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[Activity] Lunchtime Reading and Annotation

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[Activity] Lunchtime Reading and Annotation

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Slides for am and pm segments of workshop

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Slides for am and pm segments of workshop

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A teacher who changed my life by Bill Gates

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A teacher who changed my life

Remembering Blanche Caffiere, who took me under her wing when I was 9.

Three very strong women-my mother, my maternal grandmother, and Melinda-deserve big credit (or blame, I suppose) for helping me become the man I am today. But Blanche Caffiere, a very kindly librarian and teacher I've never written about publicly before, also had a huge influence on me.

Mrs. Caffiere (pronounced "kaff-ee-AIR") died in 2006, shortly after reaching her 100 th birthday. Before she passed, I had an opportunity to thank her for the important role she played in my life, stoking my passion for learning at a time when I easily could have gotten turned off by school.

When I first met Mrs. Caffiere, she was the elegant and engaging school librarian at Seattle's View Ridge Elementary, and I was a timid fourth grader. I was desperately trying to go unnoticed, because I had some big deficits, like atrocious handwriting (experts now call it dysgraphia) and a comically messy desk. And I was trying to hide the fact that I liked to read-something that was cool for girls but not for boys.

Mrs. Caffiere took me under her wing and helped make it okay for me to be a messy, nerdy boy who was reading lots of books.

She pulled me out of my shell by sharing her love of books. She started by asking questions like, "What do you like to read?" and "What are you interested in?" Then she found me a lot of books-ones that were more complex and challenging than the Tom Swift Jr. science fiction books I was reading at the time. For example, she gave me great biographies she had read. Once I'd read them, she would make the time to discuss them with me. "Did you like it?" she would ask. "Why? What did you learn?" She genuinely listened to what I had to say. Through those book conversations in the library and in the classroom we became good friends.

Teachers generally don't want to burden their students with extra reading beyond the homework they've assigned. But I learned from Mrs. Caffiere that my teachers had so much more knowledge to share. I just needed to ask. Up through high school and beyond, I would often ask my teachers about the books they liked, read those books when I had some free time, and offer my thoughts.

Looking back on it now, there's no question that my time with Mrs. Caffiere helped spark my interest in libraries (Melinda's and my first large-scale effort in philanthropy) and my focus on helping every child in America get the benefit of great teachers. I often trace the beginning of our foundation to an article about children in poor countries dying from diseases eliminated long ago in the U.S. But I should give some credit as well to the dedicated librarian and teacher who helped me find my strengths when I was nine years old. It's remarkable how much power one good person can have in shaping the life of a child.

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Bill writes about his fourth grade teacher, Blanche Caffiere, who he credits with instilling his love of reading and learning.

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Shiok, right? More Singlish in Oxford English Dictionary by Lee Min Kok

PDF available on SLS MOE Library

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Shiok, right? More Singlish in Oxford English Dictionary

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Wah! Singaporeans can now find more of their favourite Singlish terms in the hallowed Oxford English Dictionary (OED). Read more at straitstimes.com.

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After clicking on this link, you may need to click on "open in new window" if prompted.
Annabelle Kwok: Sharing AI tech to make world an inclusive place

PDF available on SLS MOE Library

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At 25, Ms Annabelle Kwok has already made a name for herself.

Two years ago, she made waves when she co-founded SmartCow, an artificial intelligence (AI) company that came up with an electronic board that could run various AI software.

Last year, Ms Kwok left SmartCow and started NeuralBay, a company that focuses on detection and recognition software related to humans, objects and text, and offers AI-driven solutions for multinational corporations. Her clients include an aviation corporation, an automation industry company and chocolate company Ferrero.

Ms Kwok traces her interest in tech to a box of Lego bricks with electric cables called Lego Mindstorms, which her parents, who work in banking, bought for her when she was in primary school. With it, she built her own robots.

Ms Kwok, the younger of two children, picked up computer science in Temasek Junior College's integrated programme. To avoid getting caught playing games on her laptop during lessons, she learnt how to operate multiple systems concurrently within her computer.

"That's where I trace my hacking roots," she said with a laugh.

The Nanyang Technological University (NTU) mathematics graduate has many interests: She is a circus performer, short film-maker, hardware hacker, mixed martial arts fighter, licensed windsurfer, and once sang in a band. But what Ms Kwok wants to do in particular is to use her expertise to do good.

When she was 12, the former girl guide went on a relief mission to Phuket, which was badly hit by the 2004 tsunami. More than 200,000 people were killed in 14 countries.

"When you smell rotting corpses and see ruins, you realise how much of a cushy life you have. It was a big shock," she said.

At 19, she went to Togo in West Africa to volunteer with NTU. She found that many locals did not have easy access to mosquito sprays despite malaria being endemic there. "Why are mosquito repellents not available to people who need it the most? We push the frontiers of science, we do so many things to innovate, but it is not always inclusive."

This motivated her to do good.

"That's why I'm running my own company. I have the independence to share useful technology with smaller businesses that may not have resources to build it from scratch," said Ms Kwok, who recently partnered local charity Daughters Of Tomorrow to hire low-income women to identify and label objects in images for her firm.

"Technology is a bridge. We can use it to make the world a more inclusive place," she said.

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Annabelle Kwok: Sharing AI tech to make world an inclusive place

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At 25, Ms Annabelle Kwok has already made a name for herself. Two years ago, she made waves when she co-founded SmartCow, an artificial intelligence (AI) company that came up with an electronic board that could run various AI software.

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Read the article assigned to your group and respond individually with a comment (please title you comment with your name and your text):

▪What connections can we draw between the non-fiction texts and the book? (Refer to the respective session plans to read more about the thematic focus.)

