LET THE CHILD OFF, AND DAMN HIM

WHEN I share with friends that we believe in caning our children, we are often met with disbelief and sometimes horror. Some would even suggest that we are barbarians.

Once, our six year old persisted in lying despite numerous efforts to explain to her the importance of telling the truth. She was caught red-handed this time and we decided to cane her.

Her grandmother became her greatest advocate; I guess she did not wish for us to inflict pain on her grandchild. But had we given in to grandma's pleas, our daughter would have learnt that she can escape the consequences of her actions.

Worse, she would have learnt that as long as an action can be rationalised away, she need not be caned.

We have a standard operating procedure for the caning session. First, the child is asked to go to the toilet to relieve herself. Then, she is required to bring the chair to us — this is the chair she bends over to present her backside for caning.

Next, she chooses the cane (normally it's the simple one). Notice that we have built up the tension for the session, so much that a light touch of the cane would bring on the maximum impact.

Of course, sometimes when the crime is very serious, we will not spare the rod and we give three or more hard thwacks on the backside that will leave red marks for a few hours, even days.

Does it work? Yes, as the fear of punishment or the memory of the caning session has made our children toe the line. Our friends are impressed that our six children are so obedient that our orders (especially their father's) are obeyed.

In our family, the father is the highest authority. Unlike the stern father figure that most of us have grown up with, my husband plays and laughs with the children. Yet they know that if they cross the line, they will get it from him.

Some fathers are afraid of appearing authoritative or aloof to their children. They try to be a "good buddy" or a good-time Joe to their children at all times.

By making life exclusively a game, they show not only that life is not serious but that authority is frivolous. Believing that he is doing good for his children, such a father instead creates a vacuum of authority in their mind.

Many teenagers, too, rebel against the discipline of the home. French author Henri Delassus warned against this phenomena in the early 20th century. He argued that a great mistake has been to ignore the traditional emphasis on the role of authority a husband and father should exercise.

I am not suggesting that the father should be an autocrat, where his home is his castle, his word is law and his wife and children tip-toe around his wishes. But by being authoritative, the father provides the boundaries for the child to grow up in a secure environment. The child knows that he can be free to grow and explore as long as he stays within the limits.

And if the child should cross the line, punishment must be immediate and painful. Too often, parents are afraid to allow their children to feel pain and deprivation. Instead, they explain away the children's wrongdoing, saying that he or she is still young, still growing.

The first concept my baby learns is the word: "No". As he crawls around the house, we say "no" if he touches the plug or other out-of-bounds items. If he insists, we hit him lightly on the hand and he soon learns that certain things cannot be done.

Of course, sometimes he cries and throws a tantrum, and we are tempted to give in. If we do so continuously, then he will grow up a spoilt brat. But if we ride out the crying storm, we teach him that blackmailing us is an ineffective way to get our attention.

Disciplining a child cannot be outsourced to the school. If a child is well brought up at home, he will learn to function well in school and there is no need for the school to discipline the child.

When a child does misbehave in class, the parent must support the school in applying punishment in accordance with its rules.

The greatest disservice any parent can do is to override the schools' authority — if the child gets away scot-free, he grows up leaning that he can break the rules of society.

"There is nothing to fear as my papa will bail me out," he thinks. That is, indeed, a fearful thought.

This article first appeared in TODAY on 30.11.2006

Reflection at Hong Kong Day 3

Today, I realised why so mnay studnets in Singapore found it difficult to understand physical geography and especially map reading. This is because Singapore's relief is flat with a small hill of about 100m at Bukit Timah.

Here in Hong Kong, it is surrounded by hills. That is what Kowloon means. Nine Dragrons refering to the nine hills arounding Hong Kong Island. I managed to take sometime off to see the PEAK. A tourist attraction where I can see the whole of Hong Kong but the view was not clear. Could be due to the haze or the mist. I also saw alot of ridges and vellys and inter-locking spur.

When I attended the conference dinner, I met a very progressive educator all the way from ..... Singapore. She was the main driver for the homeroom system and explianed to me why it was successful in her school.

In the mornig, I could not sleep and wrote an article about caning. Glad that it was published and I have posted it.(To my children you know what to do with the black file right? Bel I am refereing to you)


I brought three pairs of boots one for myself and two for my daughters. I must thanked them for helping to transfer money into my account so that I can survive in Hong Kong. After tomorrow conference ends, I will go to Shenzhen to look see look see.

