Konvokesyen dan Hujan

31 Oktober 2010 – Sintok, Kedah

11 tahun yang lepas pada hari ini saya di UUM Sintok untuk graduasi sarjana. Graduasi dalam suasana malap, tiada gambar yang di ambil kerana hujan yang pada awalnya rintik-rintik semakin lebat. Hanya bergantung sepenuhnya kepada jurugambar rasmi majlis.

Apa yang lebih di ingati adalah perjalanan pulang. Sejurus tamat konvokesyen sudah ada kawan yang memilih untuk terus pulang. Saya memilih untuk bertolak sedikit lewat. Sudah banyak jalan yang dinaiki air. Menggunakan garmin kami mencari jalan alternatif yang belum dinaiki air untuk ke lebuhraya.

Alhamdulillah kami berjaya mencari jalan yang selamat. Masih saya ingat kerana kami terpaksa melalui kawasan sawah padi untuk memintas kawasan yang tenggelam. Kami berjaya sampai ke lebuhraya utama walaupun menghadapi sedikit kesukaran. Hujan di sepanjang jalan sangat mendebarkan lebih-lebih lagi bila merentasi banjaran Titiwangsa. Alhamdulillah, kami sampai ke rumah dengan selamat walaupun berdebar sepanjang perjalanan.

Keratan akhbar pada keesokan hari menunjukkan bahawa lebuhraya yang kami lalui juga telah ditenggelami air. Sidang konvokesyen kami juga menjadi sidang terakhir. Kerana sidang seterusnya telah ditunda akibat dari banjir.

The Traveller

I am a traveller on a journey,
A journey of knowledge,
On a path to fill this thirst.

O lonely rocks,
Do you not wish to traverse the world?
Enjoying sights unknown.

Join me!
Let’s walk together on this journey,
A journey full of wonders.

Voyage of enlightenment,
A never ending quest,
A purpose to fill.

Logical Fallacies

How many logical fallacies have you seen today?

One of the first few things we need to learn before we start delving into debates or arguments is logical fallacies. A good debater need to develop the ability to recognize logical fallacies and not be pulled into it.

If you see someone, basing their arguments on a fallacy. Side step!

Let’s start with a few logical fallacies

1. Ad Hominem
The worst type, a personal attack, because someone likes something, is affliated with another person, comes from a place then he/she is deemed something else regardless of the truth.

2. Equivocation
Using an ambiguous term, or a word which have several meanings. Then proceeding not to clarify which meaning is intended.

3. Appeal To Pity
Using pity to mislead and sway your opponent. It often appears as an emotional manipulation.

4. Slippery Slope
Claiming that through a series of small events, a bigger impact/event will happen. Essentialy messing around with the probability.

5. Circular Reasoning
When a person repeats the same argument that they have already assumed without coming to a new conclusion. A is true because B is true; B is true because A is true.

Let me stop here, obviously there are more fallacies, but we’ll cover those on another day.

We Teach

~We teach
  because there is a great fulfillment that comes 
  in working with boys
  and girls.
 
~We teach
  because We wanted to be sculptors,
  and We can do so,
  by shaping lives for the future.
 
~We teach
  because We wanted to be artists,
  and We can do so,
  by painting dreams for children.
 
~We teach
  because We wanted to be musicians,
  and We can,
  in giving inspiration to children.
~We teach
  because We wanted to be historians,
  and We can 
  in having recorded something
  for the lives of great men to come.
~We teach
  because We wanted to be poets,
  and We can
  in writing impressive passages of mankind.
 
~We teach
  because of the reward
  We receive when a child's frown turns to smiles,
  or when he/she says, "Now We understand."
~We teach
  because of the personal growth We receive each day
  as  We venture out on a quest
  for knowledge and techniques
  to help our students understand.
 
~We teach
  for it is in this where We can see the worthwhile
  and true fulfillment of living.

Originally a poem entitled “I teach” , was done as a choral speech during my KPLI days. Credit to the original poet.

The End Is Nigh?

A lot of people have intuited that in the future we will be forced to live indoors, it spawned generations of preppers.

The reason for it have all seemed to be along the lines of war, man made catastrophes. Some have pitched biological warfares. Now it seems the reason would be a pandemic. Not so exciting as a zombie apocalypse, but it certainly is dangerous enough to force us into our homes.

My out take from all of this hits closer to home, I am an educator and I have always believed that we should prepare our kids for the future. When all of this occurred, we could immediately see how people with (medical) skills are in high demand. Through the ages it has always been so. But more so now that its is people who can make things, who can create, defend, heal… These are the people that matters. So what should we do?

Skills, that is what we should do. Focus on creating a generation with hands on skills. Through our TVET programmes. We have to realise that knowing how to sing won’t get food on the table. We can’t all offer conveyancing services, but those who can build those buildings, who can automate said buildings, these are the people that will always be in demand.

Let us not say anymore that TVET is a last choice. It should be our first choice in creating a future ready generation.

Anugerah Kecemerlangan Ko-Kurikulum Peringkat Negeri Kelantan 2018

I am truly honoured to be one of the recipients for Pegawai Teknikal Cemerlang (Ko-Akademik) this year. Couldn’t have done it without support from fellow teachers. Every competition hinges on the team that handles it not just me alone. Thank you for a great year.

National Level English Carnival 2018

Working here at UiTM Pulau Pinang from 16 to 19 August as Scrabble Tournament Director, my 3rd year as one since I started at state level in 2014.