▪What do the non-fiction texts offer that the book does not?

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The module guide, toolkit and session resources can be found here.

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Razif-Session 4 (A tr who changed my life)

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Razif-Session 4 (A tr who changed my life)

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connections:
- that things are not always black and white (one's idea of villainy) - here, Bill G's teacher  will never be mistaken for a villain
- fiction is not always/necessarily 'untrue.'
- & sometimes, truth is stranger than fiction haha

offer:
- a familiar personality (Bill Gates)
- actual photographs of the teacher (Ms Blanche!)
- an opportunity to explore more about the 'story.'
- the impact of such persons on the world can be felt/seen/experienced by the reader
-  shared interests (reading) & everyday experiences of a 9/10-year-old extends across geographical/cultural boundaries

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Zarinah - Session 4 ( A Teacher Who Changed my Life)

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Zarinah - Session 4 ( A Teacher Who Changed my Life)

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Connections
- relating to real-life event (comparison between the two teachers in the story)
- the cause and effect (a student having a hard time, a librarian/teacher coming to the rescue but in different ways)

Offer
- factual info/ account of events (real life event versus the fictional story which have some events that occur in reality)
- offers accurate images to readers (the power a teacher has over the students)
- usage of photographs/artifacts (picture used in the text versus that in the book)

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A Teacher Who Changed My Life - Farhana Session 4

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A Teacher Who Changed My Life - Farhana Session 4

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Connections:
- both texts include characters who are teachers
- teacher descriptors are similar suggesting that both were passionate teachers ):
1) Ms Caffiere (real life example) was a kindly, an important figure in Bill Gate's childhood who had instilled good after-reading habits in him such that he was hungry for knowledge;
2) Mrs Granger (fictional) was described as one who had a perfect attendance record (wouldn't want to miss a day of teaching, would she?), highly disciplined (from her attire and routines), grading tests frequently (language drills), taught children to be self-reliant and consult the dictionary and learn from it (which is a good habit).
- both teachers transformed their students' lives through challenging them (Ms Caffiere discussed books with Bill Gates while Mrs Granger's actions of not giving in subsequently pushed Nick to go all out to prove that "frindle" can be an acceptable word) and be aware of the terms that he was learning (e.g. ain't, consumers)

Non-fiction texts
- offer real life stories that could not be made up; something that is true and factual
- give hopes to those who want to compare real life events to their personal experiences and reflect on them (Bill Gates was able to succeed because his teacher challenged him; possible lesson learnt - not all challenges are meant to oppose one's desire. e.g. If a teacher gives you a lot of homework, it doesn't mean that she/he wants to burden you and make your life difficult. Your teacher wants you to work hard and imprint what you have learnt in your head and you would grow to continue to work hard out of habit.)
- allow students to see from the perspective of a student who is now successful
- allow students to realise that not all teachers are bad (or the villains in their personal lives); teachers have a job and certain things must happen for them to help their students grow and thrive which could help them unpack Mrs Granger's character in Frindle

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▪What connections can we draw between the non-fiction texts and the book?
There was a teacher figure in both texts who played a significant role in shaping a student's life.

▪What do the non-fiction texts offer that the book does not?
The non-fiction text offered insights into the experience of a real individual whose life was greatly impacted by a teacher-figure.
The use of authentic texts also helps the students draw connections to the real world.
It also offered text written in another text type: Recount vs Narrative, which allowed students to see the text and language features used in the different text types, especially in the narrating of events.

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▪connections:
- Both Annabelle and Nick are enterprising by nature. They see a worldly problem and find a practical solution. (Annabelle's suggestion to make medication more inclusive for the less well to do countries. Nick's rally to coerce an improvement to the canteen food quality.

▪What do the non-fiction texts offer that the book does not:
- While Nick do create changes in his community, I find that Annabelle's changes are more beneficial and practical, as well as it extends beyond her immediate community.

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Like Annabelle, Nick could be seen as an innovator at a young age. Nick-Frindle; Annabelle-an electronic board that could run various AI software.

Inquisitive minds, visionaries, and risk-takers; Nick(It was a plan, a whole plan, just begging for Nick to put it into action. And "Action" was Nick’s middle name, pg 37)

Annabelle: "That's why I'm running my own company. I have the independence to share useful technology with smaller businesses that may not have resources to build it from scratch,"

▪What do the non-fiction texts offer that the book does not?

Practicality and how it would benefit others (an aviation corporation, an automation industry company and chocolate company Ferrero.

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Connection - How words used colloquially can find its way into an official dictionary - across different countries and cultures. The idea that frindle could have been an official word one day was not preposterous.

Offer - Real life examples of how language evolves. What is termed as slang one day- if used widely enough may become an official word. Relatability; frindle is set in the US, in an earlier period. This non-fiction text in our local setting may prove to be more relatable to the children.

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Connections:
- Both texts are about teachers who inspire, even though Mrs Granger was portrayed like a foe to Nick at times and ( a foe can turn out to be a friend in the end)

-  Both illustrate the important role of teachers – Nick and Bill Gates have grown significantly due to the influence of their teachers

-  The book may contain characters that the author had come across and he created them based on an actual events or real people

- They may contain settings, characters and a plot

Offers:

-  Students are presented with real life pictures and people whom they can relate to and they are able to research more on the details if they like

-   Non-fiction texts focus on what is real so students are able to connect themselves to the world

-  The information presented could be verified as it is accurate and factual

- The authenticity of it makes it more convincing for readers, thus motivating them

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The first half of the workshop has been recorded and will be made available for a limited time. You may decide to access this if you missed the first half due to official duties or wish to revisit the learning activities.

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