Of course you can expect me to use what I have seen in Social Studies.



Attending this conference has allowed me to see how different countries trained teachers, how education has changed over time. A keynote addressed that impressed me was given by Jane Gilbert from New Zealand. She gave reasons why ITC is not working in many school all over the world. This is because knowledge is still seen as a noun something to rememeber, use it in the exam and then throw it away. She proposed that we see it as a verb . Think about that !!! What does it means? Powerful ? Right?

I will not have internet access until I come back to Singapore . So have a great day

Reflection at Hong Kong Day 2

It was an enriching experience meeting so many people in Hong Kong.
I did not know that Mayflower have such a good reputation that people here also said that it is a good school.

I presented my paper. Got many ideas on how I should go on imporving the way I am teaching in class and also how to imporve my research method. To do so I need about fifty of my students from Mayflower and Serangoon Sec to complete a survey form. If you all are interested please tell me and I will start on this project. I will email the survey form to you all.

Remember I taught you all about the ridge? Well I am living high up near a ridge which means I am surrounded by mountain.

After the conference, I went exploring and ended up in Hong kong Island. But the day ended so fast that by 6 p.m. it looked like ten p.m.in Singapore. It was pitch dark.

Also in this institute, the students are protesting about something. They have banner all over the campus protesting about an issue. When I can upload the picture you will be able to understand the issue.

My Cantonese suck big time.

Yesterday, at 9.30 a dragged myself wearly to a fast food resturant. Wah so much food for $8. I could not finish. There was bacon, two big piece of chicken, two pieces of beef and plenty of vegetable and fries.

I miss my family very much and am tempted to come home early but I will not.

Reflection At Hong Kong DAY 1

O.k. I am breaking with tradition. Normally I do not blog. I just upload my articles. But this is an exception. I am trying to blog and see the effect.

Yesterday woke up at 4 a.m. to catch a flight at 7 to Hong Kong. Slept most of the time. But Hey I managed to look at clouds from both side now.

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifyvhrfp kw&feature=PlayList&p=6E647A5F21AAC947&index=10)

Really . Saw from the top after being a Geography teacher for so long. All the convectional cells, Cumulus Clouds a field of Cumulonimbus Clouds anf of course Cirrus Clouds


Touched down at 10.30 a.m. and took me 2 whole hours and $30 (Sing) by two MRT and bus to get to the Hong Kong Institude of Education. It is sited in a mountain range surrounded by beautiful mountain. Unfortunately I could not down load my pic as i do not have the programme. And yes, there are spur, steep sided slope etc for those who still remember all the map reading stuff i have taught you.

So funny. My roommate took the same plane and went through the same journey like me and we only met in the room. She is a China born researcher at CRPP.

Explored Hong Kong by myself. Shopped at Girl Street. Went mad. Did not shopped for soooooo long what with making babies, teaching O level to students who are more interested in ..... ( i will not say much. Enough)

Now I have very little money left . (Sigh)

Tried to do last minutes slides so that I do not make a fool of myself today. My session is at 2.p.m. Do not even know where it is.

I am so afraid I will make a fool of myself. What if international audience asked me so many questions and I do not have the answers? I cannot remember a single thing I want to share with them. I have forgotten all my observations. Sigh.

I am so thankfull to all of you who have taken the time to give me feedback. It will help.

Here to Life. Life is Good. I am having fun. To night will try to go to the Peak. Tomorrow after the conference may be go to Macau to try Lady Luck. ha ha. but no I only have enough to take the expensive transport back.

Listening to U-tube. Feel like I am in Singapore as I always listen to U-tube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsqHeDtkP90&feature=PlayList&p=6E647A5F21AAC947&index=5&playnext=6

To my family:
Anicius--- hugs and kiss
Ariel--- So happy you are studying now
Atticus-- If you do not learn to read, you will not be able to understand this. Ha Ha
Amabel--- Brought sport shoes for you and some very nice T shirt. Four long sleves one. But your sister will sure to bag, borrow or steal
Aubrey --- Guest what ? You will have to bag, borrow or steal
Angus--- You cannot bag borrow or steal so I brought pents which I believe you sisters will bag, borrow or steal.

To my Ess--- Never give wife last minute box that cost $3.95 at 7-11. She do not know how to lie.

O.K. All It is 6.26 a.m. Going for breakfest, calm myself and must not feel small with all these researcher, PHD, BIG Shot speakers and Professors.

