mollymeek ([info]mollymeek) wrote,
@ 2006-04-20 01:13:00
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What the (Or: Why we Have Brilliant Scientists)
Someone sent Molly this link: http://www.physics.com.sg/

What the #%#$%#$#^%?

As quoted by the site:
"The important thing is not to stop questioning."

And the first things Molly is tempted to question are the assumptions of the site owner who can be seen wearing a "very special" Raffles tie.

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[info]hansel25
2006-04-19 05:21 pm UTC (link)
brilliant.

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[info]mollymeek
2006-04-19 05:23 pm UTC (link)
Ditto.

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[info]hansel25
2006-04-19 05:23 pm UTC (link)
he sounds like another Steven Lim, the stripper on national tv, in the making. only that Mr Phang is stripping his brains off.

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[info]mollymeek
2006-04-19 05:26 pm UTC (link)
hey, hey, hey, people wear tie one ok. what stripper? Don't anyhow compare.

And Steven Lim got first class honours, Masters and PhD on stripping or not? Go take S paper on stripping or not?

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[info]hansel25
2006-04-19 05:29 pm UTC (link)
but their websites very similiar. http://www.stevenlim.net/

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[info]mollymeek
2006-04-20 04:18 am UTC (link)
Yeah, but somehow, very suddenly, my opinion of Steven Lim has gone up a little. Perhaps it's because he only goes around giving himself publicity without putting others down. I don't know...

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People trying to make a living
(Anonymous)
2006-04-21 07:56 am UTC (link)
Hello Molly,

Aiyah, be kind lah. People only trying to make a living. People RI boy reduced to tuition teacher a bit poor thing thing. His ego probably takes a bashing everytime he goes to class gatherings and finds that his frens are all making big bucks as doctors and lawyers.

Reads more like marketing than hubris to me. :-P

I hope all is well with you. I'm drowning in my KT. :-(

Cheers,

KTM

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
Re: People trying to make a living
[info]mollymeek
2006-04-21 09:40 am UTC (link)
Argh KTM, you are only drowning. Molly just drowned in the sea.

(Reply to this) (Parent)
more questions...
[info]voctir
2006-04-26 03:28 pm UTC (link)
His academic credentials in the area of engineering physics is indeed impressive. I'm quite sure he knows his stuff well. However there are some specific questionable (for he exhorts us to never stop questioning) things I'd like to add to Molly's sharp observation:

Firstly in the comparison sheet he included the type of degree as a relevant critera for appraising a tutor's ability. He ranked the type of degrees in the following order: professional practice Degree, general science degree, and non-science degree. He is implicity placing a higher value (in terms of tutoring) on professional practice degrees over a science degree. I do not doubt that engineering graduates have sufficient knowledge of physics. However a physics graduate (also under the general science category) is more likely to have a more complete and accurate understanding of a pure science subject like physics.

Secondly, the fact that he has impressive academic credentials as a student is not evidence of his ability to teach or tutor students across all secondary levels. He only shows the testimonials of ten A-level students. What about O-level students (he claimed to be able to tutor across all levels)? What about the rest of his students in his 15 years of private tutoring? How many students have shown considerable improvement in physics after being coached by him, as compared to those who showed no improvement at all, or did worse after he came in? Has he had any experience with O level students? Why is there are no testimonials from O level students? Did he avoid coaching them for some reason, or did he choose not to ask them for testimonials?

It is one thing to show the fancy, deep, intriguing, thought-provoking topics in physics at the A levels (which is the only education level at which teachers can finally make plausible connections to fascinating phenomena), it is another thing to introduce the subject at entry level to secondary three students who encounter the subject for the first time. Would Mr know-it-all bungle-it-all by talking about higher-order concepts (such as de Broglie waves or centripetal motion) for which entry-level students have not mastered? Would he be able to identify the underlying difficulty with mathematical concepts that impedes the learning of physics?

Personally I would prefer not to be too harsh on the admittedly excessive self-aggrandizing tone on his website. It is well-known that the tutoring business/industry is keenly competitive but under-regulated by MOE. Without certification standards independent agents have to promote themselves as much as possible in order to attract students (or their parents actually). I think people like him are less irritating (and probably contribute in a better way to society by educating instead of working in industry) than Steven Lim, mailbox spamming real-estate agents and tuition agencies (I assume he wouldn't stoop to that).

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Re: more questions...
[info]mollymeek
2006-04-26 05:31 pm UTC (link)
I generally agree with you. I'm not too sure what to make of "educators" like him though. What sort of attitudes will such an educator cultivate in kids? (I am reminded of a certain ST article that posits that it is an irrefutable truth that JC students are better than poly sudents, period. And I get goosebumps.)

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