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Singapore Changes Education System to Remove Ranking, Exams Also Removed in Some Grade Levels

In a bid to show that learning is not a competition with other students, Singapore has changed its education system to remove ranking systems. Thus, there will no longer be top students in each class or year level. Moreover, exams have also been removed in some grade levels! Yay or nay?

According to the World Economic Forum, Singapore had long been known for its strict high-achiever educational system whereon students are required to go to school for longer hours (compared with other countries’ educational systems). This is geared toward better exam success.

But change has come to the country and by 2019, primary years 1 and 2 students will no longer take exams. While exams are removed, this does not mean that students no longer have to study but they will be doing so in a less competitive environment.

Photo credit: Facebook / World Economic Forum – Singapore Ministry of Education
For older primary as well as secondary students, there will be exams but grades are rounded up to the nearest whole number to put emphasis on academic success.

Singapore’s Education Minister Ong Ye Kung explained, “Learning is not a competition.”

In line with this, there will be a lot of changes that students and teachers have to adapt with. This includes discouraging comparison between students. Instead, each one is encouraged to concentrate on his/her own learning development.

As such, there will no longer be list of pupils finishing at the top or bottom of the class. Moreover, report cards will no longer indicate the student’s ranking. Meanwhile, school reports will not highlight failing grades or focus on pass/fail results at the end of the year.

Photo credit: Facebook / World Economic Forum – Singapore Ministry of Education
These changes in the educational system hopes to develop well-rounded individuals who are not just academically inclined but are also good in social interaction. The education minister also hopes that this would help develop decision-making skills and self-awareness in the students.

By 2023, Singapore will implement ‘applied learning’ programs to help students acquire real-world skills, not just for academic advancement but also for personal development.

Singapore is no longer comparing students to each other

Education is about progress, not exam results. Read more: https://wef.ch/2NAXqNz

Posted by World Economic Forum on Thursday, October 11, 2018

Source: World Economic Forum

Lifestyle

Prayer before Meals? Photo of Kneeling Customers of Roadside Carinderia Goes Viral

A photo of kneeling customers at a roadside carinderia goes viral, with many netizens joking that these “religious” buyers are already praying before their meal. LOL

Photo of Roadside Carinderia’s Kneeling Customers Goes Viral

In the Philippines, carinderias are a popular place for finding affordable, budget-friendly meals.

They’re usually small stalls with simple dining sets where people can dine for much less than what you’d normally get billed at a restaurant.

Carinderias themselves can still be considered a restaurant, but they’re a toned down version with much cheaper rates. You can even order “takeout” meals that they’ll usually put inside plastic roll bags instead of a Styrofoam or cardboard box you might expect from a regular restaurant.

And while carinderias aren’t usually the subject of a viral post, one recently gained social media fame after some customers have been photographed kneeling while taking their order.

Now, we forgot to mention that many carinderias have a loyal customer base of people who often go there on a regular basis. Many of them might be workers or students in the area. Other carinderias also have nearby residents as regular customers.

kneeling buyers
Photo credit: Casper Correche

So, it isn’t surprising that when a carinderia was affected by a new road made several feet above the old one, the loyal customers kept coming back to the their favorite food source.

The only difference is that now they have to adjust and kneel down so they can check the food items being offered by the carinderia.

A photo of the said carinderia, credited to Facebook user Casper Correche, was shared on Facebook page “Calbayognon.” In the post, the page identified the carideria to be somewhere in Calbayog, Samar.

The page joked that the three guys seen in the photo were ordering one more serving of adobong manok before ending it with an “Amen.” It’s like they’re already done praying before they get to eat their meal.

How Road Widening Affects People in the Philippines

There are lots of great benefits to road widening:

  • Better roads
  • Wider roads that can accommodate more cars
  • Less traffic

However, road widening can also some negative effects:

  • Roadside houses and establishments might be included in the expansion
  • Some of these buildings can also become lower than the road level, leading to various issues (and the owners don’t usually get compensation to change their houses so they can be at road level again)
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News

Customer Wants Free Portrait, Sends Bible Verse to Make Artist Feel Guilty

A customer wants free portrait – and had the audacity to send a Bible verse to make the artist feel guilty for trying to ask for payment in exchange for the drawing! Whoa.

