Of Altercation & Alteration

 Altercation is a heated argument or disagreement,

Alteration is making a change to something like a garment,

For example, a customer is having an altercation with a tailor over unfit alteration to his garment.

Poem: Television

Roald Dahl wrote this poem, Television that describes the television as a monster which could ruin children and suggests the parents should let their children read more for better development.

In today's world, this poem can be modified by changing the subject to a smart phone which is also a devil that has been ruining the children.

Television by Roald Dahl

The most important thing we've learned,
So far as children are concerned,
Is never, NEVER, NEVER let
Them near your television set --
Or better still, just don't install
The idiotic thing at all.
In almost every house we've been,
We've watched them gaping at the screen.
They loll and slop and lounge about,
And stare until their eyes pop out.
(Last week in someone's place we saw
A dozen eyeballs on the floor.)
They sit and stare and stare and sit
Until they're hypnotised by it,
Until they're absolutely drunk
With all that shocking ghastly junk.
Oh yes, we know it keeps them still,
They don't climb out the window sill,
They never fight or kick or punch,
They leave you free to cook the lunch
And wash the dishes in the sink --
But did you ever stop to think,
To wonder just exactly what
This does to your beloved tot?
IT ROTS THE SENSE IN THE HEAD!
IT KILLS IMAGINATION DEAD!
IT CLOGS AND CLUTTERS UP THE MIND!
IT MAKES A CHILD SO DULL AND BLIND
HE CAN NO LONGER UNDERSTAND
A FANTASY, A FAIRYLAND!
HIS BRAIN BECOMES AS SOFT AS CHEESE!
HIS POWERS OF THINKING RUST AND FREEZE!
HE CANNOT THINK -- HE ONLY SEES!
'All right!' you'll cry. 'All right!' you'll say,
'But if we take the set away,
What shall we do to entertain
Our darling children? Please explain!'
We'll answer this by asking you,
'What used the darling ones to do?
'How used they keep themselves contented
Before this monster was invented?'
Have you forgotten? Don't you know?
We'll say it very loud and slow:
THEY ... USED ... TO ... READ! They'd READ and READ,
AND READ and READ, and then proceed
To READ some more. Great Scott! Gadzooks!
One half their lives was reading books!
The nursery shelves held books galore!
Books cluttered up the nursery floor!
And in the bedroom, by the bed,
More books were waiting to be read!
Such wondrous, fine, fantastic tales
Of dragons, gypsies, queens, and whales
And treasure isles, and distant shores
Where smugglers rowed with muffled oars,
And pirates wearing purple pants,
And sailing ships and elephants,
And cannibals crouching 'round the pot,
Stirring away at something hot.
(It smells so good, what can it be?
Good gracious, it's Penelope.)
The younger ones had Beatrix Potter
With Mr. Tod, the dirty rotter,
And Squirrel Nutkin, Pigling Bland,
And Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle and-
Just How The Camel Got His Hump,
And How the Monkey Lost His Rump,
And Mr. Toad, and bless my soul,
There's Mr. Rate and Mr. Mole-
Oh, books, what books they used to know,
Those children living long ago!
So please, oh please, we beg, we pray,
Go throw your TV set away,
And in its place you can install
A lovely bookshelf on the wall.
Then fill the shelves with lots of books,
Ignoring all the dirty looks,
The screams and yells, the bites and kicks,
And children hitting you with sticks-
Fear not, because we promise you
That, in about a week or two
Of having nothing else to do,
They'll now begin to feel the need
Of having something to read.
And once they start -- oh boy, oh boy!
You watch the slowly growing joy
That fills their hearts. They'll grow so keen
They'll wonder what they'd ever seen
In that ridiculous machine,
That nauseating, foul, unclean,
Repulsive television screen!
And later, each and every kid
Will love you more for what you did.

Poem: Desert Flowers

Desert Flowers written by Vincent Teh

She's not as vulnerable

As you think

Because she's deceiving.

