Pidato Wisudawan Terbaik, Memukau tetapi Sekaligus “Menakutkan”

Sebuah artikel yang sangat menarik dari sebuah blog yang inspiratif http://rinaldimunir.wordpress.com/

 

“Tidak perlu menyalahkan sistem pendidikan yang sudah ada di negara ini..yang paling penting adalah bagaimana kita bisa melihat dan memilah yang terbaik, mengaplikasikannya..

memang sih ironi pendidikan saat ini terletak di selembar ijazah yang akan memvonis seseorang layak atau tidak memasuki jenjang berikutnya..
beberapa aspek penunjang akademis tidak tercantum di dalamnya..
tapi untung nya ada CV saat melamar kerja, setidaknya semakin banyak asepek-aspek non akademis yang pernah kita dapatkan selama hidup bisa dicantumkan disana..sehingga sebagai nilai jual kita selain dari selembar ijazah dengan nilai baik.

 

So, yang paling penting adalah memanfaatkan kesempatan untuk mengembangkan kemampua baik itu akademis maupun non akademis..

 

Semangat semua..”

 

Pidato Wisudawan Terbaik, Memukau tetapi Sekaligus “Menakutkan”

Setiap acara wisuda di kampus ITB selalu ada pidato sambutan dari salah seorang wisudawan. Biasanya yang terpilih memberikan pidato sambutan adalah pribadi yang unik, tetapi tidak selalu yang mempunyai IPK terbaik. Sepanjang yang saya pernah ikuti, isi pidatonya kebanyakan tidak terlalu istimewa, paling-paling isinya kenangan memorabilia selama menimba ilmu di kampus ITB, kehidupan mahasiswa selama kuliah, pesan-pesan, dan ucapan terima kasih kepada dosen dan teman-teman civitas academica.

Namun, yang saya tulis dalam posting-an ini bukan pidato wisudawan ITB, tetapi wisudawan di Amerika. Beberapa hari yang lalu saya menerima kiriman surel dari teman di milis dosen yang isinya cuplikan pidato Erica Goldson pada acara wisuda di Coxsackie-Athens High School, New York, tahun 2010. Erica Goldson adalah wisudawan yang lulus dengan nilai terbaik pada tahun itu. Isi pidatonya sangat menarik dan menurut saya sangat memukau. Namun, setelah saya membacanya, ada rasa keprihatinan yang muncul (nanti saya jelaskan).Cuplikan pidato ini dikutip dari tulisan di blog berikut:http://pohonbodhi.blogspot.com/2010/09/you-are-either-with-me-or-against-me.html

“Saya lulus. Seharusnya saya menganggapnya sebagai sebuah pengalaman yang menyenangkan, terutama karena saya adalah lulusan terbaik di kelas saya. Namun, setelah direnungkan, saya tidak bisa mengatakan kalau saya memang lebih pintar dibandingkan dengan teman-teman saya. Yang bisa saya katakan adalah kalau saya memang adalah yang terbaik dalam melakukan apa yang diperintahkan kepada saya dan juga dalam hal mengikuti sistem yang ada.

Di sini saya berdiri, dan seharusnya bangga bahwa saya telah selesai mengikuti periode indoktrinasi ini. Saya akan pergi musim dingin ini dan menuju tahap berikut yang diharapkan kepada saya, setelah mendapatkan sebuah dokumen kertas yang mensertifikasikan bahwa saya telah sanggup bekerja.

Tetapi saya adalah seorang manusia, seorang pemikir, pencari pengalaman hidup – bukan pekerja. Pekerja adalah orang yang terjebak dalam pengulangan, seorang budak di dalam sistem yang mengurung dirinya. Sekarang, saya telah berhasil menunjukkan kalau saya adalah budak terpintar. Saya melakukan apa yang disuruh kepadaku secara ekstrim baik. Di saat orang lain duduk melamun di kelas dan kemudian menjadi seniman yang hebat, saya duduk di dalam kelas rajin membuat catatan dan menjadi pengikut ujian yang terhebat.

