Deluge in Mauritius- 30 March 2013

170mm in 4hr... and 11 deaths!

Who’s to be blamed?

The Government? The meteorologists? The Engineers who designed the flyover or Caudan Waterfront? The people for polluting the atmosphere?

Where’s the structural problem?

The roads ? The drains? Blocked water pipes ? Or did they assume the tunnel subway to be the evacuation chamber when designing the whole stuff?

The downpour not only took the lives of so many people, but is also responsible for some tangible losses: many houses were flooded, cars were destroyed and other buildings were severly damaged! Guess Insurance companies would have a busy week!

This is the first time we're witnessing such a calamitous situation in our little 'heavenly' island. My sincere condolence to all the people who lost someone dear to them, and also to those who've become homeless...

I wonder what would have happened if this would have happened during the weekdays with students all around.. :/

And as The PM announced, tommorow, 1st April 2013 will be a Public Holiday in memory of the persons who lost their lives... :(

Photo Crefits: Facebook (Sorry could not acknowledge each photo-owner personally cos of all the Shares).

Another Gang Rape in India :/

After the gang-rape of a 23 year old student on a bus in Delhi 3 month ago, a Swiss woman, aged 39 years old has been gang raped in a the state of Madhya Pradesh last Friday!

The woman, along with her husband, were camping overnight at a village when they were attacked by 8-10 men! The aggressors got the over hand on the husband before sexually assailing the woman... :/ To top it off, the assailants even stole the valuables stuffs the couple had on them! 

Is India a safe place for women?

Accodring to TrustLaw, India has been ranked as the worst G20 country in which to be a woman! Crimes related to raping is on the growth, with a rise of 9.2% over the previous year. Not to mention the several kidnapping cases or murder over the dowry payments, torture, woman trafficking...

"Female foetuses are aborted and baby girls killed after birth, leading to an appallingly skewed sex ratio. Many of those who survive face discrimination, prejudice, violence and neglect all their lives, as single or married women."

Source: bbc.co.uk/

It was only last week that we celebrated International Women's Day, but don't you think that women are being disrespected, sexually discriminated? Not only in India, but all around the world?

Maybe we've built highways, huge buildings but our minds are becoming narrower and more perverted! Families are breaking, values are being jeopardized... We may be gaining more and more knowledge, but at the expense of possessing Wisdom! 

Can a teacher call a student stupid?

Defn of stupid: Lack of intelligence, understanding, slow to learn…

Does that mean if we suck at Math, we’re stupid?

Definitely NO!!!

A small anecdote: My maths teacher would often refer us as being stupid/retarded cos we’re not understandin any shit he is explainin! He would even say, I quote, “You need to be clever to do Maths, which you are not!”

Soo, can a teacher call a student “stupid”?

A teacher, by no means, should call a student stupid or retarded! A teacher’s job is to explain you when you don’t understand something, and not the opposite! As one of my teacher said: “A teacher is a guide, someone to make a difference! Someone who should treat the students the same way he treats his own child…”

Teachers should have good pedagogical skills:

Effective teachers use an array of teaching strategies because there is no single, universal approach that suits all situations. 

Different strategies used in different combinations with different groupings of students will improve learning outcomes. 

Some strategies are better suited to teaching certain skills and fields of knowledge than are others. Some strategies are better suited to certain student backgrounds, learning styles and abilities. (Souce: http://the-teacher.wikispaces.com/Pedagogy+-+Teaching+and+Learning+Strategies)

Besides, intelligence has to do with your capability to learn new things & think intuitively, creatively. I really think that being street smart is far more important than being book smart! Book smart will get you through your calculus class, but it will not get you through life! Math is just a learned skill, you just need to study them enough until eventually you can just memorize most of the information!

Personally, I think that street smart and common sense skills are much more important than something in a book… :)

You can also check out: What defines a good teacher?