4 TYPES OF LEARNERS

When I was reading a translated Tibetan text, there was a simile about the types of learners. Basically, there are 4 types:

a. Type 1 learners are like an overtirned jars, no matter how much water you pour on them, nothing is retained in them. This refers to the students who cannot remember anything. Whatever you teach them today is forgotten the next day. For these type of students, you can't keep pouring water onto them, you have to overturn the jar.

b. Type two learners are like upturn jars with holes in them, whatever water you pour into them will eventually leak out. This refers to students who listen and forget easily. Whatever you say goes in one ear and comes out through the other

c. Type 3 learners are jars that contain some poison in them, whatever water you pour into them becomes contaminated. This refers to students who obtained some knowledge from outside the classroom such as from their tuition teachers, mass media, friends or parents. They become confused when you teach them your method or give them a different view from what they have learnt.

d. Type 4 lrarners are like empty upturned jars, whatever water you pour into them is fully retained in them.. This refers to students who are eager and willing to learn what you teach them. They will remember well what you teach and have good retention power.

So, what kind of learner are you?

TWO TYPES OF PEOPLE

There are basically 2 types of people in this world: one who loves to cheat and the other who loves to be cheated. I shall discuss this from the point of education.

In our many years of experience as educators, we found that there are some unscrupulous people out there who are out to make a fast buck, prying on naive students who cannot separate the wheat from the chaff. They attend tuition classes where the teachers are incompetent, teachers who leak test questions to them and teachers who promised them that they would be able to obtain leaked public exam questions.

There was a tuition teacher who told students that he has obtained leaked examination questions for a public exam. He claimed that the examination body had set 3 sets of questions: the first set was the actual exam papers and the other were for contingency purposes, such as a leakage in the first set. He claimed that he had obtained 2 of the 3 sets and students who wished to obtain the question papers would have to attend his special tuition class where he would teach them how to answer the questions as well. Many gullible students swallowed the bait, line, hook and sinker as well. They left their normal tuition classes and derailed their personal revision programmes to attend such a class. At that moment they felt happy (to be conned) and the tuition teacher felt happy too ( to con these students). However, the so called leak questions did not appear in the actual public examination. When confronted with the accusation of a sting, he claimed that the THIRD SET of questions were used by the examination body. BEWARE OF SUCH SWINDLERS.

BOGUS MONKS

In this world there are 2 categories of people: those who love to con and those who love to be con.

The bogus monks are those who love to con and those who give to the bogus monks are those who love to be con.

In order to identify a bogus monk, we must know what is a real monk.

1. A real monk who is on his alms round (pindapat) will not go from table to table to table and restaurant to restaurant with an almsbowl.

2. A real monk usually does not accept money in the almsbowl: the almsbowl is for food not money. Many monks do not touch money nor accept any money while on pindapat.

3. A real monk does not go on pindapat at all times of the day. They only take solid food before lunch. They do not eat after lunch so they do not go on pindapat after lunch.

There are a few bogus monks, including Chinese Mahayana bogus monk in a long robe, in Sungai Petani.

Bogus monks actually destroy Buddhism as they give the religion a bad name.

Give with Wisdom.

FOOD OH FOOD

Choice of food in Sg Petani is rather limited. Breakfast, for example, is limited to wan tan mee, kueh teow soup, loh mee, tar mee, hokkien mee, fried kuih teow or siu mai. Wow, quite a lot, come to think of it. Perhaps I am choosy about food or my choices are limited. Talking about food makes me sleepy, what a boring subject, zzzzzzzzzzz

Why not talk abouy Buddhism, that is more interesting. For example, what are nagas, do they really exist?

Success!

Wow! I published my first blog. That is what I call a success.