Saat anak-anak lain masuk ke kelas lupa mengerjakan PR mereka karena asyik membaca hobi-hobi mereka, saya sendiri tidak pernah lalai mengerjakan PR saya. Saat yang lain menciptakan musik dan lirik, saya justru mengambil ekstra SKS, walaupun saya tidak membutuhkan itu. Jadi, saya penasaran, apakah benar saya ingin menjadi lulusan terbaik? Tentu, saya pantas menerimanya, saya telah bekerja keras untuk mendapatkannya, tetapi apa yang akan saya terima nantinya? Saat saya meninggalkan institusi pendidikan, akankah saya menjadi sukses atau saya akan tersesat dalam kehidupan saya?

Saya tidak tahu apa yang saya inginkan dalam hidup ini. Saya tidak memiliki hobi, karena semua mata pelajaran hanyalah sebuah pekerjaan untuk belajar, dan saya lulus dengan nilai terbaik di setiap subjek hanya demi untuk lulus, bukan untuk belajar. Dan jujur saja, sekarang saya mulai ketakutan…….”

Hmmm… setelah membaca pidato wisudawan terbaik tadi, apa kesan anda? Menurut saya pidatonya adalah sebuah ungkapan yang jujur, tetapi menurut saya kejujuran yang “menakutkan”. Menakutkan karena selama sekolah dia hanya mengejar nilai tinggi, tetapi dia meninggalkan kesempatan untuk mengembangkan dirinya dalam bidang lain, seperti hobi, ketrampilan, soft skill, dan lain-lain. Akibatnya, setelah dia lulus dia merasa gamang, merasa takut terjun ke dunia nyata, yaitu masyarakat. Bahkan yang lebih mengenaskan lagi, dia sendiri tidak tahu apa yang dia inginkan di dalam hidup ini.

Saya sering menemukan mahasiswa yang hanya berkutat dengan urusan kuliah semata. Obsesinya adalah memperoleh nilai tinggi untuk semua mata kuliah. Dia tidak tertarik ikut kegiatan kemahasiswaan, baik di himpunan maupun di Unit Kegiatan Mahasiswa. Baginya hanya kuliah, kuliah, dan kuliah. Memang betul dia sangat rajin, selalu mengerjakan PR dan tugas dengan gemilang. Memang akhirnya IPK-nya tinggi, lulus cum-laude pula. Tidak ada yang salah dengan obsesinya mengejar nilai tinggi, sebab semua mahasiswa seharusnya seperti itu, yaitu mengejar nilai terbaik untuk setiap kuliah. Namun, untuk hidup di dunia nyata seorang mahasiswa tidak bisa hanya berbekal nilai kuliah, namun dia juga memerlukan ketrampilan hidup semacam soft skill yang hanya didapatkan dari pengembangan diri dalam bidang non-akademis.

Nah, kalau mahasiswa hanya berat dalam hard skill dan tidak membekali dirinya dengan ketrampilan hidup, bagaimana nanti dia siap menghadapi kehidupan dunia nyata yang memerlukan ketrampilan berkomunikasi, berdiplomasi, hubungan antar personal, dan lain-lain. Menurut saya, ini pulalah yang menjadi kelemahan alumni ITB yang disatu sisi sangat percaya diri dengan keahliannya, namun lemah dalam hubungan antar personal. Itulah makanya saya sering menyemangati dan menyuruh mahasiswa saya ikut kegiatan di Himpunan mahasiswa dan di Unit-Unit Kegiatan, agar mereka tidak menjadi orang yang kaku, namun menjadi orang yang menyenangkan dan disukai oleh lingkungan tempatnya bekerja dan bertempat tinggal. Orang yang terbaik belum tentu menjadi orang tersukses, sukses dalam hidup itu hal yang lain lagi.

