Make the horse thirsty

Having prata with the 5N1 boys.

So my relief teaching stint at Saint Gabriel’s Secondary School ended last week.

I’m very glad for the opportunity to have returned for one last hurrah; to have come full circle in my teaching journey and for this very meaningful and enriching experience to mark the end of my teaching career (for now).

Something I found valuable from the experience: a lesson that resurfaced during the course of my stint.

When I was a trainee teacher at St Gab’s four years ago, I remember telling Mr William Ng, our School Coordinating Mentor then, about how one class was making it difficult for me to teach them.

The exact words I used was in the form of the idiom “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink”.

Mr Ng took one look at me and replied, “Then make the horse thirsty.”

My instinctive response was to shoot him a WTF look – though I stopped when I realised he made sense.

(That was a very powerful exercise in reframing for me; I’ve since learnt the power of reframing situations like that in order to break out of what might be a seemingly hopeless circumstance.)

In any case, being a beginning teacher, I didn’t know how to make the “horses” thirsty then.

So I completely forgot about the phrase and about making “horses” thirsty until I was a week into my stint and I reconnected with Mr Ng.

Recollecting his words was both an empowering and inspiring experience; I finally understood what he meant.

I also felt a sense of relief: at some point last year, my teaching journey had finally led me to learn what it was I had to do to make the “horses” thirsty.

A couple of people have asked how to make the “horses” thirsty. An ex-colleague has even quipped that it’s “even more important than what…the fox say[s]“.

I’m not normally the type to hold my cards close to my chest, but this time round, I will, for personal reasons.

In any case, if you’re a teacher, keep teaching well and make making “horses” thirsty one of your priorities too.

P.S. not related but still amusing, nonetheless: Rockson’s Horse.

Stuff you must read today (Sat, 18 Oct 2013) – The Productivity Edition

SGTipsyTrivia: Thu, 31 Oct at Earshot Cafe (Halloween Edition!)

I’m organising this with a bunch of friends so come on down and join us for the only pub quiz in Singapore with a Singaporean theme!

SG Tipsy Trivia

Not everyone bothers about the important things – like what the name of the dinosaur formerly known as Brontosaurus is, or how many MRT interchanges there are in Singapore.

But if matters like these are everyday knowledge for you and your friends, then come on down to Earshot Cafe on Thu, 31 Oct 2013 at 7.30pm for a special Halloween-themed edition of SG Tipsy Trivia!

It’s still the only pub quiz in town with a Singaporean theme – each category has six Singapore-themed questions and four international-themed questions – but we have Halloween-related questions specially for this month.

For $5 per player, your team of six players gets to flex your brains over six rounds of trivia.

What’s more – the winning team stands a chance of bringing home 50% of the pot for the evening, along with $74 worth of vouchers from Earshot Cafe!

So join us – because, really: how much more fun can you get up to on Halloween night?

Remember to come dressed in your Halloween best – or not at all! (We won’t be held responsible for any allegations of public indecency, though 😉

SG Tipsy Trivia! – Special Halloween Edition
(Event Listing on Facebook)
#SGTipsyTrivia

Date: Thu, 31 Oct 2013
Time: 7.30pm
Venue: Earshot Cafe (1 Old Parliament Lane, Singapore 179429)
Price: $5 per player (max. 6 players per team. Teams with more than 6 players will have 3.5 points deducted per extra player.)

Top Prize: 50% of evening’s pot + $74 worth of vouchers from Earshot Cafe
Second Prize: 30% of evening’s pot

Fill in this form to reserve a table for your team. Spots fill up fast; ‘chope’ your place today!

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