“Independent Team Player” is not a misnomer: How to help your team thrive

Working in a team can be one of the most enriching experiences you could ever have. Yes, there is great freedom in being accountable to no one but yourself, but working a team is not antithetical to independence and freedom. In the past 10 years, I’ve had the privilege of being a team leader, manager, […]

Lions, peacocks, and lessons in listening

As Singapore becomes increasingly cosmopolitan by all outward measures, Singaporeans seem torn between their old-world, gritty, down-to-earth cultural narrative and an urbanity that reflects their economic status in the world. We both covet and abhor anything that seems foreign. Singaporeans are always at the threshold of the traditional and the modern, the familiar and the […]

“And we wept that one so lovely should have a life so brief;”

Anecdotes about teaching are a dime a dozen. From stories about grading papers, to inspiring kids, to huge, dramatic blow-outs in class, to rants about the amount of administration that needs to be done, to accounts of awful parents… you would think that teachers have given you the whole picture. I thought so. I was […]

In memoriam

A student from my school passed away today after a long fight with cancer. I never taught him, but he left an impression on me nonetheless. He had been on palliative care for a while this year, and I believe that the loved ones he leaves behind have had chances for their goodbyes. I do […]

notetoself

It is far more enriching to learn why people do the things they do, than to judge them with disdain. It is far more meaningful to empower people to pave their own way, than to direct them along trodden paths. It is far more humbling to listen to tales, than to tell them.