School Nostalgia V

Do you remember what kind of mass exercises were there during primary school? The first thing that comes to your mind is probably this one:

The Great Singapore Workout

Somehow it evolved into ‘ACES’ Workout along the way. I’ve forgotten what it stands for, but I still remember that it was held yearly in conjunction with Teachers’ Day celebrations. Not sure if schools are still doing this workout till today.

Bits and pieces of the music still ring in my mind. I didn’t bother to memorize the steps since there were always a few teachers on the front elevated platform whose actions we could just follow. Sometimes the music was accompanied by instructions but it was too muffled to be heard, and most of us weren’t serious in doing the workout anyway.

Many took the chance to play a fool with our fellow classmates, and tried to irritate the surrounding people with every step and action. There was a part where we were supposed to kick left and right with our arms pointing in the opposite direction. (Unfortunately this workout revealed those who had poor hand-leg motor coordination haha.) Then we would instead kick our friends’ bags, which were placed on the ground. There was also this iconic workout - stretch both arms upwards, clap once, then press 4 times forward with palms facing outwards. The mischievous us would push the person in front during the pressing action haha. Not to forget the chaos when we had to move forward and backward (or left and right) a few steps. Sounds silly but fun =p.

We were also given a ACES cap each. Everyone would sign onto each other’s caps for some reason. At the end of the exercise, we were supposed to throw the caps up in the air. This was when the signatures became useful as a means of identification for our own caps. There was once I threw really high and couldn’t find it back again. Took someone else’s cap instead but didn’t dare to wear it, so it was thrown away right after that. Apparently most didn’t care whether they could get theirs back or not, and threw as far away as possible. What a legitimate way of littering openly. In the end there were many caps strewn on the ground and somebody had to pick them all up haha.

Can’t find any videos that resemble the ACES workout I did many years ago. Either the background music has changed, or the steps have been modified so significantly now that I don’t recognize it anymore. =(

Luckily traces of the old Great Singapore Workout can still be found:





The music is so ever nostalgic!


Eye Exercise

It was done regularly for a period of time, before it stopped and was forgotten completely. Perhaps it wasn’t very effective, at least for me, whose eyesight still rose by 100 degrees per year at that time.

Due to the increasing cases of myopia among children, schools decided to implement this eye relaxation exercise. For my school, it was conducted after silent reading just before singing the national anthem. The relaxation exercise made my eyes really sleepy haha. As you might expect, some students took the opportunity to doze off.

This is the closest video I’ve found:




Physical Fitness Test

This is what it was called before the name NAPFA came about. It was feared by those who didn’t exercise regularly, whereas sporty kids would take the test casually and pass it with a breeze. Sad to say I belonged to the former.

Doing sit-ups wasn’t a problem for most students. I didn’t find it difficult until upper primary when I find myself having diaphragm cramps easily when doing sit-ups. Was barely able to meet the passing mark.

During a shuttle run practice, I accelerated too fast after turning my body, hence losing my balance and falling down. Because of this, till now I still have a slight phobia of running too fast for shuttle run.

Most of us will agree that sit-and-reach is the easiest station. So easy that it was taken out from IPPT haha. Just bear with the pain and stretch as far as possible. Having long legs (with relatively short arms) is a disadvantage for this one.

Standing broad jump didn’t feel as difficult to pass during primary school. It used to be one of the sure-pass stations. I could pass as long as I try to jump as far as possible. I don’t remember putting so much effort into it compared to now.

Inclined flex-arm hang was probably most feared among the girls. Some couldn’t even hold for more than a second. The passing time was only about 3 seconds (for girls) I think. Thankfully my arms were strong enough to overcome this station until…

1.6 km feels so short now, although it felt like eternity to me at that time. Nothing much to comment about this since it’s just a test of speed and endurance.


In this age when technology is so prevalent, most children are opting to fiddle with their gadgets rather than to exercise outdoors. I wonder if the level of physical fitness in kids these days is dropping.

School Nostalgia IV

Wow the last instalment was way back in February 2009. Actually I had a lot of ideas at that time, but lazy to pen down, so I eventually forgot over time. Let’s dive into the nostalgia of my school days again. =)

I think everyone has the experience of being punished in school right? Since everyone may make mistakes after all. As we go higher up in education, we will be probably punished less and less often. Or rather, the ‘punishment’ changes form to what we call ‘penalty’. For example, 10 marks will be deducted for late submission.