As the school have taught me. Be Mighty in Thoughts and Deeds, no matter how small i feel.

Teach Less, Lead More.

Paper presented for tne APERA conference

ABSTRACT:

This workshop focuses on the quality of thinking that students can develop in class. Socratic Dialogue is used to develop thinking skills. Students are trained to think clearly by questioning assumptions, asking insightful questions and exploring alternatives. In the Socratic Dialogue, entire lessons are devoted to fielding questions from the students instead of teaching from the textbook. A safe and inclusive environment is created which encouraged students to query and debate.
Keywords: Quality of thinking, Socratic Dialogue, Thinking Skills, assumptions, explore alteranative

INTRODUCTION

I experimented with my classroom teaching method by using the Socratic Dialogue with a class of social studies students. This experiment was inspired by my participation in Singapore’s one and only Philosophy Café, started by a professional philosopher, Mr. Lau Kwong Fook.

In addition, I was not satisfied with just content teaching. It was difficult to engage my students if I used the traditional talk and chalk method. Moreover, quality thinking seldom took place. Thus, I saw the need to change my teaching style so as to engage students in critical thinking.

Like many teachers, I used to focus on covering the syllabus and content at the expense of engaging students in thinking through the issue. For example, my students were able to explain factors involved in an issue without demonstrating their ability to provide comparative answers, where they can judge the relative importance of different factors in relation to an issue discussed.

I have come across two other educators using a similar method. The first was a math teacher, Rick Garlikov, who used this method -- to teach his third grade students binary arithmetic by asking them questions. He discovered that students did not get bored or lose concentration if they were actively participating in a classroom activity. However, he cautioned that this method takes a lot of energy and concentration, and that a teacher cannot do this for every topic or all day long. It demands a lot of preparation and thought.

The second was Assistant Professor Xiang Cheng from the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department of National University of Singapore (NUS). He used this method to teach control system design for guided weapons to graduate students pursuing a master degree. Like Garlikov, he discovered that the Socratic Method was one of the most effective ways to get students involved, as they had to figure out the answers by themselves. However, he warned that because of the complexity of the concepts involved, as well as time constraints, he could not implement the purest form of the Socratic Dialogue -- where only questions were used to arouse curiosity and to guide the students logically to figure out a complex subject through their own thinking. Thus he modified the method: he gave students hints when they got stuck.

My Socratic Dialogue, however, differs from both their approaches in one significant respect. Instead of me asking my students questions, I demand that my students ask the questions, either addressed to me or to each other.

DEFINITION OF PEDAGOGICAL APPROACH

Three outcomes can take place each time a teacher and students engage in class.

First, teaching occurs when most responsibility and power are laid on the shoulders of the teacher. He or she decides on the content, the pace and the quality of teaching that will take place in the classroom. Students are passive receivers of knowledge waiting patiently for the right moment (usually during the exam) to release back to the teachers what they had received.

Second, learning takes place when the focus is on the students. Teachers act as facilitators ensuring that students are engaged in their assigned activities. Normally, group interaction and exchange of information among students are paramount. Here the responsibility of learning rests on both the teachers and students. Teachers provide the worksheets, and students use them as a guide to their learning.

Third, education happens when teachers and students learn from each other. I experienced this process through the use of the Socratic Dialogue in my classroom teaching. Here power and responsibility lies in the students as they decide on the pace of the lesson and the quality of the lessons conducted. Students are given the right to lead the lesson to where they want to go depending on the quality of questions that they ask. Often they will ask me questions that I cannot answer, and that will encourage me to seek the answers and in the process I am educated.

INQUIRY-BASED EDUCATION AS THE PEDAGOGICAL PRINCIPLE

The pedagogical principle under lying the Scoratic Dialogue is based on the inquiry-based education as envisioned by John Dewey (1859 – 1952), an American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer.

Fundamentally, this approach is learner-centered. However, defining inquiry-based education is a challenge as it ranges from constructivism, problem-solving approaches to project-based learning. It is a multi-prong educational approach, with as many interpretations of Dewey’s version as there are teachers.

Underlying all these approaches is the learner, what he knows and what he wants to learn, and not on what can be taught. Dewey acknowledged that a learner has the instinctive desire to find things out and that he wants to communicate this discovery through conversation. He also recognised that schooling is not just about the individual but the coming together of the individual’s interest with those of society. The Socratic Dialogie is one approach where teachers can weave a child’s interest with those of society.

