check this out!!

from today's Straits Times...

massive overhaul of Chinese teaching!!!

"change was necessary given the fact that few people can master both English and Chinese"

oh, and it took you guys THAT long to realise???

"electronic dictionaries that provide a short-cut to writing chinese characters and phrases wil become standard equiptment in class and even for examinations, reducing the need for children to memorise long lists and practise writing for hours"

wat the..?? how lucky is that?! how many of you just hated MEMORISING those damned chinese words for some stupid test? now they have dictionaies with SHORT-CUTS?! wat the hell!! now they don't have to memorise the whole bloody book of ci yu and chen yu and whatnots till the cows come home.

"emphasis will be more on listening, speaking and reading skills..."

gee. if they did that like 13 years earlier maybe now i wouldn't be getting pissed whenever i'm watching chinese shows and the bloody subtitles don't appear! like last night during the champions (yes, i watch cheesy chinese drama serials so shoot me)! they showed some poster in chinese which was integral to the plot, and i totally couldn't read and i was like "wat?wats going on??" i'm totally handicapped without subtitles and it irks me especially since i have to sit closer to the tv to read them.

"... less on writing and memorising words and phrases"
"pupils learn at their own pace"

and finally... wouldn't we all just love that?