Menurut saya, apa yang dirasakan wisudawan terbaik Amerika itu juga merupakan gambaran sistem pendidikan dasar di negara kita. Anak didik hanya ditargetkan mencapai nilai tinggi dalam pelajaran, karena itu sistem kejar nilai tinggi selalu ditekankan oleh guru-guru dan sekolah. Jangan heran lembaga Bimbel tumbuh subur karena murid dan orangtua membutuhkannya agar anak-anak mereka menjadi juara dan terbaik di sekolahnya. Belajar hanya untuk mengejar nilai semata, sementara kreativitas dan soft skill yang penting untuk bekal kehidupan terabaikan. Sistem pendidikan seperti ini membuat anak didik tumbuh menjadi anak “penurut” ketimbang anak kreatif.

Baiklah, pada bagian akhir tulisan ini saya kutipkan teks asli (dalam Bahasa Inggris) Erica Goldson di atas agar kita memahami pidato lengkapnya. Teks asli pidatonya dapat ditemukan di dalam laman web ini: Valedictorian Speaks Out Against Schooling in Graduation Speech .

Valedictorian Speaks Out Against Schooling in Graduation Speech

by Erica Goldson

Here I stand

There is a story of a young, but earnest Zen student who approached his teacher, and asked the Master, “If I work very hard and diligently, how long will it take for me to find Zen? The Master thought about this, then replied, “Ten years.” The student then said, “But what if I work very, very hard and really apply myself to learn fast – How long then?” Replied the Master, “Well, twenty years.” “But, if I really, really work at it, how long then?” asked the student. “Thirty years,” replied the Master. “But, I do not understand,” said the disappointed student. “At each time that I say I will work harder, you say it will take me longer. Why do you say that?” Replied the Master, “When you have one eye on the goal, you only have one eye on the path.”

This is the dilemma I’ve faced within the American education system. We are so focused on a goal, whether it be passing a test, or graduating as first in the class. However, in this way, we do not really learn. We do whatever it takes to achieve our original objective.

Some of you may be thinking, “Well, if you pass a test, or become valedictorian, didn’t you learn something? Well, yes, you learned something, but not all that you could have. Perhaps, you only learned how to memorize names, places, and dates to later on forget in order to clear your mind for the next test. School is not all that it can be. Right now, it is a place for most people to determine that their goal is to get out as soon as possible.

I am now accomplishing that goal. I am graduating. I should look at this as a positive experience, especially being at the top of my class. However, in retrospect, I cannot say that I am any more intelligent than my peers. I can attest that I am only the best at doing what I am told and working the system. Yet, here I stand, and I am supposed to be proud that I have completed this period of indoctrination. I will leave in the fall to go on to the next phase expected of me, in order to receive a paper document that certifies that I am capable of work. But I contend that I am a human being, a thinker, an adventurer – not a worker. A worker is someone who is trapped within repetition – a slave of the system set up before him. But now, I have successfully shown that I was the best slave. I did what I was told to the extreme. While others sat in class and doodled to later become great artists, I sat in class to take notes and become a great test-taker. While others would come to class without their homework done because they were reading about an interest of theirs, I never missed an assignment. While others were creating music and writing lyrics, I decided to do extra credit, even though I never needed it. So, I wonder, why did I even want this position? Sure, I earned it, but what will come of it? When I leave educational institutionalism, will I be successful or forever lost? I have no clue about what I want to do with my life; I have no interests because I saw every subject of study as work, and I excelled at every subject just for the purpose of excelling, not learning. And quite frankly, now I’m scared.

John Taylor Gatto, a retired school teacher and activist critical of compulsory schooling, asserts, “We could encourage the best qualities of youthfulness – curiosity, adventure, resilience, the capacity for surprising insight simply by being more flexible about time, texts, and tests, by introducing kids into truly competent adults, and by giving each student what autonomy he or she needs in order to take a risk every now and then. But we don’t do that.” Between these cinderblock walls, we are all expected to be the same. We are trained to ace every standardized test, and those who deviate and see light through a different lens are worthless to the scheme of public education, and therefore viewed with contempt.

H. L. Mencken wrote in The American Mercury for April 1924 that the aim of public education is not “to fill the young of the species with knowledge and awaken their intelligence. … Nothing could be further from the truth. The aim … is simply to reduce as many individuals as possible to the same safe level, to breed and train a standardized citizenry, to put down dissent and originality. That is its aim in the United States.”