For learners, the Socratic Dialogue ends the listen-to-learn paradigm of the classroom and offers them an authentic opportunity to engage in learning though questioning. Through this, they make discoveries for themselves in their search for new understanding, and power is given to them as they decide on their pace of learning.

For the teachers, it ends their paradigm of talking-to-teach and recasts them in the role of a guide and mentor engaged in the same quest as the learners in class.

THE SOCRATIC DIALOGUE IN THE CLASSROOM

In the Socratic Dialogue, the stress is placed on broadening the intellect of the learner and the development of their critical thinking skills, rather than simply on the memorization of lessons. It gives the students the chance to discover thoughts, ideas and concepts for themselves. With this method, they arrive at the understanding of the concepts by themselves and the responsibility for learning lies with them.

The teacher is the catalyst directing students’ discussion rather than the bearer of all information. Open-ended questions are asked instead of closed-ended questions. The teacher talks less and allows the students to lead the discussion. A successful lesson is one where the discussion is student-dominated.

One of the desirable outcomes of this method is to observe the student see the light at the end of the tunnel. Often the student’s eyes light up when he or she figures out the solution to a problem. It is a way to refresh the student’s curiosity about the world, encourage him to be open and to take more risks and responsibilities in class.

The Socratic Dialogue is a simple process to implement. Students are forced to ask questions (failing which silence reigns) about a topic which they have been asked to read or research on. Based on the questions asked, the students will determine the quality of the lessons produced.

The difficult part is establishing this process of asking questions. Most students do not like to ask questions -- for a variety of reasons. They might not have a clue about the type of questions that need to be asked. They might feel shy and worried that their friends would laugh at them or worry that the teachers might scold them if they ask the wrong questions. The greatest obstacle is that they are seldom given an opportunity to question the teacher, as they have been conditioned in the classroom to accept everything that a teacher says.

To establish this culture of asking questions, I start the first lesson by playing a game of 20 questions. I will invite them to ask me 20 questions about anything under the sun. The questions can range from the silly ones like asking for my name, weight or height to serious ones like why are we in school. I promise the students that I will answer any question that they ask me, and I usually uphold my promise. I want to create a safe environment where students can feel secure asking questions. Once this rapport is established, it becomes easy to conduct the Socratic Dialogue with the students. Their curiosity aroused and satisfied, they will want to continue to using this method to study social studies.

IMPLEMENTATION IN THE CLASSROOM

There are two stages in conducting the Socratic Dialogue. In the first stage, students are asked to read the textbook chapter which will be discussed in the following lessons. I make the critical assumption that students will read the chapter assigned to them. Only if they do so will this method be successful.

In the second stage, where the Socratic Dialogue takes place, I will produce a stimulus for the students to consider. Usually this can be a cartoon, a text from a newspaper cutting, a picture, an extract from a website or any other relevant material related to the topic that they have read about. They are then invited to ask questions using the sources provided as a springboard. My role as teacher is to act as a resource person to answer some of the questions asked while asking some questions to encourage students to probe further. Sometimes I will redirect the questions to other students.

Although this method looks simple to implement, it demands a great deal from both the students and the teacher.

This method demands that students reflect and think independently and critically. In the process, it promotes self-confidence in one’s own thinking. At the same time, it promotes socialization skills as the class as a whole works together to search for truth in answer to a particular question. The aim of the class is to reach consensus as a way to deepen the examination of a particular issue.

Some of the questions that I have used for classroom discussion include

• Does size matter? (On the constrains that hinder the development of Singapore)
• Should Singapore aim to be a New York or a Tokyo? (On the type of development that Singapore should pursue with New York representing a creative and vibrant society, and Tokyo representing a hardworking but conformist society.)

• Is the Integrated Resort a boon or a bane?

For this method to work, I have to ensure that the discussion is grounded in the following areas.

First, the discussion must be held in the context of their experience. In this way, my students would see the relevance of pursing an issue in depth.

Second, students must work at a particular question until it is answered. They should not be satisfied with the first answer that is provided, but should test it with empirical evidence, contextual knowledge or cross reference it with other sources.

Third, students are trained to be open to the views and opinions of others, and to examine seriously both their own views and others so that everyone is working towards a consensus.