In this entry, I’ll talk about physical punishments we are subjected to in school. No, not corporal punishment like caning, or army-style push-ups. Just some mild ones which teachers will give in class for minor problems like poor behaviour or forgetfulness. This applies mainly for primary school.


Happy New Year Pull Your Ear

It isn’t that bad if we were to do it ourselves, since we’ll just press our earlobes with two fingers without pulling anyway. But it can be potentially painful if the teacher does it to us. Our ear tissues are so soft and vulnerable, with no bones to support. A small force exerted by the teacher can actually produce great pain. Some teachers pull and twist some more, ouch! I remember my ear was pulled (and twisted) really hard during lower primary, for forgetting to bring my textbook I think, and it was really painful. I thought my ear was going to drop.

I hate it when teachers don’t pull students (to move them from one position to another) by the arms or shoulders, but by the ears. This was usually done when the teacher pulled the student from his/her seat to the front of the classroom.


Put your finger on your lips

Not really considered a punishment, but just a simple harmless way to keep noisy kids quiet. Usually done during assembly (silent reading) or when the teacher is going out of class. Not very effective though, since we can still talk with the finger on our lips.

Variations: Cover your mouth
This kicks in when the finger isn’t enough to seal our lips. More effective since it’s more difficult to speak with a muffled voice.


Stand Up for Singapore

The most common punishment of all. Especially effective in keeping students from dozing off. One may stand at his/her seat, or at the side/back of classroom in order not to block the other alert students behind. At higher level of education, students are given the liberty to volunteer standing up if they cannot keep awake.

Variations: Stand on chair
This is done if the teacher decides to be meaner. However most of the time, the worry is not about the embarrassment, nor falling off the chair, but dirtying your own chair with your soiled shoes.

Variations: Stand on table
The leveled up version of standing on chair. Being at the top of the world isn’t necessarily a good experience.


Autocratic Ruler

If a cane can’t be used, the ruler is the next best choice. In normal cases, a 30 cm plastic ruler is used. More rulers can be stacked to add strength for a harder hit. There were times when the wooder metre rule (usually placed in front of black/whiteboard) was used for heavier punishments. The naughtier the class is, the more broken rulers can be found. Wonder who pays for them…

Don’t think that the ruler is only for primary school kids. In Secondary 4, my teacher was still using the ruler to hit our hands =p.


You’ve been eliminated

Hmm, I don’t remember being chased out of class. Apparently it can be quite embarrassing since you can be clearly seen by other people outside too. If the teacher is kind enough, you may continue to listen to the lesson through the window. Otherwise you might need to finish up the incomplete work on the floor before the period ends. It can be quite lonely if only one person is outside the classroom. But it gets really fun if majority of the class is chased outside too. The more the merrier.


Other petty treatment:

- Throwing worksheets/workbooks on the floor and we have to go and pick it up. (hope the floor is clean enough)

- Telling us to do squats. (treat it as PE)

- Pelting duster/chalk at us. (must aim properly otherwise innocent ones might be harmed)

- Slapping the face (a great deal of courage is needed)

- Hitting the head with a book (beware you might become stupid)

School Nostalgia III

Rather than the actual lessons, events that happened before and after that were the memories which gave me the most impression. I guess this applies for most of you too.

Silent Reading

I used to dread the silent reading time, for several reasons. We were made to sit crossed legged within our small cramped area in the crowded hall, and had to bend our backs to read our own books. It was neither a conducive environment nor a comfortable posture for reading. The worse thing was the morning assembly at the carpark, where we had to sit on the rocky surface and read. It was a torture for both my butt and legs. Of course many students couldn’t concentrate on reading and started to play with the stones. Attacking others by throwing stones was a common sight.

I was not a systematic person at that time, and did not have the habit to check my bags daily. As a result I often forgot to bring any storybooks. Textbooks weren’t allowed. In order to avoid being caught by those pesky prefects, I had to bend over to hide the textbook, and pretend I was really engrossed in reading some fascinating novel. If I was lucky I could borrow an extra book from my friends. Sometimes the prefects did not spot me, and in some unlucky times my name was jotted down. Well, it was nothing but a mere warning. Nobody kept track of how many times we were caught, so it was just warnings all the way.

Talking about prefects, negative impressions start to flood my mind. Some were so righteous that they didn’t understand how to close one eye. Some were so obnoxious that they were detested by even their own classmates. Some were notorious for throwing their weight around the students, but appear obedient and acquiescent in front of teachers. How early for them to acquire the technique of bootlicking! That was one of the reasons why I turned down the offer of becoming a prefect. The image of a prefect didn’t seem to be very pleasant among the student body. More importantly I wanted to stay under low profile.