Customer Wants Free Portrait, Guilt-Trips Artist with Bible Verse

These days, it has become easier for artists to connect with new customers through apps, messaging, and other social media or online tools.

You can even find an artist on Facebook marketplace, TikTok, Instagram, or just about any online platform available.

What’s sad is that these artists also encounter a lot of bogus “miners” or those who request for an artwork to be done, but then vanish without a trace. For example, a customer canceled two paintings created by a deaf-mute artist after he was already trying to deliver the pieces!

artist portrait
Photo credit: Chaboy dela Cruz / News5

Recently, someone reached out to artist Chaboy dela Cruz to ask him to create a portrait.

And while that isn’t something new, the artist had a good sense to ask whether the person he was chatting with had plans to pay for the commissioned art – because they actually didn’t want to pay up!

This person even set the deadline, but was shocked to learn that the artist was asking for payment over the artwork.

artist portrait
Photo credit: Chaboy dela Cruz / News5

Instead of asking how much they’re supposed to pay, this freeloader sent dela Cruz a screenshot of a biblical passage from Hebrews 13:5-8, which says in English, “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have (because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake).

What’s even more hilarious about the customer’s demand is that they didn’t even know the artist personally. You’d think they were friends by how they worded the post. LOL.

How Much Do Drawings And Portraits Cost?

This actually depends on several factors, but mostly the artist’s talent and name. You’d see newbie artists charging as low as Php100 per bond paper-sized portrait, but the same thing could fetch thousands of pesos, maybe even millions if commissioned by a famous artist.

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Inspiring

Doctor Goes Viral for Beautiful Penmanship and Writing Instructions in Filipino

A doctor goes viral for beautiful penmanship – and we also love that he writes the instructions in Filipino for his patients to better understand. Isn’t that awesome?

Doctor Goes Viral for Beautiful Penmanship

Yes, doctors are known for having a really bad, barely readable penmanship. There’s even an on-going joke that only pharmacists can understand what they write (which is actually true on many occasions).

Thankfully, many doctors have realized that writing their prescription in incomprehensible handwriting might lead to errors in dispensing the medications.

Photo credit: Robert Dominic Gonzales

This can be dangerous, actually, especially because some medications can have lethal effects when given in incorrect doses or to someone with certain underlying medication conditions.

Recently, one doctor went viral for writing prescriptions in calligraphy-like handwriting – and she isn’t the only that impressed netizens with good penmanship.

Dr. Robert Dominic Gonzales amazed netizens when he shared a photo of a prescription that he had written for a patient.

It’s very clear from the prescription that he described this patient with Losartan at 50 mg per tablet.

Photo credit: Robert Dominic Gonzales

The prescription is good for 30 tablets, with clear instructions written in Filipino for the patient to drink one tablet per day to control high blood pressure.

Dr. Gonzales captioned the post, “From practicing the alphabet, writing essays, and answering tons of exams… we’ve come to this point of using a pen and paper.

The impressive handwriting amazed netizens who mused that doctors should learn to write prescriptions in this manner so that it will be clear to the patient, not just to the pharmacist.

He explained that it’s best to write prescriptions in a manner that’s clear for everyone to help avoid medication errors. He added that taking the wrong medication due to these errors can put the patient’s life in danger.

Photo credit: Robert Dominic Gonzales

How to Make Sure You’re Taking the Right Medicine

  • Check your doctor’s prescription to see if you can understand what’s written
  • Don’t be shy to ask the medications’ names and the right dosage you need to take
  • Don’t be afraid to request your doctor to make the medication name easier to read so you won’t mix up your medicines
  • Double check the name of the medicines you receive from the pharmacy
  • Buy a pill box or labeled container to help you keep track of the medications (many people forget whether they’ve already taken the medicine or not)
  • If you have plenty of medicines, organize them and create a list of what you need to drink for a particular hour of the day
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