PERSONAL REFLECTIONS

Using Socratic Method in the classroom, I have discovered that given this environment students can be as engaging and serious as the academically stronger students. In addition, they have ownership of the knowledge and concepts because they have discovered it by themselves. I also observed that they have begun to ask more in-depth and probing questions. They are also motivated to read up on their own.

However, I have observed that each student develops at a different pace. The more outgoing and outspoken students would buy in to this approach while those who are shy or have less confidence in themselves tend to be satisfied to be observers.

Some students argued that they have been taught in the traditional teacher-talk method since young and found it difficult to think and to come up with questions. They also found this method unstructured and ill-defined. They’d rather rely on notes where they can exercise their memory power. They requested for notes to be given to them and they promised that they would be able to learn the notes for the examination.

The greatest challenge thus is to break the paradigm that students have about teaching, learning and education. Students still feel uncomfortable when autonomy, responsibility and power are given to them. Perhaps their creativity and curiosity have been eroded over the years in their relentless pursuit of examination grades

The second challenge that I face is to ensure that the syllabus content is covered. Often, I have made the wrong assumption that if I have taught a chapter, then learning has taken place. This is not always true.

By using the Socratic Dialogue, I have an opportunity to check on the level of understanding of my students. When several students asked me a set of similar questions surrounding one particular topic, then it is an indication that they have a problem handling this topic. I would then take time to cover this topic in detail. In this way, students would not be bored when they are forced to listen to all the topics that are found in a textbook, even those that they do not have any problem with.

PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

As a result of using the Socratic Dialogue with my students, I have come to respect them more. I have encountered many instances when I have an opportunity to learn from them. The type of questions that they asked during these sessions have educated me and forced me to examine the many assumptions that I had about them.

For example, many teachers believe that these students do not like history or social studies and feel that it is close to impossible to arouse an interest in these subjects. By using this method, I have discovered that students no longer view these subjects as far and remote but as having a bearing on their personal lives.

I have also learnt to trust these students to be responsible with their learning. Sometimes I have observed that they are disengaged or disinterested when they are attending lessons that are mainly teacher cantered and when a teacher does most of the talking. However, when it was time for social studies lesson, they are alive and eager as they are given an opportunity to be engaged, to express their feelings and opinions and to critically examine their classmate’s views and thought processes.

CONCLUSION

I am glad that I was given an opportunity to participate in a Philosophy café. It was through this experience that I brought this method of inquiry into my classroom. In this journey, I learn to respect everyone in the classroom. I have come to realise that everyone can think. Given a safe environment to explore and engage, any student can come up with interesting and original thoughts.

The Ess on Socratic Questioning

To all my ex-students in Catholic High, Serangoon and Mayflower,

Thanks to all the questions that you have asked in class, I am going to Hong Kong next week (Monday to Friday) for a conference.


The Asia Pacific Educational Research Association International Conference 2006
Educational Research, Policy, and Practice in an Era of Globalization:
The Asia Pacific Perspectives and Beyond
28-30 November 2006

Yes, unknown to all my classes, I have been doing a research on how well students in my class can think. Although I have my views, I would like to seek your views, your feedbacks on this method.

You know: where I do not bring textbooks to class, make you all sit in a circle, and make you all ask questions. If not, I will not say anything.

Be as honest as you can. The impacts, both positive and negative. It is all part of the learning process.

If I have the money, I would love to bring some of you all there. But being as poor as I am (sigh), I can only show them your comments. Drop it in the comment slot. I will also show them your response if there is internet access there.

(Hope there is. Then I will keep you all updated as the days go by in Hong Kong.)

If 5 people are interested in the paper that I have written for this conference, I will post it on this blog.

Thank you.

The Ess making an Ess of herself. What fun.

Going into (c)old storage

I FIRST met Rob, a nonagenarian, two years ago. At that time, he was living an independent life — he walked to church on his own and had a group of friends to talk to daily. He shared with me stories of his rich and colourful life in various parts of South-east Asia and of his 11 children.

Shortly after I first met him, he had a fall and was sent to live in a private nursing home in Katong.

I saw him again last Sunday, when a friend drove him over for a get-together. He told us life in the home was all right — he had three meals a day and could watch television any time he wanted.

But he was not content. He missed the social interaction. He missed his children, who do not visit him regularly. He was upset that they had put him in a home and occasionally taking him out of cold storage.

Rob's mind is still active — he could still hold an interesting conversation with us — but he hankered for more mental stimulation.