To counter my absent-mindedness, I once decided to leave the same book in my bag all the way, for about a week or two. It wasn’t a good idea after all. Upon finishing the book, I started to stare blankly at the words, and flip the pages mindlessly. It was really a chore being forced to read the same story over and over again. Really unproductive as I was just waiting for time to pass.

Flag Raising/Lowering

Between these two kinds of assembly, I prefer flag raising. Firstly, it usually marked the end of the grueling silent reading when I could finally stand up and stretch my body (and voice). Secondly, this was usually done just before lessons start (for morning session). This means if we were to dilly dally, it would just eat into our lesson time anyway.

On the other hand, flag lowering (for afternoon session) felt like a troublesome affair for us students who couldn’t wait to go home. Movement from the classrooms to the parade square (or carpark) was often slow, and dismissal class by class felt like forever. Teachers often took this opportunity to make classes stay back for misbehavior. Grr...

At lower levels, everyone was so enthusiastic in singing the national anthem loud and proud. But as we progress up, it became more like listening to the music only. The pledge also became some aggregate of words which we could recite without much thinking.

School Bus

Most of the happening events in my primary school life took place in the school bus. It was the place where students gathered without law and order. The bus driver couldn’t supervise us and we became a mob of madmen. Battle of the sexes was a common sight, and scandals were easily created out of trivial actions, like sitting with the opposite sex. Hence the bus was some sort like a enclosed warzone.

I wonder how did the bus driver managed to drive the vehicle with such a din. Most of the time, he tolerated with the noise, but occasionally he lost his temper and shouted at us. However it was only a short-term ceasefire as we began to make a racket soon after.

There was one thing I didn’t really understand. The first seat of the bus (the one just behind the bus driver) seemed to be a very popular seat which everyone wanted to snatch for. I admit that I was drawn into the frenzy as well, as my friends were grabbing for that particular seat. Whenever we were dismissed, everyone would make a wild rush to the bus and quickly land their butts onto the First Seat. Those who failed would sit at the subsequent seats and wait for the person on the First Seat to alight, when he/she would quickly chope the First Seat before anyone did. Now that I think about it, such acts really does sound silly.

School Nostalgia II

Anyone remembers ‘Pets Coursebook’? It used to be a popular English textbook used by most schools. The most prominent characteristic about this set of textbooks was, every level would feature a certain animal (or pet). I think I still remember the order:

Primary 1 - Squirrel
Primary 2 - Mouse
Primary 3 - Tortoise
Primary 4 - Rabbit
Primary 5 - Bird
Primary 6 – Monkey

The featured animal would appear in almost every page and I enjoyed searching high and low for them within the drawings haha. And oh, the Pets worksheets smelled nice too. I used to love tearing worksheets from the pad.

Of course the Pets Coursebooks have already been phased out. Currently there is a new approach to teaching primary English called STELLAR. My sister does not have any English textbook, except for a pack of Reading & Comprehension worksheets. It is a good sign that MOE has decided to move away from rigid textbook curriculum and place more emphasis on reading general books. I would not say that the old system was ineffective but for my case, it did not generate enough interest in reading books. Perhaps it was partly because I was addicted to watching TV in my early school life.

The current Maths textbooks seem to be more colourful, and have more illustrations than ever. But my sis has more Maths-related books than any other subjects. There are textbooks, workbooks, homework exercises, etc, and not to forget part A and B. At least the picture-filled, colourful books are much more attractive than plain, numbers-only worksheets.

The Chinese curriculum has undergone the most changes throughout the years I suppose. During my time, textbooks contained chapters with passages which were used to introduce new characters and vocabulary. Since there was a limit to the number of new characters introduced, the passages became restricted too. Thus for Primary 1, there were hardly any passages to read since the sentences were so short. We spent more time practicing how to write characters, memorizing word by word.

But this time, there is no emphasis on memorizing or writing characters. The passages are more varied and relevant, with little restrictions on the vocabulary used. Reading and understanding seem to be the focus of the new system.

