He is one of the finest professors I could ever imagine. He's my History professor, hailing from UK, and has been and is currently teaching in NUS.
He brings History to life, right before your eyes. When I attend class, it is almost as if I'm seeing the events right before my eyes. He ejects his opinions and feelings into characters and events after going through the facts, and analyses. It is as emotive and real as it gets. I sense the grandeur of Napoleon I, the shrewdness and brilliance of Otto von Bismarck, the dedication of Clement Attlee, the incredulity of Scharnhorst and Geisennau escaping right before the Allies' eyes without getting bombed. I sense the disgust yet maligned persona of Louis Napoleon, the devastation of London after bombing, the sternness of Stalin, the happiness from the 1980s revolution behind the Iron Curtain, the agony of DDR sportsmen having to consume vast amount of drugs to compete in sports... One of my classmates comments: "I don't know what I am supposed to write in class. He teaches so well it feels like I'm listening to a story, totally drawn. At the end of the day, I don't write enough notes."
He writes an essay for every single lecture he gives. Which lecturer, exactly which, would give their own write-ups/essays as readings?! I have seen umpteenth lecturers pointing you to the library, Reserve Book Room, to train you up by photocopying the relevant materials. I have seen lecturers requesting one to buy textbooks, some written by themselves (this is fantastic), most written by others. Is that sufficient? Oh no, as a History student, you are required to read widely. He gives you a list of books and does not tell you which pages are relevant. As a History student, you need to develop the research skills.
And we know about his debates which costs 20%, intending to train us to be defenders of our own thoughts and opinions. His MCQs, Murfett's Killer MCQs, are there to tease your ignorance and sloth. And we know there is no "warm body component", his favourite term, which suggests that students have to speak up in class or they get no marks for attendance. And students have to write on Forums.
Sounds ludicrous? I feel that all these make so much more sense than those endless tests and papers. So what if we write. It is not as if Murfett gets a new revelation of something new in those research papers. If university requires me to learn research skills, there are plenty of opportunities in all classes. His class is Oxbridge standard.
He's very fair. You put in the effort, you get the marks. He's not out to fail students. Despite hints, some students still don't do well (because they are inconsistently hardworking, or consistently lazy). He's a good Roman Catholic who has strong moral values. The most remarkable thing is that he doesn't teach History just for academia's sake. Of course, students learn. But students learn moral values from these History lessons.
"Do not dehumanize History." That sounds wrong to many academics, but that is highly relevant to students of History. Characters deal with events yes, but Luck provides events. The weather, illness, natural disasters all play a significant role in History, sometimes in an imponderable manner. "Imponderable but not Inevitable", one of his books, is a fantastic read.
He believes in students. He comes from a humble background, and he inspires me because I come from a less-privileged background (as compared to my peers in NUS). He treat students as humans, as learners, not as subjects, or numbers. He remembers names (so don't skip his classes, cuz they are fantastic to begin with).
He inspired me to continue reading History. Grandmaster Shawn Seah said he is a good man. And he is.
The most important thing I have learned: We all assume others are always in top-form. Truth is, humans are never always in top-form, for all kinds of reasons. These figures you are reading are still humans. Who cares they are from the 18th century? They face the same problems like we do. Who can make sound decisions when they are ill or in pain? Who can predict events that follow?
Here's to an orator like Churchill, a leader like Attlee, a figure of inspiration like Napoleon I.
-He ran into my boyfriend and I at the lift, and he introduced himself to my boy, asked for his name, and shook his hand!
-He didn't see me for a good three months during summer holidays, but greeted me at the door of his class.
-I'm often in a daze in classes because of troubling stuff. He would always catch me. "Are you okay?" He smiles. Oops.
-He knew I messed up one of his exams in a terrible manner (because I wanted so badly to do well) but instead of thinking I'm darn useless, he didn't look down on me, and instead reminded all his classes to "choose your question carefully!" And I have missed his extra classes before (shrugs). It was a relief he wasn't angry or I would have been very stressed.
He brings History to life, right before your eyes. When I attend class, it is almost as if I'm seeing the events right before my eyes. He ejects his opinions and feelings into characters and events after going through the facts, and analyses. It is as emotive and real as it gets. I sense the grandeur of Napoleon I, the shrewdness and brilliance of Otto von Bismarck, the dedication of Clement Attlee, the incredulity of Scharnhorst and Geisennau escaping right before the Allies' eyes without getting bombed. I sense the disgust yet maligned persona of Louis Napoleon, the devastation of London after bombing, the sternness of Stalin, the happiness from the 1980s revolution behind the Iron Curtain, the agony of DDR sportsmen having to consume vast amount of drugs to compete in sports... One of my classmates comments: "I don't know what I am supposed to write in class. He teaches so well it feels like I'm listening to a story, totally drawn. At the end of the day, I don't write enough notes."