Another nonagenarian friend has been bedridden since February and is being looked after by his wife and daughter at home. Although they love him very much, the strain of looking after an invalid is apparent. Putting this man in a home would be better as he would receive professional care, but he would not be living among his loved ones.

As Singapore grapples with the dilemmas of an ageing population, it is comforting to know our Government is putting energy and resources into developing a support system that will ensure the well-being of the elderly.

Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong stressed that the idea to have a national policy to look after the elderly in our midst will go beyond physical infrastructure, such as lifts that stop on every floor in HDB blocks.

It includes the formation of social networks to look after the greying population, which is forecast to double by 2020, when there will be almost 600,000 people here above the age of 65.

The encounter with my two nonagenarian friends has set me thinking about ageing seriously. I asked my two teenaged daughters what they would do should one of their parents become bedridden.

Would they separate us and each look after one parent, or put us in a home?

And, if I were to be put in a home, would I be treated like something to enable others to complete their Community Involvement Projects so they can earn a badge or an award?

At Christmas, would I have to sit through numerous renditions of Jingle Bells and accept charity gift packages of a toothbrush, a face towel and biscuits?

Would I have to smile and shake hands with unknown visitors, to whom there would be no difference between a visit to a zoo and a nursing home?

As Singapore journeys on as a developed country, our basic physiological needs — such as for food, water and sleep, as defined by Abraham Maslow — will be largely met, even when we grow old.

Even the second level of needs — for safety and security — can easily be met, if we put all the elderly in nursing homes. They would be well taken care of by the nurses, geriatricians and other staff.

It is the third level of needs the Government would find difficult to provide. That is, the need for love and belonging, for friends and companions, a supportive family, even an intimate relationship.

Such needs cannot be engineered by strangers. They have to be developed over time by family and friends. They can also be fulfilled when one belongs to a religious organisation or a social group.

As we gear up for the future, we must look beyond building more nursing homes and other physical infrastructure. We need to take to heart the Chinese idiom: "Having an elderly family member in the household is like having a treasure in a home."

Because one day, that person will be you and me.

This article first appeared in TODAY on 21st November 2006.

'Volunteering' with an agenda

My local university is organising an alumni reunion dinner next year. I received an email from the appointed class agent.

This email asked for information about other alumni and class particulars. I assumed the class agent wanted to contact as many alumni as possible to let them know about the dinner.

Imagine my displeasure and disappointment when I checked the next email and found that the class agent had sent promotional information to me about a single premium investment-linked plan, advising me to call him for an appointment.

Some may argue that there is nothing wrong in sending promotional material through this channel as it is just another advertising channel, like the commercials in the mass media or the junk mail in our letter-boxes.

We can assume that the class agent is doing the work for the alumni on a voluntary basis, and so one might applaud him for his spirit of voluntarism. But one wonders if the database is also a convenient resource to increase his business as an insurance agent. Perhaps he should separate his desire to do community work from his business, so that good intentions are not misinterpreted.

Similarly, I attended a Family Life Education talk recently at my workplace. With ministry support, many Volunteer Welfare Organisations (VWOs) organise and deliver a variety of family life education programmes that include talks, workshops and seminars for the public.

I was looking forward to the talk as it was meant to help us de-stress and recharge during a very stressful period of our worklife. Imagine our disappointment, when my colleagues and I realised the speaker was more interested in promoting himself, his training company and the financial services he provides, rather than what was promised.

I can understand that there is a need for companies and consultants to find creative and innovative avenues to promote themselves, their products and their services. But, perhaps, a distinct line needs to be drawn between voluntary work and business, although some may argue that there is no free lunch and that volunteers also need to earn a living.

This practice of giving free talks and workshops to get contacts is especially common among professionals such as insurance agents, multi-marketers, financial advisers, trainers and motivational speakers.

There are others who can draw a distinction and separate these two worlds. There are volunteers who actively choose not to discuss what they do when they are acting for the VWOs, and thereby perhaps lose an opportunity to get business in the short term. In the long term, however, they seem to get more business because their integrity and sincerity are evident.

Volunteer work is about sacrifice, working for free without the thought of gain. Sad to say, in our society, we sometime misuse the word when parents "volunteer" their time in order to gain a place for their child in a premier school, or when a student is compel to complete six hours of Community Involvement Project.

Yet, there are many people in our society who quietly toil and continue to sacrifice their time, money and effort for a cause they believe in, without expecting any personal gain in return. That's the spirit of true volunteerism we should celebrate.