Don't be fooled by her glamour

Because of her pink

Embellished with her green.

She doesn't wither

As easily as you think

As she strives for surviving.

She doesn't need moisturiser

To keep her pink

As well as her green.

As long as the sun shines on her

Storms wouldn't make her blink

And she takes it on the chin.

I can still remember the three pots of pink desert flowers

Beneath a big old rose apple tree

In front of the old terrace house when I was wee.

Please Touch Bread with a Tongue?

Tongue is a soft piece of flesh in your mouth that is used for tasting, speaking, etc.

Tongs is a tool with two long parts joined at one end, used for picking up things.

I wouldn't buy any bread from a bakery that allows customers to touch their bread with tongues instead of tongs. Unhygienic and sloppy, isn't it?

Of Salon and Saloon

SALON and SALOON are poles apart, yet there are those who keep mixing the two.

A 'salon' is a commercial establishment for beauty (there are a few other meanings as well, but for the purpose of this particular discussion, this one suffices), so it's a beauty salon, not beauty saloon.

A 'saloon', on the other hand, is a pub/bar/tavern (of course there are other meanings to saloon too, but we are not going there).

If you go to a salon, chances are you'll come out stone-cold sober and with your beautiful coiffure; but you are likely to leave a saloon drunk as a lord and with your hair dishevelled.

Good Attitudes Matter

Looking at my laptop screen, it showed 11.15 am.

I called her through Whatsapp. She picked it up.

"Do you know we have a class now?" I said solemnly.

"Oh, I will join the lesson now." she said without further explanation. That was it, when I waited for 20 minutes after I had sent her the Zoom link since 10.55 am.

Soon, she joined the lesson.

"What were you doing?" I asked. "My mum was talking to me through phone call and after that, I forgot about the class." she answered without much hesitation. 

"Ok, I'm not sure if you understood what I talked to you in our last lesson. Perhaps I talked to you in a nice way. Let me say that to you again, in Mandarin, to ensure you get my point." I said.

The communication was then switched to Mandarin, and it has been translated into English in this blog. 

"First, this is not your first time to join the class late. There were numerous times when I had to call you to join the class. I can't accept your excuse that you've forgotten about the class. Since the first day I started teaching you, I never change the time. One year ago, you always joined the class on time. Why only recently you forget about the class?"

"Do you still want to learn English with me?" I questioned her.

"Yes." she said sheepishly.

Ignoring her response, I continued to chide her, "if you want to stop the class but dare not tell your mum, let me know and I can tell her on your behalf. I'm totally fine. I don't mind to let you go. I'd rather spend my time doing some other beneficial stuff, instead of wasting my time to wait for you. Besides, there are some other students out there, who wish to join my learning centre."

She kept silent.

"My last question to you, do you want to stay?" I asked again.

"Yes." she answered.

"Ok, if you want to stay, please bear in mind, don't be late again. This is my last warning to you. If you are late again, I won't call you anymore. I'll just tell your mum that I'll stop the class and I'll bid you goodbye." I told her bluntly.

This is the story that happened in one of my classes this morning. She was a 10-year-old girl, whose attitude got worse after teaching her for 1 year.

I had no choice but to lambast her so that she knew I no longer tolerate such kinds of attitudes - being late and not serious in her learning.

A teacher's job is not only about imparting knowledge, but also to instil good values into their students. Good attitudes make them go a long way.

Grammar: Verb Pattern (Part 2)

This blog is a short one because I am going to share with you about verbs followed by infinitive without "to". The verbs are let and make.

Let and make are followed by an infinitive without to in active voice sentences. They always have an object before the infinitive. 

Examples:

1) Do not let Alice go. (Alice = object; go = infinitive)

2) The staff made his client wait while he checked the documents. (his client = object; wait = infinitive) 

Help is another verb that is followed by infinitive without "to", but it is fine to use it with to-infinitive. 

Examples:

1) Please help me find my dog.

2) Please help me to find my dog.