To illustrate this idea, doesn’t it perturb you to learn about the idea of “critical thinking?” Is there really such a thing as “uncritically thinking?” To think is to process information in order to form an opinion. But if we are not critical when processing this information, are we really thinking? Or are we mindlessly accepting other opinions as truth?

This was happening to me, and if it wasn’t for the rare occurrence of an avant-garde tenth grade English teacher, Donna Bryan, who allowed me to open my mind and ask questions before accepting textbook doctrine, I would have been doomed. I am now enlightened, but my mind still feels disabled. I must retrain myself and constantly remember how insane this ostensibly sane place really is.

And now here I am in a world guided by fear, a world suppressing the uniqueness that lies inside each of us, a world where we can either acquiesce to the inhuman nonsense of corporatism and materialism or insist on change. We are not enlivened by an educational system that clandestinely sets us up for jobs that could be automated, for work that need not be done, for enslavement without fervency for meaningful achievement. We have no choices in life when money is our motivational force. Our motivational force ought to be passion, but this is lost from the moment we step into a system that trains us, rather than inspires us.

We are more than robotic bookshelves, conditioned to blurt out facts we were taught in school. We are all very special, every human on this planet is so special, so aren’t we all deserving of something better, of using our minds for innovation, rather than memorization, for creativity, rather than futile activity, for rumination rather than stagnation? We are not here to get a degree, to then get a job, so we can consume industry-approved placation after placation. There is more, and more still.

The saddest part is that the majority of students don’t have the opportunity to reflect as I did. The majority of students are put through the same brainwashing techniques in order to create a complacent labor force working in the interests of large corporations and secretive government, and worst of all, they are completely unaware of it. I will never be able to turn back these 18 years. I can’t run away to another country with an education system meant to enlighten rather than condition. This part of my life is over, and I want to make sure that no other child will have his or her potential suppressed by powers meant to exploit and control. We are human beings. We are thinkers, dreamers, explorers, artists, writers, engineers. We are anything we want to be – but only if we have an educational system that supports us rather than holds us down. A tree can grow, but only if its roots are given a healthy foundation.

For those of you out there that must continue to sit in desks and yield to the authoritarian ideologies of instructors, do not be disheartened. You still have the opportunity to stand up, ask questions, be critical, and create your own perspective. Demand a setting that will provide you with intellectual capabilities that allow you to expand your mind instead of directing it. Demand that you be interested in class. Demand that the excuse, “You have to learn this for the test” is not good enough for you. Education is an excellent tool, if used properly, but focus more on learning rather than getting good grades.

For those of you that work within the system that I am condemning, I do not mean to insult; I intend to motivate. You have the power to change the incompetencies of this system. I know that you did not become a teacher or administrator to see your students bored. You cannot accept the authority of the governing bodies that tell you what to teach, how to teach it, and that you will be punished if you do not comply. Our potential is at stake.

For those of you that are now leaving this establishment, I say, do not forget what went on in these classrooms. Do not abandon those that come after you. We are the new future and we are not going to let tradition stand. We will break down the walls of corruption to let a garden of knowledge grow throughout America. Once educated properly, we will have the power to do anything, and best of all, we will only use that power for good, for we will be cultivated and wise. We will not accept anything at face value. We will ask questions, and we will demand truth.

So, here I stand. I am not standing here as valedictorian by myself. I was molded by my environment, by all of my peers who are sitting here watching me. I couldn’t have accomplished this without all of you. It was all of you who truly made me the person I am today. It was all of you who were my competition, yet my backbone. In that way, we are all valedictorians.