He writes an essay for every single lecture he gives. Which lecturer, exactly which, would give their own write-ups/essays as readings?! I have seen umpteenth lecturers pointing you to the library, Reserve Book Room, to train you up by photocopying the relevant materials. I have seen lecturers requesting one to buy textbooks, some written by themselves (this is fantastic), most written by others. Is that sufficient? Oh no, as a History student, you are required to read widely. He gives you a list of books and does not tell you which pages are relevant. As a History student, you need to develop the research skills.
And we know about his debates which costs 20%, intending to train us to be defenders of our own thoughts and opinions. His MCQs, Murfett's Killer MCQs, are there to tease your ignorance and sloth. And we know there is no "warm body component", his favourite term, which suggests that students have to speak up in class or they get no marks for attendance. And students have to write on Forums.
Sounds ludicrous? I feel that all these make so much more sense than those endless tests and papers. So what if we write. It is not as if Murfett gets a new revelation of something new in those research papers. If university requires me to learn research skills, there are plenty of opportunities in all classes. His class is Oxbridge standard.
He's very fair. You put in the effort, you get the marks. He's not out to fail students. Despite hints, some students still don't do well (because they are inconsistently hardworking, or consistently lazy). He's a good Roman Catholic who has strong moral values. The most remarkable thing is that he doesn't teach History just for academia's sake. Of course, students learn. But students learn moral values from these History lessons.
"Do not dehumanize History." That sounds wrong to many academics, but that is highly relevant to students of History. Characters deal with events yes, but Luck provides events. The weather, illness, natural disasters all play a significant role in History, sometimes in an imponderable manner. "Imponderable but not Inevitable", one of his books, is a fantastic read.
He believes in students. He comes from a humble background, and he inspires me because I come from a less-privileged background (as compared to my peers in NUS). He treat students as humans, as learners, not as subjects, or numbers. He remembers names (so don't skip his classes, cuz they are fantastic to begin with).
He inspired me to continue reading History. Grandmaster Shawn Seah said he is a good man. And he is.
The most important thing I have learned: We all assume others are always in top-form. Truth is, humans are never always in top-form, for all kinds of reasons. These figures you are reading are still humans. Who cares they are from the 18th century? They face the same problems like we do. Who can make sound decisions when they are ill or in pain? Who can predict events that follow?
Here's to an orator like Churchill, a leader like Attlee, a figure of inspiration like Napoleon I.
-He ran into my boyfriend and I at the lift, and he introduced himself to my boy, asked for his name, and shook his hand!
-He didn't see me for a good three months during summer holidays, but greeted me at the door of his class.
-I'm often in a daze in classes because of troubling stuff. He would always catch me. "Are you okay?" He smiles. Oops.
-He knew I messed up one of his exams in a terrible manner (because I wanted so badly to do well) but instead of thinking I'm darn useless, he didn't look down on me, and instead reminded all his classes to "choose your question carefully!" And I have missed his extra classes before (shrugs). It was a relief he wasn't angry or I would have been very stressed.
Hey babe, I actually was never really interested in history, but reading your entry makes me want to sit in for his class haha.
ReplyDeleteCan I crash sometime? Maybe week 7 or 8? ;)
Yuan Ting
What can I say in response except that I feel truly humbled by your blog? I'm so glad you have enjoyed my modules and that you have gained something from them. I love teaching and you guys out there (of both genders) are a real joy in my life.
ReplyDeleteGod bless you,
prof. m
You mention the devastation of London. Well of course London was bombed but I would suggest that devastation was too strong a word. In the 1930s there was considerable fear that civilian populations in large cities would suffer horrific casualties, but we now know that the power of bombing to devastate cities and terrorise their populations was grotesquely overestimated. This overestimation had unfortunate consequences in that it lead to the strengthening of the desire to appease Nazi Germany. An alternative to appeasement would have been for Britain and France to have made a preemptive strike in say 1936. Niall Ferguson says in his book,The War of The World that had this preemptive strike been made it would almost certainly have succeeded, and that it wasn't must be regarded as tragic.
ReplyDeleteI see. Thank you for your inputs, I do appreciate it. I wished I know who you are.
Deletei just chanced upon this post and i have to agree! not a history major, but took one of his modules before, and he is BRILLIANT :D
ReplyDelete