更), with people going round striking at their gongs to inform villagers at regular intervals what time it was at night. There was a lack of accurate time keeping means at that time. More people were engaged to ‘Dageng’ in rural areas where there was no cultural and recreational life at night. However with the popularity of watches and 24-hour TV programmes easily available, time keeping through the beating of gongs and drums has now become legendary.

Clock watchers, who do time-keeping all the time in office, are doing no job. – quote by Ho Nee Yong

27 March 2012

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

History repeats itself

Post 136 The love of money is the root of all evils

A friend of mine migrated to a foreign land with his family a few years ago. We met when he came back for a short trip. It was a gathering of old friends. We exchanged notes and updated one another with our latest developments. We talked on every topic with politics being the core subject. We came to the same conclusion as our high school Chinese literature teacher had told us 50 years ago: If the leaders of a nation are corrupt and without integrity, that nation must fall sooner or later. Otherwise history is wrong.

Our teacher told us that in the 5,000 years of history in China, kingdoms fell due to poor governance and incompetence of officials. Our much respected teacher warned us that under no circumstances should we bring shame to ourselves and to our family members. We also concluded at our meeting place at Kopitiam (meaning coffee café in Hokkien dialect) that our teacher was prophetic. History repeats itself. We see greedy leaders falling into their own traps and bringing shame to themselves. Our friend who is now a foreigner in his former home country added that not many people will learn from history, especially when one is blinded by greed.

Indeed in a multitude of crooked deeds, self-respect and a sense of shame are grossly lacking. To make our society devoid of malpractices, family education is of vital importance. Parents who fail to nurture their children to be people of character are doing injustice to the society they live in.

White-collar thieves and robbers are the manifestations of a failed family education.- Quote by Ho Nee Yong

20 March 2011

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

75% : 25%

Post 135 The four pillars in education

I was in the process of writing a chapter on character building when I suddenly thought of an old friend who is very knowledgeable on this topic. We met at a Kopitiam (a restaurant serving local coffee and food) in town and talked on this topic for two hours while enjoying our meals.

My old friend said that it was a one-way traffic in the West where grown up children are not expected as a matter of fact to look after their aged parents. He lamented that this has become the way of life in increasing measure in the oriental society. The hope of having many children to safeguard the welfares of old parents is now an expectation best not to be desired. In a materialistic world men have become egoistic and less caring. Aging parents who are well taken care of by their children are really blessed.

My old friend then asked me whether I knew of the ‘75%: 25%’ rule in education. He said he came up with this ratio. I told him I did not but that I know of the Pareto principle’s 80–20 rule. It states that, for many events, about 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. He then told me that the UNESCO Task Force on Education for the Twenty-first Century recommended that education throughout life be based upon four pillars: learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together and learning to be.

He finds that out of the four pillars, only one pillar (25%), learning to know, refers to the acquisition of knowledge. The other three pillars (75%) are on character building. The recommendations by the Task Force therefore stress that character building supersedes the accumulation of knowledge.

I chose the 75% and paid the bill.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

70-year-old equestrian’s Olympic ‘miracle’

Post 134 Character of the highest quality

When I was about to write my blog for today, the headline “70-year-old equestrian’s Olympic ‘miracle’” at Yahoo! Sports caught my eyes. Immediately I decided to make it the topic for my short write-up.

Japanese equestrian Hiroshi Hoketsu has just qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics to eventually become the oldest competitor in London. The oldest Olympian in history was Oscar Swahn, who competed in the 1920 Antwerp Games at the age of 72. When sportsmen and athletes of age 70 + would normally have long retired from stiff competitions or even from life, Hoketsu has displayed himself as a person of sterling character. He said it was a miracle, but I say it is his lifelong dedication to a sport he loves. It is not a matter of winning but of participating.

Hoketsu serves as an icon of what the spirit of sportsmanship is! He enjoys his sport and is a good loser, for he has always been one of the last to be counted in Olympic competition results. Against the much younger competitors, Hoketsu has showcased to them the meaning of self-confidence and perseverance.

Character, not wealth or intellect, makes a person great. – quote by Ho Nee Yong

6 March 2012