random post

Ok so I didn't manage to continue with my executive summary that night. But I'll get round to it very soon. ;)

As an aside, check out this brilliant firm to work in: http://anonymouslawfirm.com/index.php. Grabbed the link off the vine, and it offers some much needed comic relief in the midst of these mind-boggling thoughts of career options.

This being a random post, I shall touch on some random issues I saw in the Straits Times today.

Random Issue #1

"THREE polytechnic students have come together to solve a bugbear for people in wheelchairs and those pushing prams.

A ramp they have designed can be attached to MRT carriages to prevent the bothersome - and dangerous - tendency of wheels getting stuck in the gap between the train and the platform.

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) will test the ramp in the coming months to see if it can be used in a big way.

The invention won the three final-year students from Temasek Polytechnic's Intelligent Building Design course a $500 cash prize at this year's LTA-Polytechnics Collaboration contest."

500 lousy buckaroos?? The LTA could possibly install these on all their trains, and all these students get for their innovative effort is 500 bucks? I certainly hope the students get some good advice from an IP-savvy person to go patent their device or something, and get properly compensated for their work. Shocking.

Random Issue #2

"Rethink plan for artificial turf in schools

ABOUT three years ago, I wrote to the Forum to highlight that many schools prohibited their students from playing in the school field outside of Physical Education lessons ('Pray, let the children play'; ST, July 8, 2004 ). In several schools, the fields were fenced and locked most of the time.

The schools' excuses for keeping the fields locked were, firstly, to prevent the children from hurting themselves; secondly, teachers' dislike of sweaty and muddied students in class and, thirdly, school fields being very expensive to maintain.

After my letter appeared, there was a strong push to let children play. Hence, my surprise when I learnt of the Ministry of Education's plans to replace the fields with artificial turf. While this may please both parents and the ministry, it comes at a cost.

Besides the environmental cost, there is the developmental cost to our kids. Why the paranoia about kids getting hurt while playing? That is part and parcel of growing up. If the worry is about parents complaining, then get all parents to sign a letter of indemnity before they enrol their kids in the school. Also, make personal accident insurance compulsory.

I remember my national-service days when the platoon sergeant made us crawl through muddy water as part of a training exercise. Our bodies, including our faces, were caked in mud. For those of us that grew up playing football in muddy fields, this was no big deal.

I dread the day when our NS boys are so afraid of getting muddied that they tiptoe around puddles of water because they grew up in an environment where they could not get hurt or muddied.

I send my kids to school not just to achieve good grades. I send them to school so that they can receive a broad education and be prepared to face the challenges of life.

If cost of maintaining the fields is the primary concern, get the children involved in replanting the grass. Working in the fields brings lots of benefits and valuable life lessons - they learn to use their hands, they learn about the environment and the laws of nature (you reap what you sow and you can't shortchange nature) and they end up tougher.

I appeal to the ministry to drop its plan to replace fields with artificial turf. The hidden costs outweigh any savings on maintenance.

Patrick Tan Siong Kuan"

Well done, Patrick. I echo his sentiments completely. Kids these days are just overly pampered and protected. In the unlikely event that I do hire a maid in future, her job will be solely to alleviate the burden of my wife, and not to pander to the kids' whims and fancies. Want a drink? Go get it yourself. Spilt some milk? Get a rag and wipe it up.

Come on, face up to reality. The kids nowadays are fast growing up to be devoid of self-reliance, but simply hollering for someone, anyone, to do everything for them, simply because they have never been told to do it themselves!

And going back to Patrick's point, it would be a sad sad day when all the new recruits balk at the idea of running through a muddy field. And so I say again - stop being over-protective, stop spoiling the kids. Let them learn that the world does not revolve around them, that people do fall down, people do get scraped knees, but pick yourselves up, brush it off, and you'll live.


Ok, I'll get round to the continuation of the executive summary soon. Have a nice Thursday.