Photography > MJC

Recently some JC1 students (my ex-CG from Terms 1 and 2) interviewed me (for PW) regarding blogs and the possible use of blogs in education. if i don't rmb wrongly, this is what i told them...

"i don't know about the use of blogs in education but i have a very good example of a very good use of a blog and that is our photography club blog... we share ideas, experiences, technical stuff, outing details etc. etc... the alumni writes, the current students write, the teachers also... and there's a tagboard where we can post our comments... i feel it has brought all of us closer together and i feel we're like ONE BIG FAMILY... so i am sure if it's used in class, it can build class camaraderie"

yes, in many ways, PPC and i feel that our club is like one big family... we're like parents with many many kids... every year, our family grows bigger... and as we watch the lil babies grow into children into adults who can teach and guide the younger ones, we feel proud... when we see each batch develop in their own ways and succeed in their achievements, our heart feel warmed... a colleague once asked me, "ann, the photog club is really coming up v well... how do you n royston do it?" my answer to him was we didn't do much... we just "let them go into the deep waters and learn to swim! if they make a mistake, we will talk to them or scold them, but we put it behind us and move on. we give them space to make mistakes and grow..."

needless to say, during college day this year, when they announced king, eunice and pres' names, i clapped the loudest.. my colleagues glared at me... i didn't care, cos i was proud of our kids... last year, when i didn't see jun sen, i was rather disappointed and asked Mr T, "MRT, why junsen never get award ha? i thought he did a lot for the club too?" i have heard about junsen and xing quan from MRT even before i met them... i later found out that junsen did get some award but because he was not allowed to book out, he didn't turn up for college day...

yes, each batch has achieved much...

king's year (sorry junsen and xingquan, i start from king's batch because that's when i joined), some significant highlights:
1. prom night photo shoot
2. JC 1 passport photoshoot
3. Expose (inter JC photo exhibition)... i rmb their dream is to make it like the SYF equivalent of photography exhibition.
4. we went to perth

quent's year, on top of maintaining the above, expanded the number of schools for interJC photo exhibition and also...
1. did an excellent REACH project which almost brought tears to my colleagues eyes
2. various members won awards (not forgetting eunice's win)

so... PPC and i feel v v proud of all of you... the aforementioned may look like point form to you but to PPC and i, they mean a lot... because what u did took a lot of time, effort, sweat, toil, lack of sleep, frustration, conquering difficulties to mention a few... they're milestones in your journey of growth from gong gong newbs to what you have become... and it was not just for yourselves, you have laid a foundation, you have put in place processes for those who come after you...

there is a chinese saying Qian Ren Zhong Shu, Hou Ren Na Liang which means "The predecessors plant trees, the descendents enjoy the shade". PPC and i have always been v pleased when those who have graduated come back to help out, to offer their expert knowledge, to teach and to guide... and when the alumni was set up, we felt like proud parents... every time someone praises our kids, PPC and i beam with pride...

we try not to compare our kids... it's not fair... they're all different... they all started off differently, the circumstances are different, their personalities are different, their backgrounds are different... which is why i feel upset when my colleagues start comparing the different batches of our photog kids... you are all different... some like to play neopets, some like deimos rising, some like Canon, some like Nikon... i don't care.... as long as we take good pictures, who cares if it's even a point n shoot? we're called Photography > MJC and our motto is "Your Moments... our calling" so as long as we uphold that, the equipment doesn't really matter...

so i feel rather sad reading some of the past few posts and tags... i am not a parent myself but i think i know how it feels when children quarrel (or seem to)... the parents' hearts break...

in a family, the older kids should take care of the younger ones, protect them, teach them and guide them but also give them space to grow and learn... know when to take a step back and watch. the younger ones should respect the older ones because they have been there done that, listen to them and learn from them... but also have the courage to try new things. there are differences, they are from different generations. they may sometimes squabble but in the end, they're still ONE BIG FAMILY.

Photography > MJC is one big family... alumni, current members, PPC and me.

Ms Koh
P.S.: this post took a lot of effort and tears to write.