However one major aspect I dislike about this system is the overemphasis on hanyu pinyin. The first few (in fact quite a lot) chapters of the textbook cover the basics of hanyu pinyin. I was utterly amazed by a table of hanyu pinyin, containing all the possible character pronunciations in Chinese. Furthermore, every single character has a hanyu pinyin attached to it, even for titles and instructions. This may result in an over-reliance on hanyu pinyin when reading, where one looks at the pinyin before reading the character. And when there is no pinyin, one might stumble and become unable to read the word. Well, one advantage of being familiar with pinyin can be felt when typing Chinese on a computer haha.

Miscellaneous textbooks worth reminiscing are 好公民, Health Education, Social Studies, Song Book (is that counted as a textbook?)...

Bow Wow Wow.
Bow Wow Wow.
Where are you now?
Where are you now?
Naughty Little Puppy Dog,
Bow Wow Wow.

School Nostalgia I

Went back to my alma mater yesterday morning for my sister’s Primary 1 Orientation. There wasn’t a special day set aside for orientation when I was P1 back then, so the very 1st day I met my teachers and classmates was the 1st school day after New Year. I remembered many P1 students crying as they had to separate from their parents and assimilate with the big crowd of strangers in the hall. It was a chaotic situation and the cries and screams made the already noisy hall even noisier. I was afraid of the crowd then, but I think I didn’t cry, just feeling very tense and lost. Thus the pre-school opening orientation is good in a sense to prevent such disorder resulting from unfamiliarity and fear.

Though I only spent my last 2 years of primary education in the school, it still holds my greatest impression and best memories in my entire primary school life. This is where I met my ‘oldest-still-in-frequent-contact’ friend XH too. The school compound has changed a lot throughout the years, with more colourful painted walls, extended shelters, additional erected barriers, playground, nicer-looking canteen, etc. Most of the facilities and structures have been modified to become more user-friendly children-safe and aesthetically pleasing.

I was surprised to see some teachers still teaching in the school after 10 years. It was lightening to know that they have been promoted to HODs or senior teachers. However the same person remains as the discipline master. (XH do you remember who was he?)

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On my 1st day, I was brought to the classroom for administrative matters. Several pamphlets on healthcare, moral habits, tuckshop (super outdated name for canteen), and academic information were handed to us. “Keep it properly. If you lose it, you are stupid.” This was what the teacher-in-charge said to us. Wow, what an impactful statement. (that’s why I remembered it till today) I doubt any teachers will say such things nowadays haha.

While we were inside the tiny classroom, our parents were eagerly observing us through the windows from the corridor. That resulted most of my classmates, including myself, to become distracted and not focused on what the teacher mentioned. Somehow I just can’t lift my eyes off my mum, who was smiling at me all the while. At that age, I’m still very much dependent and afraid to be alone. I think the teacher also had problems in keeping the class attentive.

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Back to my sister’s classroom, it is huge and spacious, and even has room for parents to enter to join their kids. There is a shutter behind the classroom, which if opened, can combine the adjacent classroom too. Of course for such a big classroom, a microphone is present on the teacher’s desk, especially useful for soft-spoken teachers. The best thing is, there are computers lined up along the sides of the classroom! So convenient! I wonder if the P1 will be taught how to use a computer, though I feel it’s a little fast. I didn’t know how to use a computer until P4, but I was already playing video games on the TV since kindergarten. (educational games lah)

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The bell rang and it was time for my very first recess. My mum brought me to the canteen cum hall and helped me buy a bowl of porridge. My first recess meal was so memorable that I think I still remember how the porridge tasted like. There was no buddy system that time hence the parents had to guide their children in buying food. A really chaotic scene indeed.

The recess dreadfully ended and we had assemble, line up, then return to our classrooms. Once again, I reluctantly parted with my mum, who went off somewhere. This time there were no parents watching us from outside. Self-introduction proceeded but most of us could only murmur inaudibly. I wished the day would end quickly so I could go home.

My form teacher taught Chinese, which means we didn’t get to see him quite often. Since there were many more English lessons, my class had the false impression that our English teacher was our form. This was still alright, until P2 when my form teacher taught Malay. Didn’t even get to see him at all. I wonder if he even knew me (and the other Chinese students). The comments he wrote on the report book were only based on my results...

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Likewise, my sister has a Mother Tongue teacher as form. But there is a co-form teacher as well, who teaches English so that everyone can see her frequently. I think having two form teachers is not bad, at least there are more teachers who can hold responsibility for the students hehe.

Hopefully my sis will be more independent than me on her 1st day of school this Friday. The briefing has assured that the P1 will be properly looked after by teachers, buddies and prefects such that they will be able to go around without the help of parents. Looks like a lot have changed since 15 years ago eh?