TheFreaks Group Blog

Recently, there has been a lot of haloo-baloo on the Science/Maths in English issue. Well, to the point of rallying in front of the palace and getting tear gas in their eyes.

Now that the report and review is in its final stages;, I assume we can only hope for the best.

But what if it isn’t?

There are people out there who think that English isn’t necessary, that the preservation of their mother tongue is more important than the future of their children. They are afraid that everything they have passed down from generation to generation will be blown away. Forgotten. Lost.

And there are teachers, especially in national schools, who are cracking their heads trying to figure out English. This might be especially hard for them since learning a language gets harder the older you get.  As a result, we come across things like ‘write-thent‘ for ‘written‘ and ‘pro-tact-ter‘ for ‘protractor‘.

How about the children then? Won’t it be easier if they learn everything in their comfort zone? It’s not necessary to burden your child with the extra work. It is painful. It is not what every parent would like to see. As long as he is in his comfort zone, learning everything with a language that he knows and getting ‘okay’ marks, who would want to care about how he’s going to adapt himself to the mainstream? Or to communicate with foreigners? Or to look up for detailed information?

In my opinion, these aren’t very good reasons.

From what I have read (blame me if I go off-course), these reasons are based on the parents themselves. What they have experienced in their comfort zone. A general issue suddenly mutates into some sort of personal argument that lists out the faults without any solid, proven reason.

Very similar to Person A pointing out all the negatives about Person C (”His hair is unkempt! His shorts too long!”) to Person B, but never focusing on the qualities of C.

About English now.

Learning another language does not strip you of your identity, as long as you practice using your mother tongue. In fact, not only does it NOT strip you of your identity, it enlarges it. You are more open-minded to the world. You are exposed to reality and different cultures, different people, different expectations.  Discover things that you never knew before. And most importantly, your resume would look nicer.

English is also advantageous to teachers, with all the helpful websites out there. As one blogger from NST pointed out, randomly searching for ‘digestive tract‘ will generate more helpful and informative results than the same thing in Malay or Tamil or Mandarin. We cannot avoid the fact that English is the most common language in education.

And for the teachers who are cracking their craniums about English, stop being one then. Stop being a teacher if you do not know how to learn and improve yourself.  Otherwise, how would you know your students are benefiting from your teachings? Your students are your main priority, not your pay. Not your pay at all.

Also, isn’t it very ignorant to imply that everything is okay, even if you are depriving your child from learning a very important language (where ’selfish’ also comes to mind)? The world does not live like this. Sooner or later, when your child matures, he would have trouble in college, let alone the business world. If he decides to go into business, his potential is limited because most times, his business will only stretch to several tiny countries or one HUGE country (India, for example) or even worse, his own birthplace. With English, he could stretch his borders all the way to America.

Anyway, if he does not succeed and fails to get an employment because he does not fulfill an important requirement (which is knowing English), he will start working as a low-pay worker. And the whole vicious cycle will start all over again, if he doesn’t learn from his predicament.

And comparing ourselves to Japan or France or Italy is just plain silly. You cannot compare a pineapple with a durian. Comparing doesn’t help. Comparing doesn’t even do anything at all, not even prove anyone anything. We are a whole different country altogether.

I admit there are several cons about English, which are the pros in Malay. The smartest thing we can do is not bring any emotional or personal attachment to the issue. Instead, detach. And think without judgment.

The world is getting smaller. Nowadays, we can get this from there or that from here. Sooner or later, all of us will breathe the same air, eat the same food and speak in the same language.

Learn from the animals and evolution - it’s either we change, or we die.

Today’s the February 14th, and I see many people carrying roses and flowers, and reciting poems and singing enchantments. What’s all this about?

Oh, it’s Valentine’s! Today is the day when Saint Valentine died, and everyone’s celebrating this. Right? I don’t know. Anyways, just something that I’d like to share:

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Oxford University has compiled a list of the top-ten most irritating phrases after conducting several surveys.

The top ten most irritating phrases:

1 - At the end of the day

2 - Fairly unique

3 - I personally

4 - At this moment in time

5 - With all due respect

6 - Absolutely

7 - It’s a nightmare

8 - Shouldn’t of

9 - 24/7

10 - It’s not rocket science

At the end of the day, what would you add to this fairly unique list? With all due respect, I personally, at this moment in time, absolutely shouldn’t of suggested that it’s not rocket science because 24/7 people are saying this and it is literally a nightmare.

As promised, the amazing Simpsoniser! One of the best inventions on Planet Earth (maybe even the universe), able to zap the bejabbers out of your photo and BOOM! instant Simpson!

Here’s an example by yours truly:

Okay, fine. Maybe this has its own flaws. I don’t even really look like my Simpson counterpart (maybe except for the outfit, my friends call me ‘Queen Banana’).

In fact, if I were a Simpson, I would look more like this:

DISCLAIMER #2: This is one lame marketing gimmick, but we are not held responsible for you having too much fun
Right, back to homework!

I thought that posting this was necessary.

(NOTE: Existing authors are advised to read this)

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I’m not crazy I’m just a little unwell
I know right now you can’t tell
that’s why it makes me look like a FREAK

hello im new here
my name is stellix, encik stellix. call me stellix
check out my blog at www.stellix.blogspot.com

Do you dislike having your picture taken because you always seem to come out looking hideous? Felt jealous of your friend who always comes out flawless in photos? What’s the deal with pictures? While being photogenic just comes naturally to some people, there are a few things that anyone can do to look better in photos. Try these tricks to create the best image to present to others.

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The Obameter

So, how long has our dearest American president been here? If I am not wrong, and if my brain is properly working at midnight, he’s been in the White House for about two weeks.

So far he has broken a promise out of 500. Thank goodness it was nothing serious.

And then it made me wonder:

If that McCain fella were to take over the White House, what would happen?

Well, the only thing I could think of is that the White House won’t suddenly clash with the president’s skin colour, but that sounded quite dumb so moving on.

I believe he’d do nothing much for awhile. I mean, he’s old. You don’t expect him to run around anymore, do you?

Got nothing much to say next. Brain dead.

Up next: The Simpsoniser!

Ashel is currently testing the limits of her brainpower and eyesight

Every morning when you check your RSS reader, what do you really want to read on this group blog?

I would say YOU want to read something positive and uplifting.

This post is what YOU would love to read. It’s a post to show gratitude.

Thanks to the guy who started this group blog — yauhui

Thanks to other guys who contribute to this blog.

Thanks to those who are willing to spend time to read this blog.

Thanks to those loyal supporters who subscribe to this blog.

Thanks, thanks, and thanks!

Finally, we’ve seen 5 members in total!

Enjoy!

Update: Now the author’s name on the posts links to the author’s page which displays all posts by the said author. The CSS has also been tweaked. Any comments and/or suggestions are welcome.

Update 2: The Chatbox has also been added, use it wisely. Spamzors will be banned.

It’s Ren Ri so BLue is here to wishes everyone Happy Birthday

P/S: Don’t forget to purchase/wear your undies

Mikhail here, and I’m finding Group Blogging a really neat concept. There’ll always be new content, depending on the Blog’s popularity. So… Hmm… I know! Let’s see who can make the best movie poster! Winner gets… gets… gets… I don’t know. Meh. Whatever.

–Mikhail

Hello, this is Ashel.

I have absolutely no idea what I should write about.

And.

I need to finish my homework. Like, pronto.

Testing

I’m in the game

so what should we talk about?

OK, we need to show author’s name on each post