I am now supposed to say farewell to this institution, those who maintain it, and those who stand with me and behind me, but I hope this farewell is more of a “see you later” when we are all working together to rear a pedagogic movement. But first, let’s go get those pieces of paper that tell us that we’re smart enough to do so!

~~~~~~~~~~

Pidato Erica tersebut juga dimuat di blog America dan mendapat tanggapan luas oleh publik di sana. Silakan baca di sini:http://americaviaerica.blogspot.com/2010/07/coxsackie-athens-valedictorian-speech.html

Kalau ingin melihat video pidato Erica di Youtube, klik ini:

atau masuk pada pranala berikut: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9M4tdMsg3ts&feature=player_embedded#!

 

 

(source : http://rinaldimunir.wordpress.com/2013/04/07/pidato-wisudawan-terbaik-memukau-tetapi-sekaligus-menakutkan/ )

5 Wisdom

 

 

1. If you are right, then there is no need to get angry and if you are wrong then you don’t have any right to get angry.

[Jika Anda benar, maka Anda tidak perlu marah dan jika Anda salah, maka Anda tidak layak marah.]

2. Patience with family is love, patience with others is respect, patience with self is confidence.

[Sabar dengan keluarga, itu namanya cinta. Sabar dengan orang lain, itu namanya respek. Sabar dengan diri sendiri, itulah kepercayaan diri.]

3. Never think hard about past, It brings tears. Don’t think more about future, It brings fears. Live this moment with a smile, It brings cheers…

[Jangan berpikir terlalu keras mengenai masa lalu, hal itu membawa air mata. Jangan pula berpikir terlalu banyak mengenai masa depan, hal itu membawa ketakutan. Hiduplah saat ini dengan senyuman, hal itu akan membawa sukacita.]

4. Every test in our life makes us bitter or better. Every problem comes to make us or break us. Choice is ours, whether we become victim or victorious.

[Setiap cobaan dalam hidup kita, bisa membuat kita lebih terpuruk atau lebih baik. Setiap masalah datang untuk membuat kita lebih berprestasi, atau hancur sama sekali. Pilihan ada di tangan kita, untuk menjadi seorang pecundang atau pemenang]

5. Search a beautiful heart, not a beautiful face. Beautiful things are not always good, but good things are always beautiful.

[Temukan hati yang indah/tulus, bukan wajah yang rupawan. Hal-hal yang indah tidak selalu baik, namun hal-hal yang baik selalu indah]

Reading?! Yes, it can be FUN.

Imagine yourself facing this square thing right in front of you. It is not that thick; it is just a bundle of papers. Yes, it can be your textbook or story book. Hesitating you open the first page, initiating to read, but then the urge to read is evaporating. The thought of reading itself seems tiring and boring let alone facing a thick-encyclopedic book. Well, pretty sure many of us feel that way towards reading, the reluctance of reading.

However, since we live in the so called “The Information Age”, reading is compulsory. So how do we tackle this problem? How to ease the reluctance and laziness to read? How to develop your desire to read? Well here I give you one tip that works really well for me. Believe it or not I was one of those people who used to think that reading is a waste of time, yet now I am all about reading and can’t get enough of reading for one day.

Looking back at my childhood experience, I would laugh at myself seeing myself with books, the same way as I see myself becoming a writer. I was not the type of the kids who liked to read even the story book type. But I do love comics, I enjoy them very very much. Reading comics is my limit of reading. Then, one day, my brother brought this story book with this really weird nerd boy on the cover. Yes, it was one of the Harry Potter books. He borrowed it from one of his friends and recommended me to read one too. I was like, “Hello! Like you don’t know me.” Can you imagine how thick it was for me?

Despite my reluctance of reading, yet I did read the novel. The first start is always the hardest part. I was hesitant, turning the front and the back cover, and without realizing I had finished the whole book. With my surprise, I even enjoyed reading it. It took me to another world, the world where magic and wizards existed. It stimulated my crave for imagination, exploration and adventure and started wandering in the new world. I was absorbed into this new enjoyment. I like the sensation I had from reading, my imagination and being able to mind-wander/travel. Since then, I began to like reading and reading more and more books, especially novels.

Learning from the experience, I realized one of the ways to develop our interest in reading. It is the “fun”. Pick yourself a story book with a topic or a genre you like. Just a light reading for fun and pleasure. Do not stress yourself reading the “heavy” one for a start. Then, let your imagination wander as you explore your “new world” while reading. Imagine yourself being on the spaceship, exploring the new galaxy and meeting new creatures. Enjoy your own adventure. The more you practice this, the more you get used to yourself with reading. And perhaps at the end, reading might be your new hobby and it might not seem that tiring and boring anymore.

I know the saying “easy said than done”, but if you never really try it, how will you know? Do not limit yourself with assumption and perception that block you to be better, to a new adventure. Give it a try and a practice. Should you later fail at first attempt on trying your reading, giving the second try won’t hurt you. So are you ready to start your adventure?

Happy reading, guys.

HELLO ALGEBRA!! :)

Hello ALGEBRA..!!

What can you get from your parents?

There are so many possible answers for this question. some may answer “I can get many things, like monthly allowance, food, home, car, and any other facilities,” while others may answer, “Everything I want!!”

Okay, let’s move on to the next question…

What can you get from mathematics?

Hahaha….Can I guess?

The answers might vary from “headache”, “stress”, “boring”, and other negative answers.

However, believe it or not…. Math is an amazing subject in our school. Why???

It is because …..

MATH IS EVERYTHING IN OUR DAILY LIFE

Now, we will see how close our life with math, especially ALGEBRA..

So..HELLO ALGEBRA..!!

Do you like playing football?

Do you like playing ANGRY BIRDS?

If yes, please say thanks to ALGEBRA and say to Abu Abdullah Muhammad Ibn Musa al-khawarizmi.

WHO IS HE..?

He was the founder of algebra..

Although the term “algebra” is now in universal use, various other appellations were used by the Italian mathematicians during the Renaissance. Thus we find Paciolus calling it l’Arte Magiore; ditta dal vulgo la Regula de la Cosa over Alghebra e Almucabala. The name l’arte magiore, the greater art, is designed to distinguish it from l’arte minore, the lesser art, a term which he applied to the modern arithmetic. His second variant, la regula de la cosa, the rule of the thing or unknown quantity, appears to have been in common use in Italy, and the word cosa was preserved for several centuries in the forms coss or algebra, cossic or algebraic, cossist or algebraist. Other Italian writers termed it the Regula rei et census, the rule of the thing and the product, or the root and the square. The principle underlying this expression is probably to be found in the fact that it measured the limits of their attainments in algebra, for they were unable to solve equations of a higher degree than the quadratic or square.

(Melissa Snell: The History of Algebra, 1911 Encyclopedia)

So now, in our daily life where is the ALGEBRA?

Have u ever compared prices when you shop, rent something, save your money in bank deposit, or think how to hit all the pigs by only using less number of birds in our favorite game..?

If the answer is yes, that’s ALGEBRA..

ALGEBRA teaches us how to solve our problems with critical thinking and develop our problem solving skill. It helps us in our future.

Now for the less interesting stuff, when we finish school and start applying for jobs, our possible future employer may give us tests with some math problems. They want to know if we can use mathematical skills to solve the problems and they may include algebra – problems with variables. Most employers that pay well will not hire us unless we can solve algebra type problems to prove that we have logical and reasoning problem solving skills.

So, let’s be closer with ALGEBRA and it will give us more than a best score in MATH..

(picture source: David H.Bailey and Jonathan M. Borwein.Algebra Is Essential in a 21st Century Economy. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-h-bailey/algebra-is-essential-in-a_b_1724338.html )

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Greetings Fellow Friends!!

Maybe it is kinda late to say the New Year wishes, but no good deeds seem late, doesn’t it? For my first blog entry, I would love to share this beautiful positive writing by Paulo Coelho. For the information, I am always fond of him, his wise and motivational quotes, such a motivational-boost up. So if you feel like to have frequent inspiring quotes to brighten your days, do not hesitate to follow his page. :o)

The following is one of his “30 seconds reading” taken from his blog. I find this blog inspiring and moving in many ways. Besides, it is a very great piece to boost our spirit and motivation to welcome the new year. Last but not least, I hope this one will be useful for you.

Regards,

Wieke & i-Plus Learning Centre

 

2013: the first year of the rest of my life

by Paulo Coelho on December 31, 2012

 

No one can go back, but everyone can go forward.

And tomorrow, when the sun rises, all you have to say to yourselves is:
I am going to think of this day as the first day of my life.

I will look on the members of my family with surprise and amazement, glad to discover that they are by my side, silently sharing that little understood thing called love.

I will pass a beggar, who will ask me for money.
I might give it to him or I might walk past thinking that he will only spend it on drink, and as I do, I will hear his insults and know that it is simply his way of communicating with me.

I will pass someone trying to destroy a bridge.
I might try to stop him or I might realise that he is doing it because he has no one waiting for him on the other side and this is his way of trying to fend off his own loneliness.

Instead of noting down things I’m unlikely to forget, I will write a poem.
Even if I have never written one before and even if I never do so again, I will at least know that I once had the courage to put my feelings into words.

I will keep smiling, because it pleases me to know that people think I am mad.
My smile is my way of saying: ‘You can destroy my body, but not my soul.’

If it’s sunny tomorrow, I want to look at the sun properly for the first time.
If it’s cloudy, I want to watch to see in which direction the clouds are going.
I always think that I don’t have time or don’t pay enough attention. Tomorrow, though, I will concentrate on the direction taken by the clouds or on the sun’s rays and the shadows they create.

Above my head exists a sky about which all humanity, over thousands of years, has woven a series of reasonable explanations.

Well, I will forget everything I learned about the stars and they will be transformed once more into angels or children or whatever I feel like believing at that moment.

For the first time, I will smile without feeling guilty, because joy is not a sin.
For the first time, I will avoid anything that makes me suffer, because suffering is not a virtue.

I am living this day as if it were my first and, while it lasts, I will discover things that I did not even know were there.

Even though I have walked past the same places countless times before and said ‘Good morning’ to the same people, tomorrow’s ‘Good morning’ will be different.
It will not be a mere polite formula, but a form of blessing.

And if I’m alone when the night falls, I will go over to window, look up at the sky and feel certain that loneliness is a lie, because the Universe is there to keep me company.

And then I will have lived each hour of my day as if it were a constant surprise to me, to this ‘I’, who was not created by my father or my mother or by school, but by everything I have experienced up until now, and which I suddenly forgot in order to discover it all anew.

And even if this is to be my last day on Earth, I will enjoy it to the full, because I will live it with the innocence of a child, as if I were doing everything for the first time.
 
taken from MANUSCRIPT FOUND IN ACCRA

(source: http://paulocoelhoblog.com/2012/12/31/2013-the-first-year-of-the-rest-of-my-life/)

 

 

 

 

 

i-Plus Learning Centre

We are here to help you solve the problems.
i-Plus Learning Centre specific learning in MATH – SCIENCE and ENGLISH for primary and secondary
With FUN EXPERIENCED tutors, plus HOMEY ATMOSPHERE, we are ready to provide you THE BEST LEARNING EXPERIENCE.

For more information, contact our friendly staff at 021 – 36110069 or visit us at
Jl. Alamanda Sektor 1.2 Blok B No. 10, Griya Loka – BSD City

i-Plus Learning Centre

it’s the right one, it’s the bright one, it’s i-Plus

math in daily life

When we buy a food, follow a recipe, or decorate your home and play  a game, we’re using math principles. People have been using these same principles for many thousands of years, across countries and continents. Whether when we are going to another country, we’re using math to get things done well.

How can math be so universal? Perhaps, human beings didn’t invent math concepts; we discovered them. Also, the language of math is numbers, not English or Mandarin or Bahasa. If we are well versed in this language of numbers, it can help us make important decisions and perform everyday tasks. Math can help us to shop wisely, buy the right insurance, remodel a home within a budget (mathematical advance), understand population growth (using statistics), or even bet on the horse with the best chance of winning the race (using probability).

so, everytime we breath, everytime we meet math..

even when we want to count how many minutes this class will end, we’re using math..

“it’s the right…

“it’s the right one, it’s the bright one, it’s i-Plus”